About the Project
The 860,000 SF McGregor Square project is a vibrant mixed-use development located adjacent to Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies in downtown Denver. This fast-track, Construction Management at Risk project showcased Hensel Phelps’ expertise at managing a project while collaborating with the architect, Stantec, to deliver a landmark project to the Colorado Rockies Baseball Club, Ltd.
McGregor Square is comprised of three towers (office, hospitality and residential) and a two-story below-grade parking garage, as well as retail and restaurant space on the ground floor. This “Gateway to the Ballpark” includes 230,000 SF of office space spread across 11 stories and 175,000 SF of residential space spread across 13 stories. The residential space consists of 105 high-end condominiums and a rooftop pool, amenity deck and fitness room located on the bridge. In addition, McGregor Square includes 156,000 SF of hotel space spread across 13 stories with 176 hotel rooms, 71,000 SF of retail space including the future Rockies Hall of Fame and 196,000 SF of parking with 402 parking spaces.
Nestled in between the towers, the 58,000 SF plaza will serve as a year-round outdoor entertainment area, which features a 20-foot by 60-foot big screen that extends the game day experience to the facility. This project is the ninth building in the world registered by the WELL Community Building Standard upon completion. The project team achieved WELL certification for the residential portion of the building and WELL Community certification for the plaza portion.
“They provided a high level of service that extended beyond what they were contracted to do, adhering to their mantra of ‘delivering EXCELLENCE in all they do.’ Hensel Phelps also stepped into multiple situations outside of their scope of work and brought all the stakeholders together to overcome hurdles to progress the project to truly build a one-of-a-kind project, McGregor Square.”
DICK MONFORT, OWNER/CHAIRMAN/CEO AT COLORADO ROCKIES BASEBALL CLUB, LTD.
Challenge
Fast-Paced Schedule with Complicated Permit Process
The overall schedule for this project was very aggressive due to the owner’s desire to have it completed and open by the Colorado Rockies 2021 Opening Day. With three separate towers each having different uses and all sitting on top of a common below-grade concrete parking garage, the permitting approach for this project started early during the Schematic Design phase. To further complicate things, the entire complex shares various systems such as chilled and heating water systems, a fire pump and the emergency generator.
Solution
Pre-Planning and Close Coordination
The owner’s goal was to bring each tower “on-line” independently; therefore, the decision was made to secure permitting for each tower separately and include the below-grade parking garage along with one of the towers. Hensel Phelps and the design team worked extensively with the City and County of Denver’s Building Department early in the design phase on this approach to ensure that there would be no issues during the permit review process, especially with the shared systems.
Result
Successful Turnover of Each Tower
As construction progressed and on-site personnel reached 650, close coordination was required with all trade partners, inspectors and authorities having jurisdiction to track each building separately. The result was a streamlined sign-off and turnover of each respective tower to meet the schedule. Moreover, the project team worked around approximately 21,000 fans at each home game throughout two baseball seasons who also had unhindered access to Coors Field gate E via the project’s walkway.
Awards
2022
- 2021 ABC National Excellence in Construction Eagle Award – General Contractor – Mega-Project | Over $160 Million
- 2021 ABC National Greener Tomorrow Award
- Downtown Denver Award
2021
- ABC Rocky Mountain 2021 Excellence in Construction Award – Mega Project | More Than $100M
- AGC Colorado 2021 ACE Award for Construction Excellence – The Jack Mincher People’s Choice Awards
