PROJECT

REI Flagship Store

Owner

REI

General Contractor

Hensel Phelps Construction Co.

Architect

Mithun Partners

Electrical Engineer

BCER/Ludvik

Electrical Subcontractor

Ludvik Electric Co.

Ludvik Electric Co.

Remaking History

History is repeating itself in the Central Platte Valley area with the remarkable renovation of the Denver Tramway Power Company Building (Forney Museum).

Early in October 1999, one of the morning feature news stories revealed the belief of some construction workers on the REI Flagship Store project that ghosts inhabited the nearly 100-year-old structure that was currently being renovated. Apparently, workers arriving to work some mornings would find their equipment, machinery and tools to have mysteriously moved from one location to another during the night. The news anchor pointed to the notion that a couple of people had purportedly died years ago in the facility at 15^th and Platte Street. Were you to trace the historical background of the immense masonry structure, you would discover a past rife with growth, derision and turbulence, all of which served as precursors to what is known today as RTD (Regional Transportation District).

Given the building’s history, the Landmark Preservation Commission, Colorado Historical Society and the National Park Service were all interested in how the 1901 structure was to be refurbished. REI’s subcontractors were challenged to think outside the box and work creatively while meeting the highest quality standards so the building could greet yet another century.

Ludvik Electric’s design-build team for the project had to find ways to work around the historical features that kept this renovation project in the spotlight. Without the freedom to tear open walls or cut into any of the historical aspects of the building, Ludvik’s team neatly hid electrical conduit by tucking it into and under the pockets of the structural beams.

There were some big structural problems the team had to overcome. The existing first floor had to be replaced with new structural beams to support the new floor. This was just what the electrical god ordered, a dead space between the top of the old existing floor and the new beams that worked out as the primary route for a major portion of the feeder and branch electrical conduits. Close coordination was essential early on for Ludvik’s thoughtful installation of the "new" building’s power, fire alarm and mechanical connections, as well as provisions for telephone/data, security, CCTV, sound and point-of-sale service.

The electrical construction work brought another environmentally sensitive portion of the historical renovation into play. Ludvik Electric implemented a compact fluorescent lighting system to offer a softer, more energy conscious option than incandescent. The lighting system is integrated into an energy management computer system that takes advantage of the natural sunlight coming into the building through the skylights and windows. Controlled by the energy management system, photocells in strategic locations throughout the store gauge the ambient light coming into the store and shut down circuits in brighter areas as needed. This highly energy-efficient system conserves energy while maintaining suitable lighting levels for the store’s retail displays.

Ludvik was also responsible to highlight the flagship store’s climbing wall feature, "The Pinnacle". Special attention had to be given when designing and installing the supports for the lighting systems. The lighting in the Pinnacle area is suspended on ¼ inch aircraft cable, enabling the fixtures to be suspended down to the desired elevation while appearing to simply dangle in the air on an invisible cord.

These aircraft cable supports had to be installed through the roof decking before the new roof was installed and prior to the beams for the new floor due to the weight restrictions of the man lifts. All the support cables and electrical raceways were installed out of man lifts and tower scaffolds at heights in excess of 50 feet above the floor.

As on all Ludvik projects, all electrical personnel received training specific to this work site, fall protection, scaffold safety, hoist and lift operations, ladders and electrical hazards. In addition, with all trades working simultaneously within the aggressive time schedule, Ludvik workers were alerted to other potential dangers such as exposure to overhead hazards such as swinging wood and steel beams being installed, welding and hazardous areas of the 99-year-old building. Safety was a topic regularly discussed with foremen from all other trades. With a total of 23,700 man-hours worked over the eleven-month installation, Ludvik is proud to report zero (0) lost time accidents.

Another challenge the team had to deal with at REI was its difficult accessibility, small staging area, no on-site storage available and lack of parking. With virtually no storage on site at all, materials had to be stored off-site and moved in on a two or three day supply. Until the underground parking garage was completed the project management team spent a lot of time just managing the logistics of a tight project site in a busy urban location.

Whether ghosts are a reality or fantasy - whether you believe or not - one can not dispute the fact that the structure at 15^th and Platte Street has undergone an historic renovation that has greeted yet another century.