NJIT Parking Garage Project Utilizes Precast Concrete for Timely Completion
By choosing precast concrete as the primary building material, the New Jersey Institute of Technology effectively addressed their construction challenges to erect an impressive parking structure accommodating nearly 1,000 vehicles.
LANCASTER, Pa., Oct. 4, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- When the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) decided to build a new parking garage on campus, they knew they would face challenges with the project. By choosing precast concrete as the primary building material, NJIT was able to effectively address their challenges and erect an impressive parking structure that accommodates nearly 1,000 vehicles.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
The parking garage was constructed to provide parking for their science and tech center in Newark, NJ. Due to very limited parking in the area, the original purpose of the design was for efficient construction and expedited vehicle occupancy for students and staff. One challenge in building the garage was the very tight conditions that the congested downtown Newark area presented.
NJIT's parking garage is a 7-level structure that includes 938 parking spaces and ground-floor retail space. The architectural panel façade utilizes architectural thin brick to complement the existing campus and brick buildings within the town. It was important to make the parking garage pleasing to the eye while matching the surrounding area.
A structural steel frame was used to support stairs and landings behind glass curtain walls in the stair and elevator towers. The challenging site and soil conditions utilized deep foundations of 4' to 8'-6" diameter, 30' deep caissons that were very time-consuming to establish. Precast concrete provided a shortened timeline for completion when compared to construction a total C.I.P. structure.
PRECAST SOLUTION
It was essential that the project have a precast concrete manufacturer that could fabricate and erect the steel simultaneously with the surrounding precast. Nitterhouse Concrete Products, located in Chambersburg, PA, met the requirements.
Nitterhouse is a producer member of PCI Mid-Atlantic, a chapter of the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI). The nearly 100-year-old family-owned company designs, produces and erects PCI-Certified precast concrete products including NiCore hollow core plank, building systems, parking structures, office buildings, warehouses, distribution centers and multi-housing facilities in the Mid-Atlantic region.
The precast concrete exterior erected by Nitterhouse used gravity load bearing elements and lateral resisting shear walls with architectural concrete finish and embedded thin brick.
The project timeline was 12 months. Precast concrete materials included: beams, columns, solid slabs, wall panels, double tees, litewalls, shearwalls, stair panels, stairs, ornamental precast and bollards.
Additional details and photos for the NJIT parking garage project are available on the PCI Mid-Atlantic website.
PROJECT AT-A-GLANCE
Location: Newark, NJ
Engineer of Record: Jordan Rappin, Timothy Haahs & Associates (Blue Bell, PA)
General Contractor: Claremont Construction Group (Fair Hills, NJ)
Precast Concrete Specialty Engineer: Warner Precast Detailing & Consulting (Chambersburg, PA)
PCI-Certified Erector: Precast Services (Twinsburg, OH)
Precast Concrete Producer: Nitterhouse Concrete Products (Chambersburg, PA)
7 Level Structure / 938 Parking Spaces
250,000 sq. ft. of Elevated Precast Double Tees
ABOUT PCI MID-ATLANTIC
PCI Mid-Atlantic, a chapter of the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI), is a professional marketing organization committed to the growth and greater profitability of the Precast Industry in the Mid-Atlantic region. It is comprised of prestressed/precast producer member firms located throughout the Mid-Atlantic States, including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. PCI Mid-Atlantic also has over 50 associate member companies that produce a variety of concrete industry related products. For more information, visit http://www.pci-ma.org.
SOURCE PCI Mid-Atlantic
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