Prescient's Light-Gauge Construction System Gaining Popularity In Denver And Beyond

In late October 2018, Prescient began assembly of its 19^th project in the Denver, CO area. Phase II of the Colorado Christian University (CCU) Resident Hall joins eight other buildings currently under construction using Prescient’s light-gauge steel framing system, accounting for more than 2.9 million square feet of construction.

“When we launched here six years ago, we began our mission to revolutionize the construction industry by delivering efficiencies which positively impact the time, money and risk associated with major development projects,” said Satyen Patel, executive chairman of Prescient. “We were confident our technology advances would prove their worth and be adopted broadly. That’s certainly been the case in Denver and now we’re spreading that success across the country. It’s consistent with our corporate vision which is to create ‘attainable housing for all’.”

Alexan Arapahoe Square Apartments is one of nine Denver, CO projects currently under construction using Prescient's light-gauge framing system.

Some of the nation’s leading construction companies, including Argyle Residential and Trammel Crow Residential, commissioned Prescient to facilitate the construction of multiunit projects across the greater Denver area. Besides CCU II, there are seven more projects currently underway that are using the Prescient system, including apartments at 13th and Delaware, 17th and Park, Jefferson View, Alexan 20th Street Station, Alexan Arapahoe Square, Modera Cap Hill, and the Element Denver Downtown hotel.

“The Prescient system significantly compressed our overall schedule, which is a big advantage in delivering any construction project,” said Scott Miller, senior project manager for GE Johnson Construction, general contractor for Colorado Christian University. Miller noted Prescient’s high-quality and swift installation — the structure and framing for the 90,000 square foot building were installed in only seven weeks — enabled the entire project to be completed in just 10 months. “Timely delivery was especially critical for this project. By using the Prescient system, we were able to accelerate our entire construction schedule.”

Prescient’s system was used for eleven additional projects in the Denver area, including 16 Penn Residences, Alexan Cherry Creek, Alexan Uptown, B Street LoHi, Brent’s Place Too, Edison at RiNo, Hyatt House Denver/Lakewood at Belmar, Morningstar at RidgeGate, Renaissance Downtown Lofts, University Station Apartments and Yetter Hall on Colorado Christian University’s campus. Additionally, builders recently committed to two new projects in Denver that will leverage the strengths of Prescient’s BIM design platform and lean manufacturing systems.

	Prescient's light-gauge building system has been used for nearly a dozen completed projects in Denver, including Alexan Cherry Creek Apartments, shown above and below.

The multiunit apartment projects all help meet the housing needs of the greater Denver area, a major metropolitan area that had the fifth-steepest decline in affordability over the past year, according to Nationwide Insurance.

Prescient’s proprietary software utilizes a Digital Thread that connects projects from the initial architectural design through the finished building. Prescient’s precision manufacturing technology, including robotics, laser-cutting systems and state-of-the-art numerically controlled flexible manufacturing systems, creates a seamless approach, meaning higher productivity, higher quality, fewer last-minute conflicts on site, less waste, shorter schedules and a better ROI.

“This rapid growth illustrates the great strides we’ve made in Denver,” said Magued Eldaief, CEO at Prescient. “With our North Carolina facility, we can ensure the same progress is being made in markets in cities and states along the Eastern seaboard. Denver was merely the first city to discover and adopt the Prescient system. The progress we have made here just scratches the surface of what our platform can achieve in major metropolitan cities around the globe.”

To date, Prescient has completed a total of 5.1M square feet of construction with another 4.7M under development. Prescient has active projects underway or completed in 16 states: Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia. It is beginning to develop additional projects across California and new states in the Northeast. 

“Not only are we expanding to additional geographies, but the size of our projects is significantly increasing. We went from building 3-6 story buildings that averaged less than 60,000 square feet in 2013-15 to projects that have averaged approximately 200,000 square feet and up to 17 stories in 2016-18,” added Eldaief.

One of the most recent cities to discover the Prescient platform’s benefits is Atlanta, where companies like Kaplan Residential with CBG Building Company and Toll Brothers with Balfour Beatty are beginning to use the Prescient system.

“Generation Atlanta will be the first building in the city to utilize the Prescient structural system,” said Nathan Kaplan, partner at Kaplan Residential. “The technology will reduce construction costs by 20 to 25 percent compared to using concrete, enabling the development to comply with the City of Atlanta’s initiative to provide more affordable housing.”

In West Midtown Atlanta, Toll Brothers Apartment Living contracted Balfour Beatty to build its mixed-use, multifamily Osprey project. Balfour Beatty is leveraging Prescient’s technology to build the project’s entire tower structure. “By utilizing Prescient’s off-site manufacturing platform to build the project’s entire 13-story tower structure, our team will be able to turn units several months faster than a typical post-tensioned concrete or other load-bearing structural frame option,” said Mark Konchar, senior vice president and chief of innovation, Balfour Beatty.

In order to meet the construction industry’s need for greater efficiency and productivity, Prescient plans to continue its rapid development, Patel noted. “We are pursuing expansion opportunities with plans to have a strong presence in most NFL cities. We already have projects in Denver, Kansas City, Tampa, Florida, Atlanta and Dallas and are already working with partners on a number of additional cities.”

Prescient celebrated its sixth anniversary last month. For more information on Prescient’s projects, visit www.prescientco.com/projects/.

About Prescient

Prescient offers computer-designed and manufactured, multi-story light gauge structural framing systems that are assembled onsite. For more information, visit www.prescientco.com.