Long business relationships are worth their weight in gold, and in speed, as a Nebraska businessman found out when he needed a new travel center – and quick.
When Dave Shoemaker’s N.W. 48th Street location lease was up, he began plans to build a new location across the road. He asked general contractor Kingery Construction of Lincoln, Nebraska, a long-time partner, to quickly get him back in business. Kingery Construction hired BD Construction of Kearney, Nebraska, a Ceco Building Systems authorized builder for five years, to furnish and erect a custom-designed metal structure. Time was of the essence to get Shoemaker back in business quickly, and also because it was May, prime building weather in Nebraska. The completion goal was November.
“It is our job at Ceco to exceed the expectations of our clients and their customers,” said Roger Burlingame, President of Ceco Building Systems. “When Shoemaker needed fast delivery, we did everything within our power to provide him the top quality building he needed and to support our Ceco builder in meeting his time line.”
According to Mark Benjamin of BD Construction, seven loads of Ceco Building steel arrived on June 25, 2009, and BD Construction crews worked from early morning to late at night, seven days a week.
“For ten weeks we worked on the building,” commented Benjamin. “Then it was ready for other trades to complete their tasks. It took efficient coordination from all parties involved due to limited working space.”
The coordination paid off, because the 29,000 square foot travel center opened on schedule on November 5, 2009.
The Shoemaker Travel Center, now one of two in Lincoln owned by Shoemaker, is built with a tall center tower intended to serve as a “beacon” to travelers, according to architect Scott Sullivan of Erickson Sullivan Architects in Lincoln. “There are large expanses of windows which provide ample display area, and the varied end building elements provide unique rooflines for individual tenants,” he commented. “We hoped the end results would be a unique truck stop which offers an interesting variety of services to travelers.”
The Travel Center was also built in accordance with LEED certification, according to Steve Hiemer, project manager at Kingery Construction Company, prime contractor for the project.
Inside on the four center high-bay walls is a hand-painted mural that depicts the story of historic Highway 6, painted by Mural Mural Graphics of Lincoln. “It really makes an impact when customers come in,” commented Hiemer. “Heads go up.”
During the six-month construction, a few challenges cropped up. “Perhaps the biggest challenge was to create a quickly constructed building that was welcoming to visitors and possessed visually interesting aesthetics, all on a limited budget,” commented Sullivan. “Also, given the funding sources and the need for LEED requirements, the use of metal addressed many of those challenges.”
Sullivan explained that he chose metal because of the economical cost of materials, quick delivery and erection time of the system, interesting color options, and the overall contemporary nature of the materials. The steel building system also provided several opportunities in obtaining the LEED equivalency “points” required for certification.
According to Hiemer, though, the main challenge dealt with the existing site. “It was a gully landfill which was filled with crushed concrete and many other deposits,” he said. “It was just very bad soil conditions on the existing site. We had to remove all the dirt with the deposits to make for better soil conditions. After the dirt work, it was just the basic building practices.”
Ceco roof products used for the Shoemaker Travel Center were 27,040 square feet of 24 gauge CXP standing seam roof panel in Snow White for the main roof. Hipped roof and wood framed canopies consisted of 4,025 square feet of 24 gauge BattenLok 16” standing seam roof panel in Harbor Blue. Walls were 12,451 square feet of 24 gauge FW-120-1 concealed fastener panel in Sandstone Metallic.
“This building is a showcase for the metal building industry,” commented owner Dave Shoemaker. “We got a building that’s just beautiful.”
The relationship that continued between Dave Shoemaker and Kingery Construction, and between BD Construction and Ceco Buildings, resulted in an aesthetic, customer-friendly and environmentally-friendly structure.
“Steve Shuck of Ceco was our rep,” commented Benjamin. “Our company has been very successful and has worked with many, many custom-designed building manufacturers, and none have served us better, treated us better, partnered with us better than Ceco. And particularly because of Steve. He went the extra mile, day in, day out.”
Kingery Construction was formed in 1924 by father-son duo William Henry Kingery and Everett Kingery. The two began with only a few shovels, a wheelbarrow and an old touring car they had converted into a flat bed truck. The company expanded quickly, becoming one of Lincoln’s top commercial contractors, specializing in healthcare, education, religious institutions, financial institutions and office buildings.
Founded in 1960, BD Construction is one of the Midwest’s leading construction companies with a lengthy history of large scale building projects. As design-build and construction management specialists, BD is capable of handling all aspects of a building project, starting with the initial concept and floor plans and continuing through site selection, design consultancy, project finance coordination, permitting, construction and evaluation of the finished project. For more information, visit www.bdconstruction.com.