Tower cranes shadowing rising commercial and mixed-use high-rise buildings are certainly not unusual on today’s city skylines. What is a fresh new sight is the use of tower cranes in the construction of smaller scale multifamily residential projects. This application, as it turns out, is ideal for flat top crane models.
Whether for construction of unique single family homes in hard-to-reach areas or for multifamily condos and apartments, there are many advantages to using tower cranes on residential projects. These include the ability to handle all lifts for an entire project from one fixed location, the elimination of large lay down areas and on-site roadways to position and place supplies and materials, less construction traffic and noise, and a high degree of safety.
Statistics by the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) indicate that construction of multifamily developments continues to grow. In cities across the U.S., contractors and developers are embracing flat top tower cranes as a highly efficient, safe, and economical way to build these developments in highly space-restrictive downtown locations. One contractor on the leading edge of this movement is Balfour Beatty Construction, a leader in the U.S. commercial construction industry and part of London-based Balfour Beatty plc.
“The demand for low-rise, luxury apartments and mixed-use space is there, and we have embarked on several exciting multifamily projects across the Southeast,” says Christopher Herman, vice president, National Multifamily Housing for Balfour Beatty Construction. “Three of these project types include Gateway West in Charlotte, North Carolina; 131 Ponce Midtown Apartments in Atlanta, Georgia; and 1505 Demonbreun in Nashville, Tennessee.”
A PERFECT FIT
The downtown locations of these three projects mean tight sites where there is simply no lay down room near the street. In each case, the crane was erected in a central area where the jib can cover the entire site. From a single point, they can safely and efficiently perform every task, from bucketing concrete to moving pallets and lifting materials into place.
The first of the three projects is Gateway West in Charlotte, North Carolina. This 280-unit luxury, mixed-use development, comprises a five-level wood-frame building sitting on two levels of underground parking and concrete that is 15 feet above grade. The 3-acre structure occupies a 3.03 parcel.
“There is actually no room to maneuver whatsoever,” notes Bob Nelson, site superintendent for the Gateway West project. “Special care was given to crane placement and how it would be dismantled upon project completion. Putting it up was the easy part. Removing it from the middle of the development involved considerable planning up front. I can’t say enough about the Linden Comansa crane and the service we received from Heede Southeast.”
Another extremely congested site with no space on its perimeter, the 131 Ponce Midtown Apartments in Atlanta, Georgia, is a luxury complex with 280 units on six levels above the podium. The Linden Comansa 21 LC 290 with 196-foot reach chosen for this site was located in the center of the building, providing excellent coverage for the complete project.
The Music Row-area development at 1505 Demonbreun in Nashville, Tennessee, features 209 units in a five-level wood-frame construction atop two levels of parking. The tower crane was chosen because of the extremely tight construction environment. An LC 8652 with 196 feet of reach is being used to service this project.
On all three projects, Balfour Beatty is working with Heede Southeast, Inc., a leader in tower crane rentals in the Southeastern United States. Heede is supplying a turnkey program, including erection, operator, parts, service, dismantling, and freight. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Heede also operates out of Hillsboro, Texas.
“We rent and operate only Linden Comansa, because we feel it is the best tower crane in the industry,” says Heede southeast general manager Jason Kenna. “The modular design makes it easy to change parts between the different crane series and the service and support Linden Comansa America provides is unparalleled. On these apartment projects, the flat top is our tool of choice, giving us 100 percent coverage of the site.”
FLAT OUT BENEFITS
The originator of modular flat top cranes, Linden Comansa offers a full range of models with jibs from 60-262 feet and capacities from 5-90 tons. When working on space restrictive sites, flat top tower cranes are the easiest to erect and dismantle, having fewer components than other tower crane types to put together and transport.
“Setup is fast and simple for a flat top tower crane, ranging from a few hours to just over a day, depending on crane size,” says Bill Carbeau, vice president of business development for Linden Comansa America. “With Linden Comansa flat top tower cranes, each section of tower and jib is connected with pins as opposed to bolts. This is much more efficient, especially on tight jobsites.”
With no pendant lines holding the jib, flat top cranes are also more convenient to dismantle. “High top cranes limit the degree the jib can be disassembled, in many cases leaving the smallest components too heavy and requiring a larger crane to dismantle,” notes Carbeau. “With flat top cranes, the jib can be dismantled piece by piece, if necessary, or in any combination to allow maximum flexibility.”
In addition to the logistical benefits, a tower crane on a multifamily project like these offers safety advantages over the duration of the project. The operator has a bird’s eye view of the entire site and can typically place loads in direct line of sight.
“Based on how well construction has gone for Balfour Beatty on the projects in Charlotte, Atlanta, and Nashville,” says Herman, “we anticipate handling more projects of this type with tower cranes. It’s efficient and gives us cost and logistical benefits we couldn’t achieve otherwise.” ■
For More Information: For more information about Linden Comansa flat top tower cranes, visit www.lindencomansaamerica.com. To learn more about the projects by Balfour Beatty Construction, visit www.balfourbeattyus.com.
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Modern Contractor Solutions, October 2015
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