Precast Concrete Offers Smooth Construction Process for Junior High School

When the El Paso Gridley school district passed a referendum for the construction of a new junior high school, CORE Construction got to work to get the project completed on time for the 2022-23 school year.

Construction of the project in Gridley, Illinois included an 80,000 square foot new junior high school, storm shelter, and expanded space for arts and choir students. Mid-States Concrete provided 178 wall panels, one column, and 59 pieces of hollowcore plank and solid slabs to meet the precast needs of the project.

Nicole Shelton, Project Manager with CORE Construction, found several benefits to working with Mid-States Concrete Industries for the project’s precast needs.

”From a coordination and shop drawings process, there is a lot to it, but I think Mid-States did a really nice job coordinating that alongside CORE and working with the MEP trades to make sure we had stuff cast in and openings we needed,” she said. “In terms of installing, it’s very convenient for a construction schedule and getting a building closed in quickly. It allowed us to get enclosed and work inside during the late winter months.”

Additionally, the project management team’s onsite visits ahead of construction were crucial to working through logistics.

”Mid-States was really professional and helpful,” Shelton said. “[They were] on site constantly and easy to reach during the project. All of that helped the project run smoothly.”

Even before a project begins, Shelton appreciates the communication of the Mid-States team. She likes that she can pick up the phone and speak to the preconstruction team with general questions about precast, schedule, how it all works and get the details she needs to help her prepare for future projects.

”I’ve always been impressed by Mid-States’ communication and making sure we are trying to get ahead on issues or anything that may come up in the future,” Shelton said.

Check out a video of the project in progress, shared by El Paso Gridley CUSD 11 >>

Mid-States Wall Panels Erected for Industrial Project in Beloit

When it comes to industrial projects, Mid-States Concrete Industries’ precast products offer a positive impact to the construction process.

Our organization was proud to partner with Corporate Contractors Inc. (CCI) on the construction of a 500,000 square foot speculative industrial warehouse intended for a future tenant, owned by Phoenix Investors, a Milwaukee-based real estate agency.

For this Beloit project, located in the Gateway Business Park, Mid-States Concrete manufactured and installed more than 200 precast wall panels, and four pieces of hollowcore plank.

”We chose precast because it’s kind of the industry standard when it comes to these speculative [buildings],” said Aaron Combs, Project Manager for CCI. “… We chose Mid-States because of our longstanding partnership with Mid-States on these types of projects.”

While CCI considered both steel and tilt-up for the project, precast concrete offered the flexibility and time savings CCI needed for the timeline of the project. The wall panels were erected in roughly 12 days in July 2022.

”We started this project in March and turned it over to the owner in December,” Combs said. “Precast is able to meet our schedule, which provided savings to the client in the overall cost of the project.”

Combs added using precast helped the project run smoothly the whole way through the process. He said Mid-States knocked the shop drawings and the submittal process out of the park and simplified things. Because of that smooth process, CCI and Mid-States were able to spend time coordinating the jobsite up front, making it easier for the team to accept the panels in the field.

When it came to installation, Combs was impressed with the communication from the project management team at Mid-States, in terms of goals set each day and any impacts to those goals. He also commended the installation team for being on time every day, working hard, keeping a clean jobsite, and communicating well with the CCI team.

”At the end of the day, we’ve got a really good product and a happy client and it’s because of partners like you guys,” Combs said.

Mid-States Concrete Industries President Hagen Harker documented two visits to the jobsite in our Precast Chalk Talk series. Watch the videos to learn more about why precast concrete is a great choice for your next industrial project.

Precast Chalk Talk: Episode 36 >>

Precast Chalk Talk: Episode 37 >>