Throughout what was a very tough assignment — within a constrained downtown site and under an aggressive schedule —your project managers and company leadership communicated very thoroughly and quickly with our design team as questions arose. Without the professional involvement of your firm, I do not know that this schedule could have been met nor this difficult design achieved.
-Steve Dumez | Eskew + Dumez + Ripple
One of the more prominent additions to the New Orleans skyline is the 21-story, concrete-framed glass and insulated metal panel-clad building set within the landscape of New Orleans’ Central Business District.
930 Poydras Street residential high-rise came to fruition as a CMAR project. Gibbs became an integral part of the early preconstruction phase working hand-and-hand with the design team and the owner in a multi-year development and budgeting effort. The key to meeting the fast-paced preconstruction and construction schedule for the large and complex structure required commitment from the entire team early in the project. Gibbs provided budget review and analysis, select marketplace subcontractor input, schedule analysis, and architectural and structural mock-ups. We held numerous planning meetings with subcontractors, suppliers, designers, owners, and builders to identify opportunities to accelerate and adjust construction costs benefiting pricing.
This $54 million project design evolved into the construction of 10,000 square feet of retail space, housing three retail tenants at street level; a 200,000 square foot parking garage with 500 parking spaces; and 250,000 square feet of residential space in 250 apartments and six townhouses overlooking the interior pool deck above the parking structure. Additionally, other construction elements included floor-to-ceiling windows in residence units, a curtain wall wrapped skybox overlooking Poydras and specialty finishes in multiple support spaces.
The eight-floor parking garage and lower floors of apartments were completed and occupied during construction of the upper levels. Additionally, Gibbs navigated a densely populated urban corner of the city.
There was constant high-level exposure to the public, leaving the project staff with little construction layout space.
Since Gibbs has grown this thriving downtown New Orleans corner with the construction of Reginelli’s Pizzeria, the Ste. Marie Restaurant, Jamba Juice, Walk-On’s Bistreaux, The Roux House, Happy’s Irish Pub, the Civic Theatre, and the Civic Lofts, 930 Poydras Apartments have become the epicenter for dining, gameday fun, and entertainment.
Type
New Construction
Budget
$54.8M
Size
460,000 sf
Owner
930 Poydras LLC
Architect
Eskew+Dumez+Ripple
Completion
2010