Anchoring the Team: Bloomingdale’s at the SoNo Collection
Since its start in 1861, Bloomingdale’s has become a household name. Known for their luxury products and diverse selection of brands, it’s become popular both in name and style.
While Connecticut has been home to as many malls, outlets, and retail centers as any other state, the SoNo Collection in Norwalk welcomes a new kind of retail experience. Developed by Brookfield Properties, the lifestyle center not only offers 70+ clothing stores, but also a unique array of art, dining, and entertainment options.
Pavarini North East was brought in to build out 150,000sf for one of the mall’s anchor tenants, Connecticut’s exclusive Bloomingdale’s store.
TIGHT SITE
The ground-up nature of the project puts numerous general contractors in the same space. With designated GCs for the core and shell plus those for each store, the team worked with Bloomingdale’s to negotiate a designated material load-in area and garbage chute to avoid the congestion delays.
Developing the structure on a parking garage restricted the already tight site further. Bloomingdale’s was the last part of the mall to go into construction, and delays to the start of the garage decks meant Pavarini had limited access to three of the four elevations. With no room for an exterior hoist, materials had to be lifted by a chain hoist inside through the escalator pit and crane picks. All the while, deliveries were competing with those of the other GCs on site, meaning everyone had to communicate and coordinate very clearly. The Pavarini team acted quickly and was sure to communicate progress with the client at all turns.
While the project had some challenges with vertical transportation and coordination with the mall construction, Pavarini constantly communicated with all parties to deliver a successful project.
HAIL TO THE TEAM
A fully committed team proved to be the secret weapon. In addition to Bloomingdale’s work to find the necessary resources for the team, the developer came through as well when it came to working through local regulatory processes.
“Another challenge was scheduling inspections in a small town short on resources,” says David Carlson, Pavarini superintendent. “Brookfield’s relationship with the town has enabled all of the retail stakeholders to hit inspection dates despite their different agendas.”
In short, the team’s combined dedication and persistence has moved the project forward, and they couldn’t be more proud of how that teamwork has paid off.
“Without a client with vision and a team that fully stepped up to the plate, this project would not have met the developer’s milestones,” says Pavarini project manager Stephen Salvatore. “We were all essential partners”.
Project Details
Size: 150,000sf
Owner: Brookfield Properties
Client: Bloomingdale’s
Architect/Engineer: Hixson Architecture, Engineering, Interior
Interior Architect: Echeverria Design Group
Structural Engineer: Thorton Tomasetti
Sector: Retail
Completion: November 2019
Project Highlights
- Materials lifted with a chain hoist on the interior
- Exterior is a metal panel system with integrated LED dot fixtures
- 30+ vendor areas to coordinate
- Schedule challenges to overcome