Precast Solutions Weekly

Precast Solutions Weekly features one construction project or news item each week that is associated with the precast concrete industry. These features range from rural highway work to the legislative changes in our nation's capital that continue to shape the face of the industry. Visit www.precast.org weekly for the latest from Precast Solutions Weekly.

For the week of Feb. 28 - March 3, 2007

JW Brand A First for Midwest

Grand Rapids, Mich., edged out Detroit, Indianapolis, Columbus, Cincinnati, even Chicago for the latest JW Marriott bragging rights. The JW Grand Rapids, topped off Jan. 12, is the first luxury Marriott brand in the Midwest, and it’s living up to its high-class image. Two out of the three buildings in the complex are clad with architectural precast facades.

With a 24-story glass tower at its center, the JW complex stands along the Grand River, a historic thoroughfare running through downtown. The hotel’s attached low-rise structure housing the ballroom and convention center is clad with precast concrete panels. The adjacent 550-seat parking structure connected to the center by skywalk, is also precast.

The parking structure is faced with 35,000 square feet of precast panels. Of that sum, 25,000 square feet are architectural brick inlay while the other 10,000 square feet are an acid-edge or sand-blasted colored concrete product.

When the hotel opens, there will more than 400 panels for the parking structure, and the average cost per square foot will have totaled $47, a pricetag that includes erection.

Submit project proposals to Michael Cook for future Weekly postings.