FEATURED PROJECT- May, 2007
JOB NAME: Duluth Sheraton Hotel and 311 Condominiums, Duluth, MN
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Oscar J. Boldt Construction, Cloquet, MN
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Construction Project Details
Project Type: 11 Story Combination Hotel and High-Rise Condominium Tower
Start Date: December 2005 Est. Completion Date: June 2007
Current Project Status: 85 % Complete
Safety Record: 488 Days without a lost time accident (as of April 23, 2007)
# of Union Laborers on Project (all subs included): 25 Union Skilled Construction Craft Laborers as part of over 150 Union Craftspeople total.
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A project with a view: The 33 condo owners on floors 7 thru 11 will have a spectacular view of Lake Superior, Duluth’s lake walk and Canal Park. But for now the construction workers are privileged to have this view.
Uniqueness of the project: This is the first development of its type in Duluth combining a 147-room hotel on the first 6 floors and condos on the top 5 floors. The hotel connects by skywalk to the recently constructed Medical District Parking Ramp (Also built by Boldt Construction) and St. Mary’s Medical Center.
Overcoming obstacles: Working on a tight project site presents the usual challenges for safety, logistics and productivity. With careful planning and coordination, these issues have been addressed and the construction schedule has been maintained. The combination of hotel and condos also presents a unique challenge as they are like running two separate jobs—one right on top of the other.
Owner-Contractor relationship: Boldt Construction has a number of procedures in place to communicate project issues with the owner, architect, hotel operator and subcontracted condo architect. Included are: project website for posting meeting minutes; Request For Information reports; job progress photos; priority action items and safety updates. Using a project web-site ensures timely communication and allows for quick decisions.
How the skilled union craftspeople have impacted the project: The skilled craftspeople have provided tremendous value to this project: quality of work; ability to work in congested areas and flexibility in working on a tight schedule.