After three years of preconstruction, Idaho Falls’ new 48,000-sq-ft event center bid out in February 2020 over budget. During value engineering, the pandemic hit, leading to a temporary pause. But the team continued the VE effort, developing more than 40 cost-saving options. The project bid out again in March 2021 and reached completion on time and at budget in December 2022.

With a previously undeveloped site consisting of basalt and lava rock, the team faced some difficulties bringing in utilities. The contractor created a 3D cross-section of the site that went down 18 ft to the deepest sewer line and reworked how the utilities were coming into the building, aiming for the most efficient installation with as little blasting as possible.

The center is comprised of tilt-up concrete panels. Since the second-floor concourse is part of the weight-bearing structure, it’s both tied into and reliant on the roof steel for support, so concrete for the second floor had to be placed before installing interior features and mechanical systems to ensure structural integrity. Using three cranes at a time, crews flew in concrete for the bowl and placed the roof structure’s steel trusses.