Complex site logistics defined the construction of this world-class mixed-use high-rise in urban Atlanta, starting with the finicky demolition of an existing structure.

“Midtown Union’s construction literally started off with a bang,” says Heath Wilson, senior project manager with Brasfield & Gorrie.

The existing building was just 5 ft from a day care center and 35 ft from a transit tunnel, he explains, leaving implosion as the best option and leaving Brasfield & Gorrie to coordinate closely with neighbors and authorities to safely and successfully demolish the building. That kicked off the simultaneous construction of three towers: a 26-story office tower, a 26-story residential tower and a 14-story hotel tower, all on one city block.

The mix of office tower, residential building and hotel features a unitized curtain wall system composed of German glass shipped first to facilities in Baltimore and Orlando for assembly before being sent to the jobsite for installation.

Four tower cranes and one mobile crawler crane on site meant overlapping crane paths that the project team navigated via anti-collision devices to prevent tower cranes from hitting each other. The system was so successful it has now been implemented companywide, Wilson says.

Photo by Katie Bricker

Overhead work activities presented a significant safety challenge, he adds, noting that the day care center was protected during construction via a steel and concrete structure removed after the project completed. For laying the brick skin of the residential tower, the project team changed the sequence of work so the structure was complete before mast climbers were installed to set the brick, meaning installers weren’t working underneath ongoing structural work. Six-foot fencing panels around the base of the mast climbers prevented other workers from being exposed to brick laying operations, another aspect of the project that was so successful Brasfield & Gorrie now uses it companywide.

All of this added up to a project completed below budget and ahead of schedule in August 2023, with a 0.51 OSHA recordable incident rate and zero lost-time accidents after nearly 386,500 worker hours.

Photo by Katie Bricker

The project, which began work in November 2019, also had to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, which added headaches in obtaining code-required inspections during shutdown and reopening. Most construction materials were prepurchased and stored on site, and Brasfield & Gorrie worked with the design team to expedite and condense submittal reviews so all materials could be released.

Extensive schedule coordination was essential as all three towers as well as ground-level site components and outside amenities had to be delivered at the same time, requiring detailed scheduling from the team as well as a full-time scheduler dedicated to the project. Biweekly meetings ensured that everyone stayed on the same page, paving the way for the overall success of the project.

“The Midtown Union project was more than just the construction of buildings made of concrete, steel and glass,” says Wilson. “It was about the construction of a team ... and forging lasting relationships. We were honored to work with an amazing ownership group, design team and multiple trade partners.”