Located on the campus of NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, this is the first industrial development in the city of New Orleans in more than 20 years. The $31.6-million first phase of this 50-acre industrial park features a 265,000-sq-ft Class A warehouse with 1,200 sq ft of office space.

Midway through the design and preconstruction phase, the building secured its first tenant: Textron Systems, a defense and space manufacturer. After making modest modifications to the original design to accommodate the new tenant, the design and construction team completed the building core and shell as well as the tenant build-out in December 2023. Phase 2 of Propel Park is expected to move forward in 2024.

The site’s remote location, disconnected from a main road and adjacent to an industrial canal, presented numerous challenges. A comprehensive site logistics plan included the creation of a ring road around the site, providing efficient 360-degree access for equipment transporting materials to the project. Meanwhile, a sequencing plan guided steel installation, with crews starting from the middle of the structure and progressing outward. Ninety-five tilt-up concrete wall panels were cast on site.

Photo courtesy RNGD

With work progressing at the NASA complex, the team collaborated closely with the agency to develop security processes and procedures for all onsite workers. Rather than requiring all workers to secure a federal security clearance, the team erected a fenced area within the site. To establish a consistent cadence for the concrete placements, RNGD developed a weekly sequencing schedule for trade partners and crew members to follow.

Since the project is located on federal property and isn’t in the jurisdiction of the city of New Orleans or Orleans Parish, the project team established an entirely new process and scope of responsibilities for the parish, the city, the state fire marshal’s office and Entergy to bring additional power to the building and its future tenants. Through effective preplanning and coordination with NASA and all trade partners, the construction team accelerated the original schedule by two months, completing the project in just 11 months.