PRECAST CONCRETE ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK, INC. April 2006 Volume 17, No. 4

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Focus of this Issue: Parking Structures

The Fordham University Parking Facility is a five levelstructure (plus roof) of approximately 477,000 square feet for1,548 cars. The structure is situated in the southeast corner ofFordham’s 79 acre Rose Hill Campus in the Bronx, and willaccommodate Fordham’s current and future parking needs. Inaddition to the facility’s 1,374 long term parking spaces for stu-dents, staff and visitors, it will have 172 short-term parkingspaces available to the public via a separate entrance/exit.

The contractor, Jeffrey M. Brown Associates Inc. teamedup with Unistress Corporation early on in the process to se-cure the project. Working as a team they addressed all the de-sign requirements, providing many unique precast solutions

INTERPRETIVE COLLEGIATE GOTHIC FOR FORDHAM UNIVERSITY’S NEW GARAGE

(continued on page 2)

Rendering of Fordham University’s New Parking Structure (All Parking Garages Don’t Have to Look Like Parking Garages).

and value engineering. The garage is designed by DesmanAssociates, and the façade by Einhorn Yaffee & Prescott.

Building a parking structure of this size in an urban settingsuch as the Bronx, NY requires a lot of planning and coordina-tion. There are 1280 pieces to ship and erect, a very tight siteand college students looking to park anywhere possible.Erection started on 11-25-05 and will be completed by April 1,2006.

Fordham’s new garage takes shape.

Fordham’s new garage nearly complete.

PRECAST CONCRETE ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK April 2006 MONTHLY NEWSLETTER Page 3

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The entire Parking Structure will be capped with a roof structure that is cur-rently planned to be utilized for passive recreation. This roof will cover thegarage ensuring that all parking spaces will be protected from the elements andeliminate the need for the plowing of snow from the parking levels.

The parking structure will be connected to the main campus pedestrian circu-lation via a proposed foot bridge tying into the existing O’Hare Hall plaza.

The structure will be structural precast concrete construction with stone, alu-minum and glass curtain wall and stainless steel metal screening facades toblend into the existing campus vernacular. The signature stone piers and metalfencing will be carried around Southern Boulevard and East Fordham Road,completing the perimeter of the campus. The precast parking garage will bewrapped in an interpretive Collegiate Gothic skin of ashlar stone, precast ap-pointments, slate gray metal tracery, grillage, and fabric mesh. Glazed stair tow-ers and stone vertical piers accentuate the vertical while echoing the strengthand elegance of the Gothic vocabulary which is so much a part of the FordhamUniversity campus. The vehicular entrances are articulated with flat archedopenings of Architectural precast to emulate the portal of the recently completedadjacent Millennium Hall. The parking garage will be connected to theResidence Hall plaza by a flat arched precast bridge skinned with ashlar stone.

This article and photos submitted by Mark J. DiPietro, NY/NJ Sales Manager,Unistress Corporation; Tom Basile, Desman Associates, supplied the architec-tural information.

FORDHAM UNIVERSITY’S NEW GARAGE (cont.)

Architects rendering clearly shows the multitudeof architectural finishes that will enhance thisgarage.

The New York State Office of General Services currentlyoperates over 5,100 parking spaces in two Empire Plazagarages, plus 12 more remote outdoor permit parking lots withshuttle bus service available to State employees working inthe downtown Albany area, and almost all have waiting lists.There is little doubt that the 1380 additional spaces becomingavailable in OGS’s newest parking structure, running betweenElk Street and Sheridan Avenue in downtown Albany, will alsobe fully utilized.

The design team for this project, architect DesmanAssociates, engineer Clough Harbour & Associates, TurnerConstruction Company, and precaster William E. Dailey, LLC,

had a significant garage traffic flow and structural shape prob-lem to overcome because of the steeply sloping site with anold functioning utility tunnel running almost directly down themiddle. This called for some 40’ high cast-in-place retainingwalls to hold the hillside, and resulted in a structure that is twoframed levels at the high side and 8 levels at the opposite end.

The structure was typically framed with 12 foot wide pre-topped double tees, except for a small section on the secondlevel, which received a membrane waterproofing layer andfield cast topping over an office and maintenance area. Therewas no waterproofing material applications, but the flat sur-faces (DT, IT, stair risers and landings) have a corrosion in-

PRIVATE PARKING FOR OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES

Sloping floors lines are barely noticeable in a structure of this magnitude. Textured spandrel being erected on level 7; note behind the stair elementshow the building frames into the steep hillside.

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PRECAST CONCRETE ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK April 2006 MONTHLY NEWSLETTER Page 4

hibitor integral with the design mix, and all double tees get aCIP wash for directing water. The 12’ tee width led to a natu-ral 36’ column spacing. Columns are two piece, varying inlength from 32’ to 45’, with about 42’ typical. They are splicedwith NMB connectors.

The exposed load supporting spandrel beams feature de-tailed areas of 1” deep ribbed concrete, formed with machinedsteel reveal bars bonded to the casting bed. The spandrelshad a dual sandblast texture – light overall with a heavy (al-most exposed aggregate) sandblast to a recessed areaabove the reveals. A mockup panel was fabricated to workwith the architect to achieve the desired panel look and tex-ture. Spandrels were positioned end-to-end in the precastyard during sandblasting to assure a uniform texture frompanel to panel.

The garage is 4 bays wide with outside bays ramping upfrom north to south while the two inside bays ramp up fromsouth to north (the garage spirals between the inner and outerbays). Entry/exit points at opposite ends of the garage occurat the seventh level and the ground level because of the slop-ing site, actually enhancing interior traffic flow patterns.

Another interesting feature is at level 7 at the east side“high end”. There will be a glass enclosed walkway runningfrom the south entrance at street level to the elevator towerseveral bays away. The walkway is formed by cantileveringthe floor tees at that level 7 feet beyond the building. In thisarea, the spandrels are also supported by the double tees,which in turn are supported by beams at the column lines.

Wm. E. Dailey cast and delivered 1229 pieces (tees, span-drels, columns, lite walls, cross beams, shaft walls, slabs, andstair units) for this 1380 car parking structure; multiple instal-lation phases ran from mid-October through March. It is note-worthy that Desman Associates were the designers of bothparking structures featured in this newsletter; it is even morerewarding to add that Frank Coletti of Desman Associates, afirm specializing in parking structures, said that probably 99%of their work involves precast concrete structures. Thanksalso to Jim Altland, Wm. E. Dailey, for supplying the basicfacts and photos for this article.

PCANY Septic TankGroup Meeting of March 21

A large group of county and state health officials, guests,precasters, engineers and suppliers met in Newburgh, NY forlunch plus a meeting with a busy agenda. Candace Balmergave a presentation on the OTN’s goal and mission, and re-minded us of future scheduled training courses. Ed VanNostrand and Mike DeRuzzio, Columbia County Health Dept,Robert D. Smith Jr. and Mark Anderson, NYS DOS CodesDiv, and and Marie Brule, Dutchess County Health Dept, allgave brief comments on their responsibilities and activities.Andy Reid, Euclid Chemical Company and Dan Biddle, FortaCorporation, both gave informative presentations on the useof new structural fibers in precast products. Complete notes ofthe meeting are available in the Members Section of thePCANY Website.

PRIVATE PARKING FOR OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES (cont.)

Slopes, ramps, tees, columns, lite walls, stairs – all clearly visible as theOGS Parking Structure comes together in Albany.

Interior lightwalls are connected vertically with 8-#8 bars between eachopening and 10-#11 bars at each end.

Cast in place walls at different elevations hold back the hillside, and com-plicate interior traffic flow.

PRECAST CONCRETE ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK April 2006 MONTHLY NEWSLETTER Page 4

Precast Concrete Association of New York, Inc.2829 East AvenueRochester, NY 14610Tel: 585-249-9564 • Fax: 585-381-0945Email: pcany@aol.com • Web: www.pcany.org

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Producer Member Companies:AFCO Precast, Middle Island, NYA & R Conc Specialties, New Windsor, NYBayshore Conc Prod, Cape Charles, VABinghamton Precast, Binghamton, NYCarrara & Sons, Middlebury, VTCoastal Pipeline Products, Calverton, NYConcrete Building Supply, Plattsburgh, NYWilliam E. Dailey, Shaftsbury, VTThe Fort Miller Co, Schuylerville, NYHanson Pipe and Products, Pottstown, PAJefferson Concrete, Watertown, NYKistner Conc Products, East Pembroke, NYNewcrete Products, Parsippany, NJ Oldcastle Precast, South Bethlehem, NYRoman Stone Const Co, Bay Shore, NYRotondo Precast, Avon, CTSchuylkill Products, Cresona, PASunnycrest Inc. Auburn, NYUnistress Corp., Pittsfield, MALC Whitford Co., Wellsville, NYAssociate Member Companies:A-Lok Products, Tullytown, PAAmcrete Products, Newburgh, NYConcrete Sealants, Royersford, PACresset Chemical Co, Weston, OH Dayton Richmond Corp, Collinsville, CTdegussa.Construction Chemicals, Cleveland, OH Eastern States Steel, Upper Saddle Riv, NJ Engineered Wire Products, Upper Sandusky, OH Euclid Chemical Co, Saratoga Springs, NYWR Grace, Old Chatham, NYH & H Hulls, Hudson, NYHelser Industries, Tualatin, OR Henry Company, Houston, TXMeadow Burke, Merrimack, NHMixer Systems, Pewaukee, WINortheast Solite Corp., Saugerties, NY

O W Hubbell & Sons, New York Mills, NYPolylok, Yalesville, CTPress Seal Gasket Corp, Boxford, MAJepco Sales, Royersford, PAJVI Inc, Pittsfield, MANPC Inc, Milford, NH A L Patterson, Fallsington, PARebar Systems, Cotuit, MASika Corporation, Fairless Hills, PASpillman Company, Columbus, OH Splice Sleeve N A, Bonita Springs, FLStelcrete Industries, Niagara Falls, OntarioStephenson Equipment, East Syracuse, NYSyracuse Castings Sales Corp, Cicero, NYTUF-TITE, Lake Zurich, ILUSF Fabrication, Durham, CTE-Z Set, Haymarket, VASeptic Tank Producer Companies:Burnett Concrete Products, Wolcott, NYButts Concrete Products, Masonville, NYEastern Precast Co, Brookfield, CTGrimm Build Materials, Green Island, NYGuardian Block, Schenectady, NYKeeler Vault, Hudson, NYOneonta Block, Oneonta, NYR Deso, Inc Champlain, NYWoodard’s Concrete Products, Bullville, NYZeiser Wilbert Vault, Elmira, NYProfessional Member Firms:Abate Engineers, Buffalo, NYAdvance Testing, Stockbridge, MABarton & Loguidice, Syracuse, NYBay Saver, Mount Airy, MD A.S. Bell Engineering, Slingerlands, NYBergmann Associates, Rochester, NYA L Blades, Hornell, NYC & S Engineers, Inc., Syracuse, NYClough Harbour & Assoc, Albany, NY

Con/Span Bridge Systems, Dayton, OH Delta Engineers, Binghamton, NYDiDonato Associates, Buffalo, NYErdman Anthony, Rochester, NYFinley Engineering Group, Tallahassee, FLFRA Engineering, Henrietta, NYGreenman-Pederson Inc, Albany, NYGreenman-Pederson Inc, Buffalo, NYHunt Engineers & Architects, Corning, NYLaBella Associates PC, Rochester, NYLamont Engineers, Cobleskill, NYLEAP Associates, Tampa, FLMaser Consulting, West Nyack, NYMcFarland-Johnson, Inc., Binghamton, NYNussbaumer & Clarke, Buffalo, NYO'Neil Consulting, Spring Lake, NJ Popli Consulting Engineers, Penfield, NYQCQA Labs, Schenectady, NYRyan-Biggs Associates, Troy, NYA H Sample Engineers, Ottsville, PAR Samsel Engineers, Henrietta, NYChas H Sells, Briarcliff Manor, NYShumaker Consulting Engineers, Binghamton, NYSimpson Gumpertz & Heger, Waltham, MASpectra Engineering, Latham, NYStromecki Engineers, PC, East Aurora, NYTVGA Consultants, Elma, NYWatts Engineering & Architecture, Williamsville, NYWilbur Smith Associates, Latham, NYOfficers, Directors and Staff:President: Scott Harrigan, The Fort Miller CoVice-President: Rick Martel, Unistress Corp Secretary: Tom Montalbine, Roman Stone Constr. Treasurer: David Wan, Oldcastle Precast Assoc Dir: Ed Pennypacker, Concrete Sealants Prof Director: Ron Thornton, Delta Engineers Imm Past Pres: Jay Abbey, Binghamton Precast Executive Director: Carl Buchman

Calendar of Coming EventsABCD 2005 Bridge Design Award, for outstanding new or rehabilitated single or multi-span structure opened to traffic in

calendar year 2005 – submittal deadline is Friday, April 14 to Stan Blas, SJB Services

2006 Concrete Bridge Conference – HPC: Build Fast, Build to Last, May 7 -10, The Nugget, Reno, NV

ACI Certification Program, May 11 & 12, Hudson Valley Community College, Troy

PCANY WebsiteAll PCANY members now have access to the Members Only Page, where varied reports, communications, meeting notes,

etc will be posted. There is also a new category listing, Complimentary One Year Membership, which will be given to every attendee at a PCANY seminar or workshop; or it may be requested simply by visiting www.pcany.org.