SouthPark Mall Expansion

The Westfield Group needed to expand their existing SouthPark Mall in Strongsville, Ohio to accommodate another 25 stores and a new movie theater. The 100,000-square-foot expansion would include a one-floor retail shopping area, a 50,000-square-foot Dick’s Sporting Goods and a state-of-the-art two-floor Cinemark Movie Theater with auditorium seating. With a strict schedule for opening day at one of the busiest shopping malls in the region, Independence Excavating would need to work quickly without interrupting the existing retail shopping center.

Working Around the Schedule and the Shoppers

Independence Excavating worked with the Westfield group and the general contractor to design and erect temporary covered walks, which would be moved according to the phasing of work. Diligent precautions were taken in regards to cleanliness and construction cleanup around the site and active mall and parking lot space. To expedite the tight schedule, Independence Excavating worked with the general contractor to identify critical items and perform the work out of sequence to allow other portions to be constructed on time.

Concrete Pouring

To create the 6-foot-diameter, 40-foot-high columns to support the new porte-cochere canopy, Independence Excavating created 40-foot-high forms to make column pours in a single lift. Creating the stadium seating needed for the theater would require a lightweight mix of concrete. Independence Excavating developed a lightweight concrete, which could be pumped over 300 feet through a 3-inch line. To save even more time, three out of 15 theaters were poured simultaneously, shaving three whole weeks off the compressed construction schedule.