Landscape Architect Articles

Plan B Rescues Project10-14-08 | News

Plan B Rescues Project

The 20-ft. tall, flexible segmental VERSA-LOK Mosaic retaining wall stretches the length of the Monta?????o de El Dorado development. The Mojave colored and ?EUR??,,????'??weathered?EUR??,,????'?? wall is stepped and tiered with inset plantings. A random wall pattern adds interest. Atop the wall are freestanding columns adorned with ornamental caps for further visual interest.

It never hurts to have a backup plan, or what is sometimes called Plan B.

Sacramento Commercial Properties Inc. of Folsom, Calif. was developing the Monta?????o de El Dorado retail/restaurant complex in El Dorado Hills near Sacramento. The site topography called for a substantial retaining wall to allow for construction above and behind it to proceed.

The original plan was for a 20-ft. tall, 900-ft. long cast-in-place concrete wall with a stucco finish. However, as the price tag of the wall approached $1.5 million, it threatened to sink the project.

The engineer on the project contacted McNear Brick & Block of San Rafael for an alternative solution.

?EUR??,,????'??The property went up very steep from the road elevation,?EUR??,,????'?? explains Steve Osborne, engineering specialist with McNear. ?EUR??,,????'??The main piece of the property was almost 20 feet above the roadway, so from an engineering and cost standpoint it made sense to build a wall and construct the buildings on top of the property instead of excavating the property down to the road elevation.?EUR??,,????'??

Osborne organized a meeting with the developer, architect and engineer and proposed a total redesign of the wall using VERSA-LOK Mosaic segmental retaining walls accented with columns, decorative lighting and wrought iron fencing.

?EUR??,,????'??I sent the plans off to VERSA-LOK immediately and had them do a preliminary engineering take-off. They turned it around in less than a week,?EUR??,,????'?? says Osborne. ?EUR??,,????'??I sent it out for bid to wall contractors, and it saved about $1 million on the walls. The developer said, ?EUR??,,????'??Okay, the project is back on.?EUR??,,????'??? The developer is thrilled to death. He ended up with a much higher-end look than a cast-in-place stucco-finish wall.?EUR??,,????'??

Vinal Perkins, partner with Sacramento Commercial Properties, concurs.
?EUR??,,????'??They did an incredible job of coming together quickly to put together an alternative plan to build the wall we needed for this shopping and business center. They not only saved us hundreds of thousands of dollars, they saved the job altogether.?EUR??,,????'??

Matthew Doss of Retaining Walls Co. in Tracy, Calif. was the project contractor. ?EUR??,,????'??This site presented several challenges, needing nearly 20 feet of retention on a highly visible street corner.?EUR??,,????'?? Doss said the critical components were form and function.

?EUR??,,????'??We delivered a functionally superior retaining wall by using a flexible segmental wall with an aesthetic look.?EUR??,,????'??

About 20,000 square feet of ?EUR??,,????'??weathered?EUR??,,????'?? VERSA-LOK Mosaic in a Mojave color were used in the construction of the mammoth wall, which stretches the length of the development along Latrobe Road and White Rock Road. Stepped and tiered sections with inset plantings, along with the Mosaic system?EUR??,,????'???s random pattern, break up the wall face. Atop the wall, freestanding columns adorned with ornamental caps provide additional visual interest.

?EUR??,,????'??The wall really captures the old world look we were going for,?EUR??,,????'?? said Perkins. ?EUR??,,????'??I?EUR??,,????'???m really impressed with how straight and well-engineered the structure is. It is much better than I envisioned the original concrete wall to be.?EUR??,,????'??