ARCTIC GLACIER

Arctic Glacier needed full renovation of an existing 14,000 square foot area within their nearly 100-year-old ice production facility. Years of drastic temperature changes had weakened the wood framed structure at the center of this huge facility. The Mitchell Design Build team functionally removed the entire middle of the facility and replaced it with a new steel structure, while maintaining the integrity of the adjoining structures.

Arctic Glacier, a leading manufacturer of premium packaged ice products, invited Mitchell Design Build to respond to an RFP for design-build services to renovate the main packaging area of their existing facility. The RFP document included a rough building layout, which was to be the basis of the proposal. Our true Integrated Design Build process helped us uncover a better solution for this project. With both architectural and construction expertise under one roof, we were able to identify key issues in the proposed layout, develop an alternative schematic design, and provide early budget guidance. Our Integrated Design Build process won our firm the project.

The project consisted of demolishing an 80+ year old wooden portion of the building which was surrounded on three sides by existing portions of the building which would remain in place.  To make things more difficult from both a design and constructability standpoint, the entire structure also had a full basement below it which is kept at freezer temperatures.  The demolished area, which is the only packaging area for the facility, could only be shut down for the winter months which added a hard deadline to the project.  The production area was completely torn down and rebuilt as a state-of-the-art metal building with insulated metal panels in the walls and roof.

An adjacent freezer space was also renovated to house an additional piece of equipment for the ice making process.  The new equipment was extremely heavy, which resulted in the need for major reinforcing of the floor and in the basement below.

Lastly, a roof top penthouse addition, two stories above grade, was completed to house a new ice maker. The penthouse required demolition of an existing penthouse wall. A new steel superstructure was installed over the existing roof and then the new penthouse building was erected.

The design build process allowed very tight timing/scheduling for the project as we also coordinated much of the process equipment and installation.

The project was completed on time and the factory started making ice again in the very early parts of the spring the following year.