ARCO Construction Company recently completed a 551,200-square-foot warehouse and distribution facility for a national home appliance company in the greater St. Louis region. The project represents the area’s largest warehouse development and was completed within budget and one month ahead of schedule despite significant weather and site challenges.
Overcoming Challenging Site Conditions and Historic Weather
The project site presented several challenges, beginning with poor soil conditions that required the import of approximately 200,000 cubic yards of material. Additionally, persistent weather disruptions during earthwork posed a serious risk to the project schedule. During the first three months of construction, the team experienced more weather days than workable days, including historic rainfall throughout April that further complicated sitework and earthwork operations.
Rather than allowing weather and soil conditions to delay progress, ARCO coordinated closely with the geotechnical engineer and earthwork contractor to develop practical solutions that kept the site moving. ARCO imported aggregate fines in lieu of dirt to cap the top two feet of the building pad and the top one foot of pavement subgrade. This approach created a more weather-resistant working surface more quickly than conventional methods.
ARCO also implemented lime stabilization to dry and improve wet, poor soils, allowing site operations to continue through challenging conditions. Additionally, the team developed an alternative to a proposed surcharge approach for improving bearing capacities. By coordinating a solution using additional import material in lieu of surcharging, ARCO saved more than five weeks of schedule time and approximately $900,000 compared with the original approach.
Resolving a Critical Utility-Service Issue
During construction, the electrical utility company identified that its original design for building service was incorrect. The utility’s proposed correction would have delayed project completion by approximately one month.
ARCO evaluated the issue and proposed an alternative solution that required only one week to complete. By identifying a more efficient path forward and coordinating the work quickly, ARCO avoided a significant schedule impact and protected the owner’s delivery objectives.
Upgraded Scope Through Strategic Buyout Savings
In addition to addressing schedule and site challenges, ARCO aggressively pursued buyout opportunities that created meaningful value for the owner. The team generated approximately $1 million in buyout savings, allowing the owner to upgrade key project scopes without increasing the overall budget.
Owner upgrades included enhanced dock equipment packages, wall insulation, truck entrance paving, and wireless network coverage.
Results
Through collaborative problem-solving, practical site solutions, and strategic cost control, ARCO delivered one of the greater St. Louis region’s most significant warehouse developments ahead of schedule and within the owner’s original budget.
The 551,200-square-foot facility demonstrates how early coordination, field-driven innovation and strategic buyout management can help owners maintain momentum and maximize value under challenging conditions.
ABOUT ARCO
ARCO is a nationally recognized design-build contractor with deep expertise in value engineering, site development, and civil design optimization. By pairing in-house design capabilities with a data-driven approach, ARCO helps owners uncover meaningful cost and schedule savings. Through early collaboration and disciplined execution, ARCO delivers cost certainty and long-term value on every project, regardless of site complexity.
