All retailers wear a bullseye. Some more than others.
Brick-and-mortar retail is a tough business…and it’s getting tougher all the time, especially in the age of online retail giants. The brand experience is always on display—there’s no hiding behind a screen—and it starts the moment customers park their cars. So when a Target parking deck in Nashua, New Hampshire started to show its age, they called on Fabcon W2E to make it right.
Like all of New England, Nashua endures dramatic swings in weather extremes. From heavy snowfall and subzero temperatures to three-digit highs, there’s something for everyone. But over time, that wild variation can take a heavy toll on concrete; eventually, these freeze and thaw cycles will turn even small fissures into gaping cracks.
Even though the existing parking structure was completed in the mid-1990s by a different contractor, the project was a perfect fit for Fabcon W2E.
Even though the existing parking structure was completed in the mid-1990s by a different contractor, the project was a perfect fit for Fabcon W2E.
Time takes a toll on every structure. Decades of plowing snow up against spandrel panels had caused separation and misalignment; previous repairs, patches and caulking applications were aging; and double-T sections on the ceiling of the ramp were cracked and stained. The structure was not only aesthetically lacking, it was approaching dangerous.
Working with Walker Consultants, Fabcon W2E assessed the damage and determined a way forward. “Our client originally called in Walker Consultants to assess and give recommendations on the misaligned spandrels,” says W2E project foreman Jeff Merrill, “but the field inspection uncovered a long list of issues that needed to be addressed. Even to the untrained eye, the structure was in pretty rough shape.”
With the expertise and efficiency of W2E, our retailer was on the up and up.
To minimize the level of disruption, it was decided that work would begin just after the 2019 Holiday rush. Though winter conditions brought additional challenges to the process, the season was no match for Fabcon W2E—and all agreed that an aggressive approach to the repairs was necessary. Any additional freeze and thaw cycles would only make the situation worse.
With the expertise and efficiency of W2E, our retailer was on the up and up. In the course of just five business days, W2E removed snow and debris, prepped all the troublesome areas and performed all necessary repairs. In addition to addressing and resolving the aesthetic issues, W2E pulled panels back into alignment, installed plates, replaced caulking, epoxied cracks, and removed and replaced aging deck patches.
Fabcon W2E started bright and early on a Monday and by Friday afternoon we were done and gone… just in time for weekend shoppers to make their regularly scheduled run.