The Hotel Below the Mountain
The iconic Jackson Town Square is a renowned destination for locals, tourists, and celebrities alike, including Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Harrison Ford, Sandra Bullock, and Brad Pitt. Accommodating the masses and A-list celebs in such a location isn't as easy as it would appear in a town that humbly houses 10,000+ residents as of 2017. More staggering are the 2.6 million visitors that cycle through the small town every year according to a Jackson Hole Fact Sheet. This number only increases every year, and entertaining more tourists - let alone more residents - has become a growing topic of conversation over the years by the Jackson Hole Planning Commission.
2017 marked another year of significance in the form of the Center Street Hotel. The proposed - and now adopted - project seeks to welcome more guests to the heart of Jackson by including 99 rooms, dining, retail shopping, housing for employees, a conference room, sky-bridge, and underground parking for that extra out-of-the-elements convenience. With a total distance of 0.7 miles from skiing at Snow King Mountain Resort - a whopping 4 minute drive or 15 minute walk - more visitors and 51 new employees can begin to enjoy the quaint town for the international destination it's best known.
Construction the town can rely on
Relying on companies to undertake such a project means trusting their ability to maintain the aesthetic and integrity of Jackson Hole. TRC Fabrication, LLC and Intermountain Erectors have become close contacts for work all throughout the town, including a majority of the steel erection and miscellaneous fabrication for Jackson Hole Resort in Teton Village. Now their work continues as the Center Street project begins to take shape, erecting the steel columns and securing horizontal beam supports that will house visitors and residents in years to come.
As of October 2019, the slated opening of Spring 2021 is on track as the decking of the first floor nears completion. However, with each phase of the project comes new obstacles and time constraints, dictating the flow of operations by juggling schedules of other contractors in concrete, piping, electrical, or other construction based functions.
The "Turn-Key" method
To keep things running smoothly, Intermountain Erectors, S2M Detailing, and TRC Fabricators all work under the same umbrella in their specializations, or a Turn Key method the town of Jackson has relied upon. Here's a breakdown of how it works:
S2M Detailing makes a blueprint utilizing state-of-the-art computer software called SDS/2 to create a 3D model of all the specifications and plans of the entire project.
This includes working directly with engineers, conceptualizing the project, knowing the weight of the steel, the type and size of welds it requires, dimensions of each column or beam, the bracing each requires, and locations of assorted structural needs like ductwork, wiring, piping, and networking that encompass the structure.
TRC Fabrication takes the plans and creates the "miscellaneous" portions of the steel project, which entails the welding, cutting, drilling, shearing, rolling, plate and pipe bending, punching, and plasma cutting at their shop located in Idaho Falls.
Intermountain Erectors, Inc. then coordinates between S2M, TRC, and the General Contractor (GC) to conduct the erection portion of the process at the project destination to install the components in their appropriate places.
Easy enough? Maybe not. Let's consider a different angle to better understand the Turn-Key method and why it's valued as highly in places like Jackson.
The hypothetical umbrella
Here's the hypothetical: the GC of the project has chosen to instead hire companies who don't work under the same umbrella. The steel erection company they've hired arrives with steel columns that aren't aligning with the original blueprints. What now?
Now the GC must become his or her own private investigator and contact the detailing company to see if their plans were correct. The detailing company says their plans are accurate, and to contact the fabricators because it must be their problem. The GC then contacts the fabricators and attempts to uncover any issues on their side of the process, all the while, laborers and workers at the current job site are at a stand-still until a solution arises.
If umbrella companies working under the Turn-Key method were hired, the GC could leave the intercommunication up to the umbrella to uncover any discrepancies in either the detailing, fabricating, or erection portion of the steel process. It's a conveyor belt procedure going from one step to the next which - historically - becomes far more efficient for intermingling companies and the GC to accomplish one cohesive goal. Consider it capitalism at its finest, becoming your own boss every step of the way - in this case, with steel.
Unfortunately, this method isn't as common across the nation. Contractors solicit the services of many companies which, in turn, may not communicate as effectively or execute a GC's goal under one united front. In Idaho, however, companies like these are dominating the steel industry and reinventing what it means to design, create, and erect infrastructure cohesively. An organizational structure like this has Jackson and surrounding areas flocking to businesses utilizing a Turn-Key philosophy. In a town that operates under demanding seasons and tourist time-restraints, getting the job done efficiently is where a dollar is best spent.
Times they are a changin'
As one of the most valuable assets in an ever-expanding world, real estate remains one of the most coveted bargaining chips in our back pocket. It's nearly impossible to simply make more room where there is none to be had. And for those who thrive away from it all, where is the line between too small, too large, and just right? This subjective battle may be less prevalent in some areas compared to others, but for Jackson, the discussion is always on the table.
The small-town western roots of Jackson aren't lost on the modernization of its surroundings and steel structures, mind you. If anything, the town has maintained its devotion to the adventurous outdoorsman and entrepreneurs by improving upon outdated construction methods and infrastructure. With conscientious city planners and councilmen to provide checks and balances of any future expansion, the work of steel companies like S2M Detailing, TRC Fabrication, and Intermountain Erectors will surely be at the forefront of tradesmen called upon to get the job done right.