Swinerton Finishes New Parking Structure at ilani Casino and Resort

Swinerton’s new parking structure at ilani Casino and Resort celebrated a successful completion in late last year. Located in Ridgefield, WA—roughly 25 miles north of Portland, OR—it is one of many projects our joint team has completed at ilani for the Cowlitz Tribe. The six-story, 986,000-square-foot parking structure was a design-build venture including the Portland and Seattle offices, SAK Builders, as well as preconstruction and support from our Parking Structure group in Southern California. It was designed by our Perq partner, Walker Consultants.

During the 13-month construction schedule, Swinerton provided deep foundations, post-tensioned concrete work, custom stone finishes, parking guidance systems, low-voltage/security, audio, and EV charging. The team also completed a new parking lot and a half mile of widening and roadway improvements leading to the parking structure. SAK Builders performed the structural concrete work on this post-tensioned structure, which is equal in size to almost four typical parking garages. Over 31,000 cubic yards of concrete, 1,500 tons of rebar, and 978,000 square feet of slab was placed from September 2019 to its topping out in August 2020.

The true success of the project came from the commitment of Swinerton and SAK teams to not only anticipate, but also accommodate changes from the owner. This ranged from creating a code-compliant design (and changes to formwork) for high-volume events on the sixth floor, to adding a full sprinkler system to the garage five months in. To overcome these challenges, our project team got creative on contingency plans to allow for added scope. We communicated early and often with ownership, ensuring they understood the opportunities and tradeoffs of each decision. This reinforced their trust in Swinerton as their preferred builder, often giving us the green light ahead of the communicated “drop dead date.”

Throughout the pandemic, Swinerton and our subcontractors had to take on the same measures as other Swinerton projects. However, the unique thing about the project was the proactive approach to procurement to maintain the schedule. We worked with ilani operations for as much laydown that was needed for early procurement from each supplier. Subcontractors also responded well to the owner’s willingness for early procurement and full reimbursement for stored materials.

“SAK recognizes the qualities of a partnership with Swinerton divisions and is looking forward to winning and completing many more projects together as this has been a truly rewarding experience,” said Taylor Metsker, SAK Builders Project Manager. “The ilani Parking Garage confirmed what One Swinerton can produce a successful project for our client and a big win for the company as a whole!”