PROJECT OF THE YEAR
CATEGORY I, ERECTION CONTRACT UPTO $500,000
FIRSTPRESBYTERIAN CHURCH ADDITION, FORTWORTH,TX Basden Steel In 1873, the Fir,, Prcsbytcr;an Church of fort Worth consisted of five to 10 memhcrs who gad1('rcd in a room ovct Knight's Livery Stable al Third and Calhoun. The church huilt a dedicated .'itrm:turc on Jone::,;Slrt:t'l iJ.1 1877 and moved to Fifth and Taylor Street in 1916. In 1956, the Hrst f>rcsbytcrian Church rdocatc:d lO 1000 Pc·nn Street, • site ato1>the Tl'inity River l>lurfa. In 2006, in its 133rd year, the Fina Presbyterian Church of Fort Worth was becoming inc.·r,i:.a:,;ingly challenged to accomn-'lodatc a steadily growing t'.Ongrcgation and n1on.· div(.·rsc n<.·t..·ds. A:-. p,U'l of the master plan for tho Futun:, tlw c.:hun.;hoptt.--dto c.:reatean addition that \.vould <.·xp3ndlht': ca1npu~1 capacity to ~(·rvc its c.:ongr('galion. Tlahni,:ld l lofr,•r St,,nfonl of fort Worth designed a 60,000 ~(1ua1·e-footaddition that v,ras to Lu:~n1bcdtk•<Ibet W('<'1) hvo cxisling portions or the fo<.:ility.Constructing the addition involvt·d ~on'l<:'de-molition of the (·xisting structure and extensive- surv<•ying to obtain ae<:ur,\k dim<..·nsion:-., sil''l<·ethe original dnnvinos<> w<'r<· ,,ot :wailablt"'. ~ The site, b ...·c-aos<:'of' th(• stc-eply sloping terrain and n:irl'ow corridor between th<' twc'\ <'Xisting sections, pr('s<nt<"da number of logistical chal.lcngcs. Nature provided an
14 I THESEAA CONNECTOR 2008 EDITION
additional, uncxp<'ctcd hurdle: J(>r Basden Lo ovcn.:ornc. According to Andn ..• Choink·n.·, proj~~<·tmanager for Basden St<:el,aEighty-onc da)'S of unu:-ually wt.::Lweather <luring d1t project frequently !loo,lc<I th,· j<>hsit~ and trnnsfol'mccl the hillsi,k into a quagmire of slipptry, km·,, dcq> mud. It "'"' challenging to maintain momentum on the proj~:<·theC'.)U~t" of the interruptions <·aus<·dby tl1ewet conditions.n H was nol possiblP for material to be stored on sit<,_· during c-om:truction, so multiple trips were mad<' to bring th" mat<>• Production and ship111<.·nl rial to die fid<l a:; j\ wa:; 1l('t"'<k•d. lra.ddng W(l~ :i critical asp<·ct of th<.·project.
