THE PROJECT

Guarantee Electrical Company’s (Guarantee) Illinois Branch joined the team led by General Contractor, Altman Charter Company, in the construction of new, affordable senior housing in Swansea, Illinois.  Guarantee was engaged to supply electrical power, lighting, low voltage communications and fire-alarm systems on behalf of the Southwest Illinois Development Agency (SWIDA) and its private partner, St. Louis-based Bywater Development Group.  From the moment Guarantee commenced its services, the project proceeded at rapid pace, with completion in just twelve months, in spite of early delays due to weather. 

Completed in just 12 months, the $11 million, Metro Landing development represents an innovative, public-private development, combining the resources of a transit-oriented development plan focused on bringing convenient senior apartment living in close proximity to Swansea’s Metrolink Station.

The three story, 62-unit facility offers low and middle income seniors affordable, traditional one and two bedroom apartments as well as seven fully handicap-accessible units, six more designated as “fully adaptable” and two units specifically outfitted to serve the needs of sensory impaired individuals.

A key feature that streamlined construction is the collaborative approach to interdisciplinary project management including, introducing modularity into the building design, allowing for repeatability in outfitting and powering the units without sacrificing quality or appearing “mass produced.”

OUR APPROACH

For Guarantee Illinois, the Metro Landing project was essentially a turnkey plan & spec residential project.  However, Guarantee’s disciplined preconstruction approach fostered by internalized lean principles and a collaborative management were present throughout the implementation.

OUR WORK

Despite losing forty construction days to bad weather, the Metro Landing project was completed in just twelve months.  The aggressive schedule proved to be manageable because of the discipline and collaboration with the entire construction team, a lot of preconstruction planning, and diligent cost analysis keeping changes to a minimum. 

SUCCESS

Among the accomplishments was the allocation of some $225,500 in minority enterprise participation through equipment and material purchasing in lieu of difficult-to-source labor, all for a mere $12,300 in additional net costs. Overall, the project entailed 4,780 total hours, all without a lost time incident or injury. In terms of valuable community development, the Swansea region benefits from the addition of some 60-plus units of scarce, affordable senior housing. More importantly, Metro Landing of Swansea project has been awarded the 2019 Wyvetter H. Younge Award recognizing champions in affordable housing. The award was presented in late February at the 2019 Illinois Governor’s Conference on Affordable Housing, co-hosted by the Illinois Housing Council and IHDA.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Installed three separate meter stacks (600 A 208/120V) serving the individual units—each of which has its own PTAC unit; along with a more robust (1200A 208/120V) three phase stack serving the facility’s common spaces and grounds
• Provided 300 A generator docking station specified to provide for corridor lighting, elevators and fire-alarm
• Supplied cabling to support a local area network (LAN) along with CATV head-end equipment for building security, which encompass individualized access controls with intercom, key pads, card readers etc. along with the fire-alarm system