Bush Construction Elevates Redevelopment of Atlanta’s Historic Grant Building with OpenSpace

The Bush Construction team manages a wide range of commercial, industrial, government, educational, health care, office, multi-family, hospitality and historical restoration projects in the eastern Iowa and western Illinois, throughout the Midwest and in Georgia. Based in Davenport, IA, Bush Construction was founded to deliver a better overall commercial general construction process: one that integrates design, development, and construction services all under one roof, and one that is delivered by a team committed to their five core values. In so doing, their clients receive a better construction experience including cost and time savings.

The Challenge: Coordination and communication 700 miles apart

So when the team’s historic building redevelopment experts were asked to reimagine the Grant Building in downtown Atlanta, GA, they knew it was time to bring in OpenSpace. The project was complex: take one of the oldest steel structures in the Southeast United States and convert the 10-story building into 165 residential units with commercial and retail space on the lower levels – all while preserving its historical features and charm. Furthermore, it was located 700 miles away from Bush’s home office – making a collective, collaborative process more challenging. 

The Solution: Create a collaborative as-built record with OpenSpace 

Using OpenSpace Capture, Bush Construction fully documented the Grant Building quickly and easily. With this visual record, they stayed on top of progress from their offices and minimized risk by spotting discrepancies before they became a problem. Their OpenSpace data gave them the insights they needed to make quick, informed decisions, keep their clients informed, and the job moving forward.

The Results: Uplevelling Bush Construction’s coordination and communication

Reflecting on the Grant Building project, Colin Freese, Bush Project Manager noted, “Communication has hands down become more efficient with the addition of OpenSpace, especially with subcontractors. Now, instead of taking the time to coordinate and meet in person at the site, we can use OpenSpace project sequencing and captures to meet virtually on-demand.” Potential issues were addressed quickly before they had a chance to become major project disruptions, saving both time and money. 

The Bush Construction team was also able to share real-time progress updates with their owners and visually communicate necessary changes. Communication was significantly streamlined by noting changes in the 360° capture with the important project notes–all in one easy-to-use platform. A key value of Bush Construction is to be “humbly confident” which means they can communicate clearly and confidently the status of projects. Freese shared, “OpenSpace changed the game for the level of customer service we have been able to provide.” 

What’s Next: Using OpenSpace for precon in upcoming design-build project

Later this year Bush Construction plans to start on a new project, Iowa Mutual Lofts. For this project, they are both the designers and builders and plan to bring OpenSpace into preconstruction. By bringing it in earlier to the process, they plan to scan existing conditions and document conditions before construction starts. OpenSpace’s reality captures will also assist with the bidding process, allowing Bush to share project conditions with contractors who are bidding from out of town without the ability to see the site in person.

To keep up with these projects powered by OpenSpace, follow Bush Construction on Facebook or LinkedIn. 

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