Regency Garage Grease Interceptor Upgrades

Phoenix, AZ

• Owner:City of Phoenix
• Delivery Type:Job Order Contract
• Size:20,000 SF
• Completed:June 2010
• Budget:$175,000
• Architect:CH2M-Hill

The City of Phoenix, like many other cities throughout Arizona, has implemented a program for commercial businesses to help reduce the amount of fat, oil and grease (FOG) disposed of in the city's sewer system. In the case of The Matador Restaurant and Steve's Grill in downtown Phoenix, the existing grease interceptors were no longer able to keep up with the restaurants demand. The building that the restaurants occupy is owned by the City of Phoenix. The Regency Parking Garage is located directly above the restaurants. In collaboration with The City of Phoenix, The Matador Restaurant, Steve's Grill, the tenant leasing representatives and SDB Inc., the project details were discussed, value engineering recommendations were offered and a strategy was implemented to upgrade the two grease interceptors. The SDB team installed the grease interceptors utilizing the Job Order Contract (JOC) alternate delivery method. The initial scope of the project involved installing new grease interceptors to collect and remove the grease and prevent clogging of the sewer system. As the project advanced, several unforeseen conditions surfaced requiring quick problem solving skills and implementation of strategic project solutions by the SDB team.

Some of the challenges of the City of Phoenix Regency Garage Grease Interceptor project were its schedule, the intense complexity of the project, several unforeseen conditions and a limited window of time to complete the project. Because of the restaurants usage during the day, the project had to be completed during the evening hours after the restaurants closed. The SDB team created a 'clean room" temporary isolation wall system to keep the project contained and ensure County Health Department requirements were met at all times. After the SDB team finished work each morning, the project was covered and secured, so that during the normal business hours the construction project would not interrupt the daily flow of business. The details of the project added additional complexity to the scope and the project design needed to be one that allowed for rapid permitting and implementation, as well as staying within a tight budget. A strong, but not overly simple, project schedule was formed to help bring together a sequence of plan elements that resulted from the demolition and remodel of the project. Unforeseen conditions from an old abandoned foundation and the pre-cast interceptors presented unique challenges for the team, but were successfully overcome by essential construction management skills and strategic project solutions that were quickly applied to the project by the on site team, demonstrating their commitment to keeping the project on track. The grease interceptor installations were completed in 100 working days, on schedule, and within budget. This capital improvement project plays a big part in preventing possible environmental damage to Phoenix's sewer system, which will be appreciated for years to come.