Precast Solutions - July/August 2008 - (Page 10)

ABOVE GROUND A WINNING HAND PRECAST CONCRETE IS A SAFE BET FOR BY BRIDGET MCCREA PROJECT PROFILE Project: Turtle Creek Hotel, Traverse City, Mich. Project Description: Hotel/casino that incorporates a patented precast truss system Owner: Grand Traverse Resort & Casinos (owned and operated by the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians) Engineer: Ericksen Roed & Associates, St. Paul, Minn. Precaster: Kerkstra Precast, Grandville, Mich. MICHIGAN CASINO DEVELOPERS. PHOTOS COURTESY KERKSTRA PRECAST W hen the words “casino gambling” come to mind, they likely bring up images of Las Vegas and Atlantic City. But a closer look at the northern part of the country turns up a thriving gambling industry in Michigan, where the Great Lakes State boasts nearly 30 casinos scattered throughout the state and located on Native American tribal land. Providing entertainment, jobs and revenue, the industry is in expansion mode with new facilities being planned, built and opened on a regular basis. One recent addition is a 120-room resort being built on the site of the existing Turtle Creek Casino in Williamsburg, a town situated near Traverse City. There, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (owner of the Grand Traverse Resort and Casinos) is building an $80 million, 347,000-square-foot facility that features a patented precast concrete truss system, among other major precast pieces (see sidebar “Structurally Sound”). The project will include a 64,000-square-foot gaming floor, along with hotel rooms, restaurants, shops, concert/entertainment venues, a parking garage, and living and office space. LET THE GAMES BEGIN In the gaming business since 1984, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians also owns and operates Leelanau Sands Casino in Peshawbestown, the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa, one hotel, several restaurants, a conference center and a convenience store. The architectural firm Walsh Bishop in Minneapolis designed the tribe’s new casino resort, which is being built by PCL Construction Services Inc. of Burnsville, Minn. Set to open for business in June 2008, the new resort replaces the current Turtle Creek Casino (which stayed open for business during the construction phase that started with groundbreaking in mid-2006). Part of that construction involved the patented precast concrete truss system manufactured by Kerkstra Precast of Grandville, Mich. The project’s original design specified a cast-in-place concrete structure, but upon further examination of steel 10 PRECAST SOLUTIONS | JULY/AUGUST 2008

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Precast Solutions - July/August 2008 Contents What You Should Know About UHPC A Winning Hand Fresno Federal Expanding U.S. Wind Power Precast Concrete Pipe

Precast Solutions - July/August 2008

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