PROPEL PARK, PHASE 1
new orleans
BEST PROJECT
Sent by: RNGD, a Palmisano company
OWNER Industrial Realty Group
LEADING DESIGN COMPANY Real estate advisors IRG
GENERAL CONTRACTOR RNGD
CIVIL ENGINEERING Duplantis Design Group
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING Morphy Makofsky Inc.
MEP ENGINEERING Engineers Moises
Located on the campus of NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, this is the first industrial development in the city of New Orleans in more than 20 years. The first phase of this $31.6 million 50-acre industrial park includes a 265,000 square meter Class A warehouse with 1,200 square meters of office space.
Midway through the design and pre-construction phase, the building secured its first tenant: Textron Systems, a defense and space manufacturer. After making modest modifications to the original design to accommodate the new tenant, the design and construction team completed the building core and shell, as well as tenant construction in December 2023. It is expected that phase 2 of Propel Park ahead in 2024.
The site’s remote location, disconnected from a main road and adjacent to an industrial canal, presented numerous challenges. A comprehensive logistics plan for the site included the creation of a bypass road around the site, providing efficient 360-degree access for material transport equipment to the project. Meanwhile, a sequencing plan guided the steel installation, with crews starting from the center of the structure and working their way outward. Ninety-five cast-in-place concrete wall panels were placed on site.
Photo courtesy of RNGD
With work progressing at the NASA complex, the team worked closely with the agency to develop safety processes and procedures for all workers on site. Instead of requiring all workers to secure a federal security clearance, the team erected a cordoned-off area within the site. To establish a consistent cadence for specific placements, RNGD developed a weekly sequencing program to track business partners and crew members.
Since the project is on federal property and is not under the jurisdiction of the City of New Orleans or Orleans Parish, the project team established an entirely new process and scope of responsibilities for the parish , the city, the state fire marshal and Entergy to bring additional energy to the building and its future tenants. Through effective advance planning and coordination with NASA and all commercial partners, the construction team accelerated the original schedule by two months, completing the project in just 11 months.
