Project of the Month: Integrated Builders completes 715,000 s/f distribution center for The Home Depot

Tewksbury, MA Integrated Builders, celebrating its 30^th year as the general contractor of choice for New England’s leading companies and institutions, recently completed a state-of-the-art 715,000 s/f distribution center for The Home Depot.

This new facility, a single-story, ground-up industrial building built on a 120-acre parcel – provides a flexible modern work environment for The Home Depot’s on-site staff. The facility includes administrative offices, a reception area, training, and conference rooms, loading docks, and a dispatch area. A fully backed-up electrical system with a generator was also installed, and a guard house and fire pump house with water tank were also built on the property. Located close to I-495, the multi-million-dollar project is equipped with parking for up to 227 tractor trailers and 108 dock spaces.

The distribution center is located on a site that previously hosted a 540,000 s/f defense production facility, which was built in the early 1970s. Integrated Builders prepared the site for the distribution center by overseeing the demolition and abatement of the former defense production facility in 2020, as part of the first phase of the project.

Phase two began with extensive land clearing and bulk excavation for the building slab and foundation work. The new building was constructed with load-bearing precast wall panels, structural steel, TPO roof membrane, and tenant-specific, structural slab on grade for follow-on racking and conveyor installations. 

Prior to installing the foundation, an uncommon site preparation task was necessary – the entire 715,000 s/f area of the building needed to be excavated down 15 to 20 feet to natural soil, which then needed to be replaced with compacted 12-inch lifts due to existing uncompacted and loose soil conditions.  Additionally, a helicopter crane was used to individually hoist and place the HVAC units on the roof. The rare construction maneuver was necessary because of the extreme size of the building.

Project Team: Integrated Builders, construction managers; TechMechanical Systems, Inc., HVAC; McArdle Gannon Associates, Inc., geotechnical; Interstate Electrical Services Corp., electrical; and James T. Lynch Construction Co., Inc., site work.