The Port Covington Development Team (pc.city) has brought an exciting update into the new year that will kick-start their 235-acre construction revitalization effort of the South Baltimore neighborhood. The goal of a mixed-use inclusive waterfront community with capitalization investments now finalized at more than $650 million will include priorities for workforce development, education, economic development, SB6 local community benefits, affordable housing, parks & green space, and more.
Amongst a team of minority and women owned businesses, Foundation Test Group (FTG) led the geotechnical design for the Chapter 1B project that includes 1.1 million square feet of residential, retail, office, market, and extended stay construction set to begin in 2021.
The historical ‘brownfield’ marine terminal site for the development was investigated by FTG via 28 deep soil borings and extensive laboratory testing over the course of a year for each of the planned Building blocks: E1, E5A, E5B, E6, and E7.
Multiple soil samples collected from the various borings were tested in the lab for sieve & limit classification, moisture, standard proctor density, unconfined compressive strength, consolidation properties, direct shear strength, and California Bearing Ratio to help formulate multiple potential cost-effective foundation design options for the development team to consider with expected building column loads upwards of 1,000 kips.
Over the past year, FTG’s lead Professional Engineers, Jeffrey Goodwin and Kevin Tehansky, have consulted with the architectural designers and construction contracting teams to help determine appropriate foundation systems for support of the individual loading conditions of each block.
Based on current analysis from the subsurface groundwater and soil stratum conditions within the geotechnical reports, an installation plan of Controlled Modulus Columns (also known as Rigid Inclusions) is under review as a suitable foundation option for the project. A comprehensive load testing program for verification of capacity design will be implemented prior to drilling production.
With founding partner Weller Development Company (http://wellerdevelopment.com/) leading the project, the Port Covington urban revival is expected to begin delivering buildings in late 2022. For more information on how geotechnical design can optimize your project developments, please contact FTG! For the latest on the Port Covington project, please visit pc.city!
