A knowledgeable client that has built facilities all over the world meets an equally knowledgeable building contractor/construction manager that builds facilities from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Such is the match-up of IKEA and DPR that began in Emeryville, Calif. and was strengthened in San Diego, where DPR built facilities for the Swedish retailer. This relationship continues in Virginia, as DPR is constructing a 600,000-sq.-ft. building for IKEA in the much-visited Potomac Mills mega-mall, 12 miles south of Washington, D.C.

“The work we completed for IKEA in San Diego and Emeryville has definitely benefited us here on the east coast,” said Herman Diebler, regional leader of DPR’s Fairfax, Va. Office. “We were able to learn more about the customer from the other project teams and build upon the relationship already established with IKEA.”

More than a “big box” facility, IKEA’s new store, which will feature underground parking and an above-ground plaza, is being built on a complex site that includes all the utility runs for the 152-acre, 1.7 million-sq.-ft. mall. No stranger to complex sites, DPR will build around the utilities, bypassing electricity and fiber optic cabling and the sewer system. Construction began in August and final completion is scheduled for September 2001.

DPR saved IKEA $400,000 in the preconstruction phase of the project by changing the foundation system. “We received information on another building in the mall and found the soil load bearing capacity was in better shape than what they assumed,” said Diebler. As a result, the original foundation plan of large drill piers with spread footings could be reconfigured—using smaller piers without spread footings—saving the owner time and concrete costs.