In August, ENR Southeast named AC Hotels Downtown Orlando (formerly known as Tremont Tower) a 2021 Best Project Awards winner in the Residential/Hospitality category. The annual awards program showcases outstanding achievements in construction and design.

Ceco Concrete Construction provided turnkey frame construction for the Florida project. Our scope of work included decks, columns, post-tensioning and rebar as well as partnering with subcontractors for concrete pumping, placement, finishing and rebar installation.

Ceco tackles a challenging site
The mixed-use development is a vertically stacked tower consisting of a 605-space parking garage at the bottom portion, 215,000 square feet of Class A office and retail space in the middle and a Marriot AC hotel on top. Located near two train tracks and two major roadways, the project presented numerous challenges including a very tight site with minimal laydown area and just-in-time deliveries.

Through careful coordination and communication, we safely delivered the project on schedule. The tower’s flat-plate, post-tensioned concrete structural system allowed for larger bay spacing for the office space and maximum parking in the garage. Formwork systems included Speed Deck and perimeter tables for most of the tower. At the top of the building, the hotel portion of the tower utilized deck trusses. To meet an aggressive schedule, the Ceco crew placed decks in the early morning to go vertical with formwork the same day.

The Ceco crew constructed temporary platforms for reinforcing pre-tie areas. Because the project site was within 15 feet of an active railway, they also constructed Ceco’s proprietary barrier screen on the train side to ensure no construction material fell onto the tracks. On the project’s north side, Ceco constructed an additional barrier screen to protect pedestrians below. These were large steps taken to effectively manage those exposures.

The AC Hotels Downtown Orlando development fills the need for additional office space in the city’s downtown area while providing visitors with another hotel option, including an amenity deck with food and beverage options overlooking Orlando’s Amway Center.

According to ENR Southeast, roughly 95 entries were received, and an independent panel of judges chose 35 as worthy of recognition. Ceco is honored to be part of this award-winning project.

Fast Facts
Project Owner/Developer: Lincoln Properties
General Contractor: Austin Commercial
Designer/Architect: Honorary Architects
Structural Engineer: Walter P. Moore
Ceco Scope: Turnkey concrete shell
Ceco Project Managers: Shawn Lewis, Justin Bowen
Ceco Superintendent: Reynaldo Jarquin
Ceco Engineers: Pedro Rivera
Gross Building Area: 600,000 sf
Completion Date: May 2019