The AC Hotel Chapel Hill Downtown, a recent LeChase project, has earned a 2018 Excellence in Construction Award from the Carolinas Chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). The project received the competition’s highest honor – the Eagle Award – at a ceremony in Charlotte, N.C., on November 15. The hotel was built using modular construction – a method still relatively new in the U.S. hotel industry. Upon its completion in December 2017, it became the first building of its kind in the state of North Carolina, and only the second Marriott-branded hotel in the U.S., to use this method.
“We are honored to receive an Eagle Award for this project,” said Seth London, LeChase vice president. “Taking this on was a bit of a risk – there were several existing conditions we had to tackle to make the site become what it is now – but seeing it come to life through extensive work with our partners was an extremely proud moment.”
The AC Hotel Chapel Hill Downtown project was completed in 17 months – at least three months faster than possible with traditional methods. In addition to enabling a condensed project schedule, off-site construction of the hotel’s guest rooms simplified owner sign-off and provided improved quality control and consistency. Because the hotel is located on a busy street in downtown Chapel Hill and next to the main campus of the University of North Carolina, the modular approach also helped minimize disruption to neighborhoods and businesses surrounding the project site.
To complete the project, LeChase partnered with OTO Development and Champion Commercial Structures. Champion built the guest rooms at its plant in Pennsylvania. The guest room modules – complete with furniture, electrical wiring and plumbing infrastructure – were then shipped to Chapel Hill where they were crane-lifted into place.
“This award represents the seamless collaborative efforts of our incredible team,” said London. “It was an honor to work alongside such talented partners and produce such a high-quality product.”
The Excellence in Construction Awards program is among the industry’s premier competitions and recognizes innovative and high-quality construction projects. The awards honor all construction team members including the contractor, owner, architect and engineer. The regional winning projects, selected from entries submitted by ABC Carolinas Chapter members, are recognized for exceptional innovation and design, technical achievement, safety, project management and quality of construction.
To learn more about the AC Hotel Chapel Hill Downtown project, click here.
