Scherrer beats the clock for law office

Scherrer Construction is planning to turn over the new Godfrey, Leibsle, Blackbourn and Howarth SC law office weeks ahead of schedule. Photos courtesy of Scherrer Construction Co. Inc.

It was a beautiful day for a groundbreaking.

Puffy clouds balanced in a bright blue sky formed the backdrop as officials from Godfrey, Leibsle, Blackbourn and Howarth planted the first shovels into the site that would become their new law office at Seymour Court, an industrial park in Elkhorn. It was Aug. 23.

It's a safe bet that some project team members had December on their minds.

"The window of opportunity closes once winter sets in," said Gregory Odden, the project manager for general contractor Scherrer Construction. "Our goal was to get this building enclosed as quickly as possible."

Scherrer achieved that goal by getting the 12,000-square-foot law office buttoned up by Nov. 15. That left a little less than a month to clear the next hurdle.

The new conference rooms in the law office of Godfrey, Leibsle, Blackbourn and Howarth SC overlook a pond in back of the building. Photos courtesy of Scherrer Construction Co. Inc.

"Our next challenge was knowing the asphalt plants close on or about the first week of December, and we had to get the parking lot in," Odden said. "There's an element that causes you not to want to do things early — like a parking lot when you know you still have heavy equipment coming in.

"But knowing our situation, we had to move the asphalt up and take extreme care."

The situation was an April 1 occupancy date. That meant Scherrer had to knock off all the outdoor work before the snow started to fly.

"At the onset, you focus on the grading, then the building and trade work," Odden said. "Then, as the building gets nearer to completion, you focus on the outside.

"In this case, by the time they move in, the ground will still be frozen. The owner wouldn't be very receptive to us saying, 'Here's your building. It looks great, but you can't get to it.'"

The owners shouldn't have any trouble getting to their new building when Scherrer turns it over, and Odden hopes they like what they see when they get there. A two-story atrium with clerestory glass around the top forms the centerpiece of the one-story building. The natural light from above will illuminate a 10-foot-diameter compass-point medallion inset into the tile floor. The building also features custom woodwork throughout, and conference rooms that overlook a pond in the back of the building.

And with the project nearing completion, Odden said Scherrer should do more than just meet the requirements.

"The original plan was to be done by April 1, but the way it looks now, we'll be done several weeks ahead of schedule," he said.

- Chris Thompson

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