Commercial Projects
COMMERCIAL PROJECTS
Maine Turnpike Administration Building (Portland, ME) –
David Price was the structural engineer of record for the 60,000 square foot Turnpike Authority office building, completed in 2009, located at Exit 46 in Portland. The building also contains the headquarters for the Maine State Police and is designed as an “essential” facility per code requirements. The structure makes use of long span composite steel beams to reduce the number of interior column interferences and reduce the quantity of structural components. Other features include a 400 square-foot skylight above the ornamental interior stair and extensive retaining walls.
645 Congress Street Renovation (Portland ME) – David Price was the structural engineer of record for the renovation and restoration of the existing 50,000 square foot, 6-story building originally identified as the “Columbia Hotel”. Constructed in 1893, the structure consists of brick bearing walls, cast-iron columns, steel beams and wood floor joists. Testing of the existing steel confirmed that the steel can be welded, provided that special electrodes are used with a welding procedure developed specifically for this project. Structural challenges included replacing existing masonry bearing walls at the ground floor level with new seismic braced frames to allow store frontage along Congress Street.
Sheridan Heights (Portland) –
David Price was the structural engineer of record for the 4–story 40,000 square foot wood frame condominium complex in Portland. The floors are supported using 18-inch floor trusses which allows for utilities to pass within the truss openings. Lateral support is provided by shear walls with APA rated sheathing at exterior walls and interior walls where necessary. Exposure to wind required the use of hold-down anchors within shear walls at some locations. The building is supported by a structural steel framed basement parking garage at one wing. The building offers exceptional views of the adjacent waterfront and was completed in 2009.
River Place Luxury Apartments (South Portland, ME) -
David Price was the structural engineer of record for the 230,000 square foot four-story apartment complex situated on the shoreline of Casco Bay. The buildings consist primarily of wood frame construction supported by panelized shear walls and trusses. To accommodate a new parking garage at the ground floor of one building, a steel frame and masonry wall system was designed for the lower level. Other features include the pool, clubhouse, timber frame balconies, wood frame carports and several large cast-in-place concrete retaining walls.
Loranger Door and Window Retail Showroom (South Portland, ME) –
Teresa Price was the structural engineer of record for the 30,000 sq. ft. retail facility containing the showroom, offices and a warehouse receiving area. To control costs, the steel roof system was supported on tall masonry perimeter walls which were fully engineered to resist wind loads acting in combination with eccentrically applied roof loads.
Casco Bay YMCA Addition (Freeport, ME) – David Price was the structural engineer of record for the YMCA addition containing expanded aerobics, spinning (indoor cycling) and renovations to the adjacent 20,000 square-foot field house. David Price was also the structural engineer responsible for the design of the original facility which contains an 8-lane swimming pool, a separate therapy pool, fully equipped fitness area, locker rooms, community center and office area.
Gorham Savings Bank (63 Marginal Way Portland) –
David Price was the structural engineer of record for the 4-story steel-framed office building completed in January 2007. The building uses a conventional concrete slab / bar joist system and lateral stability is provided by means of concentrically braced steel frames. Due to the poor soils on Marginal Way, a deep-pile foundation system with pile caps and grade beams was also designed.
Scott B. Bullock Medical Office Building (Augusta, ME) –
PSE oversaw the development of the necessary structural drawings and provided stamped calculations to SMRT Architects and Engineers for the structural design of the 196’ x 90’ building, which is part of the recently constructed Maine General Hospital complex. The building has 4 main levels (ground floor is level 1) with the top 122’ x 59’ level designed as a mechanical penthouse. Total square footage of floor space including the penthouse is approximately 25,000 square feet. Floor-to-floor heights were set at 16’ and the penthouse is approximately 20’ tall for a total building height of 68’. The building is steel framed and has composite slabs at the floors. Levels 1 through 4 are laterally supported by moment resisting frames and the penthouse relies on steel X-braces for lateral support. Special care had to be taken during the design to limit lateral drift to acceptable limits since the building is accessible to the adjacent hospital, although the two structures are structurally isolated by an expansion joint.
O’Donnell Medical Office Building (Freeport Maine) –
David Price was the structural engineer of record for the medical office building on Route 1 in Freeport. The contemporary hipped roof system and extensive medical piping required additional care to ensure proper support of all elevated components.
Portland Sports Center & Pub (Portland, ME) – David Price was the structural engineer of record for the 45000 sq. ft. Sports Center and the adjacent “Turf’s” Pub / Restaurant on Warren Avenue. The sports center provides indoor soccer fields and the restaurant contains elevated sections with windows overlooking the soccer fields. The primary structural challenges for the project included designing an efficient steel pile foundation system using battered piles along with a steel-framed cantilevered roof above the restaurant capable of resisting large loads from drifted snow.
Maine Maritime Museum Timber Frame (Bath, ME) –
Our firm performed the structural engineering design of the elegant timber frame dining facility. Challenges included structural design of heavy timber truss frames supporting both roof snow and mezzanine live loads. Lateral drift limits were checked for the interface connection with the adjacent building. Mortise and tenon joints with timber peg connections were engineered based on guidelines from the Timber Framer’s Guild and the most recent research from the University of Wyoming and Michigan Tech.
Portland Frozen Ropes Sports Facility (Portland, ME) – David Price was the structural engineer of record for the 10,000 sq. ft. facility containing indoor baseball batting cages along with a Sports Pro shop. Special Inspections were particularly important for the success of the project due to the challenges that resulted from the poor soils and winter construction schedule.
477 Congress Street Phased Renovation (Portland, ME) - David Price performed the conceptual structural design for the phased restoration and renovation at the existing 14–story office building originally constructed in 1923. Conceptual structural design was performed for the primary atrium, skylight restoration and renovations at Suite M, the photo shop office, stair relocation, new office mezzanine and exterior marquis. Tasks included field verification of existing structural framing and materials.
Hilton Garden Inn (Portland, ME) - Working with architects and engineers at SMRT, Price Structural Engineers designed and detailed the structural steel lateral force resisting system for the 82,000 square foot six-story hotel in downtown Portland. Design challenges included a large moment frame at the east side with column sizes restricted to satisfy architectural requirements. Connections were checked not only for LRFD doubler plate and stiffener requirements but also for the FEMA-350 seismic provisions for moment frames.
Vinalhaven Public Library (Vinalhaven Island, ME) - David Price performed the structural design for the restoration and renovation of the existing historic stone library on Vinalhaven Island. Tasks included analysis of the existing timber hip roof system and provisions for the new library expansion.
Structural Design of Architectural Precast Concrete - Our firm performed the structural design of the architectural and structural precast concrete panels for a 250,000 square foot six-story office building and garage complex in Yonkers, New York. Challenges included designing for shipping tolerances, vehicle impact loads, panels with large openings and accommodating brick inlay requirements. Our firm has also performed the structural design of architectural precast concrete components for numerous other projects in Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.
Fryeburg Academy Athletic Facility (Fryeburg, ME) –
PSE oversaw the development of the necessary structural drawings and provided stamped calculations to Harriman Associates for the structural design of the 200’ x 116’ field house (23,000 SF) and the adjacent 110’ x 100’ athletic building (26,000 SF). Challenges included design of the field house concrete piers and below slab tie-bar system to support the vertical and lateral forces induced by the pre-engineered clear span steel frames. The athletic building had 5” thick composite floor slabs and a sloped roof supported by a 40-inch ridge beam, special metal bar joists and pre-engineered metal trusses. The steel framed structure utilized masonry shearwalls combined with steel braced frames to provide the necessary lateral support.
"Thanks again for your help on this project. You have been a huge help."
Craig Piper, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP
(Principal Architext SMRT Inc.)
"Your expertise was exactly what was needed and very much appreciated."
Liz Reinsborough
First Parish Congregational Church