Strand Hunt Construction
Washington State Patrol Seattle Crime Lab
Owner: City of Seattle
Architect: DLR Group
Strand Hunt Construction built a state-of-the-art crime lab in a turn-of-the-20th-century Seattle landmark.
The project began as a relatively straightforward 46,000-square-foot interior build-out and quickly turned into a challenging $9 million venture. Originally, the work included lab casework, fume hoods, building and tenant HVAC, electrical, minor structural repair, floor leveling, plumbing, GWB walls and finishes.
Strand Hunt accomplished the original scope and also redesigned the entire mechanical system, solved mold issues and removed hazardous materials, all without disrupting another biotech firm tenant on the fourth floor and Seattle Crime Lab personnel already occupying a portion of the third floor.
Most of the challenges resulted from the building’s age — built in 1891, it had originally housed the Frye meat packing plant. The historic factor manifested itself in several ways, requiring Strand Hunt to re-level the floor, in some places to a depth of 7 inches, and work around previously unknown concrete roof beams that were found while installing a new mechanical penthouse.
Despite complications, Strand Hunt minimized construction delays and budget overruns and delivered the finished project to the building’s owner, the city of Seattle, and tenant, the state of Washington.
DLR Group was the architect, W.A. Botting provided mechanical design-build services, and ABC subcontractors and suppliers included Audio Acoustics, Enderis Co., Foster-Bray Co., Ironwood Manufacturing, Nuprecon and Stateside Power.