DESCRIPTION

A 133,000 sf brewery and tasting room to be built on an 18-acre site along the French Broad River in West Asheville. The site was designated as a brownfield site, having a history of uses that necessitated site clean-up prior to building. New Belgium worked with North Carolina’s brownfield program to invest in and remediate the site and improve the area. At full build out, New Belgium will brew 500,000 barrels annually and support upwards of 140 jobs.

Pursuing LEED Gold Certification

CHALLENGE

The borings in the northern part of the site encountered uncontrolled fill to typical depths of 8 to 11 ft below the existing ground surface, underlain by alluvial soils to depths of 17 to 47 ft. The alluvium is generally very soft to depths of 15 to 18 ft below the existing ground surface. The alluvium is underlain by residual soils to the termination depths of the borings. Bedrock was encountered at depths of approximately 36 to 56 ft. The borings in the southern part of the site encountered uncontrolled fill to typical depths of 22 to 42 ft below the existing ground surface, underlain by alluvial soils to depths of 38 to 52 ft. The alluvium is underlain by residual soils to the termination depths of each boring. Bedrock was encountered at depths of approximately 48 to 57 ft. Foundation loads range from 200 to 1000 kips per column.

SOLUTION

Due to the environmental issues at the site, the Impact Pier system proved to be the best solution since the system produces little to no spoils and has the advantages of rapid installation and ease of construction. 1688 twenty-inch diameter Impact Pier elements were installed to varying depths under footings, walls, floor slabs, and equipment pads to control settlements to acceptable levels.

Approximately 1,000 Impact pier elements were installed in five weeks, allowing the project to stay on schedule around the Holiday season.