Walbridge was selected by the University of Michigan to serve as construction manager-at-risk on a new eight-story residence facility for graduate students on campus in Ann Arbor. The 370,000-square-foot facility is located adjacent to U-M’s Thompson Street Parking structure on the corner of E. Madison and Thompson streets. Munger Graduate Residence Hall houses 600 students in an apartment-style layout. Modular construction was used to build more than 730 prefabricated, private bathroom units; Walbridge self-performed construction of the units.
Floors one through seven house multi-room apartments with private bathrooms, laundry rooms, multi-purpose dining and living spaces, and full kitchens. The building’s eighth floor provides community spaces for learning, recreational and communal activities, and offers panoramic views of the U-M campus. The building boasts high ceilings, expanded views of the exterior, various meeting and collaboration spaces,a rooftop terrace with a running track, a workout facility, game room and a convenience store.
Walbridge manufactured 730 bathroom units at a site 10 miles west of Ann Arbor, where 34 trades people fabricated five different models, including ADA accessible units. Each bathroom has a fully tiled shower, toilet, sink, quartz top, cabinetry, light fixtures and medicine cabinet. After flooding the floor of each unit with an inch of water and monitoring it for any leakage for 24 hours, units were drained, completed, shrink wrapped, and transported by truck to the job site on campus.
Modularization was also used to fabricate more than 650 modular mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) racks containing all MEP disciplines, which were then installed throughout the apartment floors. Bathroom units were positioned in place and hooked up to plumbing, drains and electrical systems.
The $130.8 million construction cost was funded in part by the largest donor gift the University of Michigan received in its nearly 200-year history. Construction was completed in summer 2015.