The Great Lakes Towing Company

The Great Lakes Towing Company

Cleveland, Ohio

The Great Lakes Towing Company partnered with Ray Fogg Building Methods for the relocation of their corporate headquarters from the Terminal Tower, their home for approximately 100 years.

This corporate relocation provided them with logistical opportunities by being closer to their core business as tugboat operators and shipbuilders.

The project site was located at Great Lakes Towing Company’s existing docks along the Olde River channel of the Cuyahoga River. This brownfield site posed some significant challenges due to the poor quality of the sedimentary soils. A system of auger-cast concrete pile foundations was utilized to accommodate the severe loading conditions inherent to a shipbuilder. The project site was also dotted with a handful of dilapidated buildings used for operations, all of which needed to be razed. Through careful planning and staging of the demolitions, we were able to keep their operations in continuous service while minimizing the intrusion of the new building project.

This due-diligence and pre-construction design and planning provided the risk mitigation that The Great Lakes Towing Company needed to secure financing and move forward with the project. The aesthetic qualities of the entire project allowed them to increase their brand awareness.