Story

A new landmark is piercing the sky of Grand Rapids. At 34 stories and 406’ tall, the RiverHouse Condominium project is the tallest building in Grand Rapids and the second tallest concrete frame building in Michigan.

Kent Companies’ work began in 2004 assisting in the planning and development of the structural model and helping determine the most cost effective systems and methods for building the 500,000 square foot concrete structure. By the summer of 2006, the work on massive grade beams and pile caps began. By the winter of 2006, the structural concrete frame began to take shape.

Several first-time, innovative systems were utilized by Kent on this project:

At level 6, immense concrete girders were required to transfer building loads as the tower perimeter stepped in. The girders included staged post-tension reinforcement, and were tensioned in multiple phases during construction to support the increasing weight of the structure as it rose - a first for West Michigan.

To increase the stiffness of the structure and reduce sway, several shear walls incorporated vertical post-tensioning – a first for the state of Michigan.

Kent brought in a special “TLS elevator” to move the unique, hybrid shoring system they developed from floor to floor - a first for the United States!

Kent is very proud to have been part of the construction team for this leading-edge project. Kent is extremely proud of our employees for the incredible effort required to build this difficult project and meet the very demanding schedule. All this was accomplished without a single lost time accident in over 190,000 labor hours! The attitude of Kent’s workers, who made project a reality, is unmatched and they deserve all the credit.