Ballston Quarter
Location: Arlington, VA
Client: Brookfield Properties
Size: 578,000 SF
Axias Role: Change Order Review, Project Closeout
Ballston Quarter, formerly known as Ballston Common Mall, originally opened as Parkington Shopping Center in 1951. Not only was it one of the first major suburban shopping centers in the Washington, D.C., area, it was also the first shopping center in the country built around a multi-story parking garage.
In late 2018 Brookfield Properties, acquired Forest City Realty Trust, the owner of several shopping malls throughout the United States. At the time of acquisition, the $80 million renovation and repositioning of this asset was close to completion but had unresolved construction issues. These included changes in the work, quality of the installation, appropriateness of the design, and resolving a punchlist of deficient work.
We engaged with the owner, design team and third-party experts to resolve all of these issues, with a particular focus on a contentious HVAC system problem. Our specific activities included assessment of the finished work, liaison with and oversight of third-party engineers and commissioning experts on the MEP systems, finalization of cost and contractual conflicts, and generating reports on design deficiencies and performance issues.