Builder John Mirenda had many job site challenges on his mind when he started to re-construct a commercial site in Northfield, N.J: Demolition of an existing building, saving portions of the slab and foundation for zoning and cost saving purposes. Additionally, adding Superior Walls precast concrete panels to speed up the construction process.

“This area was originally zoned for retail land use,” says Mirenda, owner of John Mirenda Construction, Inc. “When the zoning changed to ‘medical-office professional’ we were tasked with creating a multi-tenant building with a prominent individual feeling.”

Mirenda started the 6,000-square-foot space project by specifying Xi Walls from Northeast Precast for both below grade and above grade use.

“I’ve worked with this product in the past and it dramatically speeds up the construction time of the entire project,” says Mirenda, who served as project manager of the structure at 2600 New Road in Northfield, N. J. “There was a new site plan design for this project, so using the reliable Superior Walls precast concrete wall panels allowed us to get the footprint in place quickly for the structure.”

All Superior Walls products are custom manufactured off site in indoor production facilities, eliminating any on-site soil contamination such as the form oil used for poured walls. No on-site sprays or bituminous coatings are required to make the walls damp-proof. The panels are delivered directly to a jobsite where certified crews install the precast wall panels.

Working in a tight site area, the team at Northeast Precast installed 3,200 square feet of 14-foot tall walls plus 1,440 square feet of 18-foot tall walls — all custom made for the project with openings for windows and doors. Masonry specialists added the fronting to the structure while Mirenda’s team installed a truss roof system.

"This project was completed in 2014 and is now occupied by Weiss & Paarz, a medical malpractice firm,” says Mirenda. “This structure was built to last. We haven’t received any call backs on the project and we continue to use Xi Walls when we need a fast, clean and high quality product for specialty construction projects.”