A unique elevator and shear wall had to be formed to transform the historic Fort Homer Hesterly Armory into the new Bryan Glazer Family Jewish Community Center in Tampa, Fla.
Contractor Gilbert and Byrd worked with Trekker Distributors to ensure that the elevator and shear wall were properly formed. The elevator core had four non-90-degree corners and a wing-wall. The core poured plumb to about 25 feet high and the wing wall poured plumb to about 12 feet. Along this rake from 12 feet high at the end, most of the wing wall, to the 25-foot height of the core, commenced as a concrete wall that leaned 12 degrees and raked from the low part to gradually blended into the 25-foot height on the elevator side.
The first pour consisted of a starter wall of 30 feet, and then the back-leaning side wall gang was assembled in place. The wall was finished out from this point in three pours. The forward-leaning forms were placed successively in three levels, one for each pour. The wall sat with the forms and bracing in place until the roof structure was built and able to tie into it to provide permanent stability.
The new Jewish Community Center will serve as a safe haven for all children. The groundbreaking of the $26 million project took place on May 11, 2016.
