Hammered by the Great Recession, many contractors across the Southeast, and nationwide, have become "lean and mean," paring down staff and other assets to succeed in today's new construction economy. But one contractor, Batson-Cook Construction, is getting lean and not-so mean, by utilizing lean construction methods to build nearly a dozen prototypical high-rise apartment projects across the Southeast and Texas.
In 2011, the contractor, along with its development arm, Batson-Cook Development Co., competed for and won the assignment to build a series of towers for Atlanta-based Novare Group. To meet the developer's delivery schedule demands of 12 to 14 months per project, Batson-Cook pitched using lean construction methods to erect the multifamily towers, usually 23 or 24 stories tall. Together, the 11 SkyHouse projects have a collective value of more than $650 million.