Best Sports/Entertainment: Builders Overcome College Football Hall of Fame's Tight Site
Contractors leading construction of the 94,000-sq-ft, three-story College Football Hall of Fame and Chick-Fil-A Fan Experience had to overcome an extremely tight site in downtown Atlanta bordered by Marietta Street, railroad tracks, the Omni Hotel and Baker Street.
At the beginning of the project, Foundry Street, which ran through the middle of the site, had to be permanently shut down but not before a new street could be opened. The new street—an extension of Baker Street—was installed as a permanent road for commuters to access the nearby CNN Center, the Georgia World Congress Center, the Georgia Dome and Phillips Arena. To remain on schedule, the construction team had only 83 days in the schedule to shut down Foundry Street and open the Baker Street extension. The team achieved the 83-day goal despite unforeseen obstructions on the site and record rainfall.