ENR 2024 New England Best Projects
Best Project, Small Project: The Nest at Saddleback
Photo courtesy PC Construction
The Nest at Saddleback
Sandy River Plantation, Vt.
BEST PROJECT
Submitted by: PC Construction
Owner: Saddleback Mountain
Lead Design Firm: Davies Toews Architecture D.P.C.
General Contractor: PC Construction
Civil Engineer: Acorn Engineering
Structural Engineer: Thorton Tomasetti
MEP Engineer: IEC; Maine Wide Plumbing and Heating
Owner’s Representative: Frontline Construction Services
Perched at an elevation of 3,620 ft near the top of Saddleback Mountain, the 2,500-sq-ft restaurant complements the popular year-round resort by offering a unique dining experience, plus a wintertime ski-up service window. The 80-seat dining area and 14-seat bar also easily transform into an open-concept event space.
According to the team, the Nest’s design is environmentally conscious and respectful of its picturesque setting, with locally sourced forest-based building materials, energy-efficient heating and cooling systems and the positioning of large sliding windows that showcase exceptional views.
Photo courtesy PC Construction
A living roof that is covered in hay-scented ferns and native Maine lowbush blueberries reduces runoff, insulates the building and mitigates the heat island effect.
Constructing the Nest presented a multifaceted planning and logistics challenge. While work crews could use ski trails to reach the site during the summer months, large delivery trucks were unable to navigate the steep grades, even in the best weather conditions.
Most material deliveries were towed up the mountain by an excavator, requiring deliberate planning and coordination among suppliers, transporters and resort operations. Crews also had to coordinate activity around the early-spring breeding season of the rare Bicknell’s thrush, further limiting an already abbreviated construction season.
Photo courtesy PC Construction
The project’s biggest challenge arose during excavation with the discovery that the top several feet of ledge were unsuitable for structural bearing. The need for additional ledge removal and foundation redesign extended construction into the winter, eliminating access to the ski trails.
Working with the resort operator, the project team used snow grooming machines after hours for material transport, while project crews shuttled to and from work each day using the resort’s chairlift.
Photo courtesy PC Construction
The construction site’s proximity to snowmaking equipment combined with other location characteristics required near-constant upkeep to prevent build-up of snow and ice.
The emphasis on preplanning and risk-reduction strategies resulted in no lost-time accidents or recordable incidents over nearly 14,000 work hours. The Nest was completed in time to hold a soft opening during the 2023-2024 ski season.
