Mainbrace completes Costco Lake Macquarie build

Mainbrace recently reached practical completion of a new membership warehouse club in Lake Macquarie near Newcastle, New South Wales.

The retail construction specialist successfully delivered the new-build project on time despite supply chain challenges and the disruptions of lockdown faced by construction. The Lake Macquarie site is the fourth project Mainbrace has delivered for the high-profile international wholesale retailer.

The outlet, which includes an on-site fuel station and extensive landscaping, opened in time for a busy Christmas trading period.

“We know how important it is to deliver high-quality projects to schedule,” said Mainbrace Managing Director Rob Doust.

“Our retail experience has never been more important given the challenges all retailers have faced through 2021.

“We’re proud to have consistently hit our milestones and created a great outcome for our clients.”

The collaborative nature of the relationship established with the client from the outset was important to the project’s success.

Mainbrace had delivered three fast-paced projects for the wholesale retailer previously, which always helps.

However, this regional site presented specific challenges. The keys to overcoming these challengers were found in Mainbrace’s cost planning approach at the start.

For years, Mainbrace has invested in an extensive costing data lake which enables it to submit detailed cost plans in an expedited way.

For this project, the data analysis enabled Mainbrace to firm up the ‘above-ground’ building costs while identifying earthworks as a significant risk to the schedule.

Mainbrace proposed raising the site 200 mm to eliminate the need to export 16,000 cubic metres of spoil from the site, potentially saving the client as much as $6.8 million in construction costs.

From there, Mainbrace supported the client to secure an amendment to the DA and by December 2020 the team was on site.

The virus presented various challenges throughout the program, elevating the importance of the contingencies Mainbrace had previously established.

An electronic site diary was used to keep track of all works in progress and trades on site at any given time. It was also supported by QR code compliance to navigate the COVID operating environment.

Logistically, towards the end of the construction program, Mainbrace would need to accommodate up to 200 of the client’s team members on site each day.

This required the facilitation of separate entry points and dedicated amenities to ensure the site continued to meet COVID-safe protocols while enabling works to progress on schedule.

Another crucial factor in delivering the new store on time was the concurrent management of the fitout with the completion of the building works.

This required detailed sequencing to optimise the time Mainbrace spent on site and ensure the program remained on track.

Mainbrace handed over the completed project after nine months on site, leaving plenty of opportunity for locals and people from further afield to do their Christmas shopping.

The new store is already a fixture in the community, making for a very happy client.