ANDREW CONSULTING ENGINEERS

ACE was the structural engineer of record and provided project management services for this 3-story, 11,000 SF commercial office building in midtown Wilmington, NC in 2004. Cape Four Plaza has timber roof trusses supported by a braced steel frame with concrete slabs on metal deck. It is has been the ACE headquarters for almost 20 years.

In 2009, ACE was selected as the Structural Engineer of record for this project at Cape Fear Community College. The 250,000 square foot Union Station building has a partial parking garage on the bottom level and the upper five floors have facilities for the college administration, nursing classrooms, other programs, the Trustee Board Room, and an assembly area on the top floor for special events.

As a result of several emergency repair projects to repair sinkholes and other shoreline failures along Water Street, the City of Wilmington selected ACE to conduct an assessment of the riverfront shoreline condition at every property between the Isabelle Holmes and Cape Fear Memorial Bridges. Our assessment included a visual review of the wide variety of shoreline structures, collating historical geotechnical data of adjacent properties, investigating submerged portions of structures with divers, property boundary survey reviews, and collecting historical drawings of the existing structures. ACE provided the city with a description of existing conditions for each parcel, recommended maintenance priorities and associated budgetary costs going forward 20 years, estimated lifespans of the various components, secured a CAMA Major Permit to cover the entire riverfront, and new proposed waterfront construction standards. This assessment allowed the city to be proactive in addressing future maintenance and repairs at one of the most visited areas in the Wilmington region.

In 2010, ACE was selected to the Structural Engeineer of Record and serve as the Special Inspector of Record for Cape Fear Community College.The Wilson Center is 160,000 square feet and reaches almost 90 feet tall at the fly loft area behind the stage. The performing arts hall is the primary use for the building that also houses space for the college performing arts school.

This building helped change the skyline of that area of downtown Wilmington and have provided the community with amazing facilities and have attracted a long list of well-known and exciting performers.

The county hired ACE to conduct a structural review of the historic clock tower. Our review found structural issues with the masonry walls and interior timber framing. In 2012 we were hired to design and oversee repairs to this important structure that would maintain the exterior appearance. The custom repair design and details included adding new interior steel plates, steel tie rods, brick and granite masonry repairs and joint reinforcement that would not be visible from the outside of the structure.

In 2018, the city selected ACE PC to lead the investigation, design, and quality assurance effort for repairs to the parking deck that was originally constructed in 1990. The precast concrete, field topped parking deck was suffering from a poor storm water management system and from 30 years of exposure to the harsh coastal environment. We conducted an investigation of the floors, walls, ceilings, structural framing, and stairwells and used that data to prepare repair drawings for a competitive, low bid contract. The repairs included fixing the storm water drainage, patching delaminated topping slabs, removal and replacement of corroded steel reinforcing, patching spalled concrete, repairs to cracked exterior masonry, replacing interior and exterior joint sealants, installing a new traffic coating, and applying a penetrating sealer.

ACE was the lead designer in an extensive renovation of the state park marina completed in 2010. The project included over 1,700 linear feet of new composite bulkhead, a replaced boat launching ramp, new fuel services, improved entrance channel breakwater, and new floating docks.

In 2017 ACE was the lead designer and Special Inspector of Record for the state park passenger ferry piers on the mainland and on Bear Island of Hammocks Beach SP. We also designed an ADA compliant path from the main parking lot to the shore for an accessible kayak launch pier.

ACE partnered with BMH Architects in 2014 and provided structural engineering and led Special Inspections for the USS NC Cofferdam and SECU Memorial Walkway project. ACE received the 2019 Structural Engineers Association of NC Excellence in Structural Engineering Award and 2020 American Council of Engineering Companies of NC Honors Award (along with S&ME) for our work on this project. The steel cofferdam is 50 feet tall and 1,809 feet around the perimeter and is comprised of about 4.6 million pounds of steel. It was constructed to permit future repairs to the hull of “The Showboat” at its current berth so it does not have to be partially dismantled and towed to a distant shipyard. The Memorial Walkway is supported by 55-foot tall wood piles and is almost one-half mile long from start to finish. It allows visitors to walk around the ship and visit informational displays about the veterans of the different military branches in World War 2.

In 2018 and 2020, ACE again teamed with BMH to provide repair plans and construction oversight for damaged areas of the USS NC hull and upper mast. The most decorated ship of WW2 had not been able to make repairs to lower sections of the hull since it was moored across from Wilmington in 1962. Some areas of the hull were paper thin from corrosion over those 56 years. The project involved the selective removal of sections of hull plate 10 feet tall on both sides of the bow. The new steel plate was one-half inch thick and was donated by Nucor. The interior support framing needed to be repaired and reinforced in some locations prior to the new plate being welded in place. The upper mast is about 150 feet above the water and had been battered by many years of storms and corrosion. The repairs included the removal of rust from larger sections and complete replacement of some sections with matching steel shapes before a high-performance coating was applied.ACE was honored to be a part of the repair efforts for a very important part of the history of our country and the official World War 2 memorial for NC.

In 2011, ACE was hired to evaluate the timber framing at Crystal Pier at Oceanic Restaurant after the owner was contacted by the Town of Wrightsville Beach Code Enforcement. Our review indicated a significant portion of the structural framing of the pier needed to be replaced and the timber piles needed to be jacketed to reinforce and protect the areas damaged by marine borers. In 2012 & 2013 we provided the construction documents for the pier repairs, a covered wider pier area and new covered platform area adjacent to the building for additional restaurant seating. We were the designer of record, provided construction phase services and served as the Special Inspector of Record for the project. The pier rises about 22 feet above the ocean and is 475 feet long.

ACE was hired by the Town of Oak Island to conduct an investigation of the Oak Island Pier in 2014. Our report recommended the pier be replaced within a three-to-five-year period. In October of 2016, Hurricane Matthew removed the outer end of the pier and caused severe damage to the other parts of the pier that remained standing. We provided emergency repair documents after the storm and in 2017 we were hired to design a replacement timber pier. We were the designer of record and Special Inspector of Record for the new 926-foot-long pier with two 42-foot-wide fishing platforms at the outer end. The new 18-foot-wide pier is ADA compliant and extends about 26 feet above the water surface. During the design phase we assisted the town with FEMA repair funding grants and CAMA permitting. The pier construction was completed in early 2020 and Hurricane Isaias arrived in August 2020.

In 2013, ACE began working on a new Water Street Streetscape and Park area for the City of Wilmington. Our role as prime professional on this project has included coordinating with civil engineering, landscape architecture, surveying, subsurface utility locating, and new electrical and plumbing designs. We have led the efforts to coordinate CFPUA sanitary sewer and water line replacement work being performed concurrently with city stormwater improvements and the eventual new streetscaping projects that brought new ADA sidewalks, streetlights, benches, and other amenities. We expect to move forward with the final phase in 2024.

ACE PC was selected to be the lead designer for the renovations to the Cape Fear Club Bar and Lounge in 2019. The project involved an interior renovation to the bar and lounge, removal and replacement of the 2nd Floor Exterior Porch, improvements to the exterior terrace, and the addition of an ADA lift from 2nd Street.

ACE was the engineer for Bradley Creek Yacht Club's replacement bulkhead, revised floating dock layout, and its new elevated timber platform in 2019 - 2020. Highlights of this project included:
installing the new wall in close proximity to the existing wall while forklift & marina operations remained in service.
installing a new elevated timber platform to improve vessel owner access to the floating docks.
replacing a significant area of concrete pavement for forklift operations.

ACE was the structural engineer, special inspector of record, and provided exterior envelope quality control reviews and testing for this 3-story, 64,000 SF medical office building in midtown Wilmington in 2017. The primary use for the building is for medical offices. The building is comprised of steel bar joists for the roof supported by a composite structural steel frame using both braced frames and moment frames.

In 2004, ACE was selected to provide the structural engineering for the new Wilmington Police HQ. This building provided the city with a state-of-the-art 90,000 SF facility for law enforcement and community services.

Duke University Marine Lab hired ACE to the lead designer and Special Inspector for a new pier at their Beaufort, NC facility in 2019. DUML had recently purchased a 76-foot research vessel with 70 tons of displacement. The new heavy duty timber pier and concrete deck floating dock system was also designed to support forklift loads and other heavy loads associated with loading research equipment and supplies on the R/V Shearwater.

The Jacobi Hardware building was originally constructed in 1858. ACE conducted an investigation, provided repair drawings, and managed the repairs for the exterior brick walls that had deteriorated over the last 164 years. The repairs included fixing cracks, tuckpointing in compatible historic grade mortar, and replacing sealant joints. The walls were then coated with a specially formulated paint for historic brick walls that is highly reflective and water repellant but allows water vapor to escape the masonry.

ACE provided the marine structural design and Special Inspections of those shoreline related features and Riverwalk connection bridges for the new riverfront amphitheater.