Integrate Construction Partners (Integrate) served as the general contractor on Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’s newest Midwest location in City Foundry STL – an industrial-style dining, retail, entertainment, work and event space in the heart of St. Louis, MO.
Utilizing a design-build approach, Integrate partnered with St. Louis-based architectural firm Lawrence Group to deliver the $23 million cinema, plus a theater bar, parking garage and 14,000-square-foot retail space (a total of 83,840 square feet) under budget.
Located at 3765 Foundry Way, St. Louis’ 45,000-square-foot Alamo Drafthouse Cinema and theater bar, The Meaning of Bar, officially opened in November 2022, following a year delay due to COVID-19. The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is an American cinema chain founded in 1997 in Austin, TX that is famous for serving dinner and drinks during the movie and requiring audiences to maintain proper cinema-going etiquette.
The cinema features 10 auditoriums with recliner chairs for 932 guests, each with their own swivel table and cup holder for complete dine-in service. Each auditorium also features state-of-the-art theater technology, which includes Barco SP4K laser projectors and Q-Sys surround sound. The Meaning of Bar features 48 beers on tap, several from local breweries, as well as a variety of sodas, teas, coffees and shakes.
“As part of a historic tax credit development, the project was constructed to fit within the fabric of the existing City Foundry STL campus while providing superior acoustic building details separating the interior spaces from the exterior environment, which includes an adjacent fire station and a nearby interstate highway to a parking garage beside the main floor of the cinema,” said Integrate Project Manager Brett Hennings.
From the acoustic demands to the poor soil conditions to the tight site constraints and COVID shutdown, Integrate’s planning and pre-construction services enabled a thoughtfully delivered project with an under-budget construction cost. This included evaluation of many types of deep foundation systems, adjusting the basement walls to minimize the amount of shoring along adjacent property lines to the west and Forest Park Parkway to the north, and keeping M/E/P/FP costs and schedules as competitive as possible through the design-build approach.
Headquartered in St. Louis, MO, Integrate Construction Partners (Integrate) is a comprehensive construction company enhancing value through an integrated building process. Built upon nearly 20 years of experience, Integrate offers design-build, multisite project delivery, construction management, and general contracting services. The company was founded on the belief that good construction integrates with good design to deliver the best buildings – on time and within budget. For more information about Integrate Construction Partners, visit Integratecp.com.
Photo Credits: Tori Wright