45th Anniversary Throwback: 1997 Excellence in Construction Award – HealthSouth Headquarters

To celebrate the 45th anniversary of BHATE Geosciences, we are featuring throwbacks of our projects over the years.

The Church of the Highlands Grandview Campus on Highway 280 was originally the corporate headquarters for the HealthSouth Corporation. The 74-acre property initially owned by Southern Company was purchased by HealthSouth in 1995 and subsequently by the Daniel Corporation prior to being acquired by Church of the Highlands.

This site had been excavated and graded in 1984 with vertical rock cuts of nearly 30’, but the project was not finished. The shale rock layers had weathered over time and become unstable while the condition of the exposed rock and potential for rock sliding became a concern during construction and for final project design.

Chuck Burgin, PE, PG, led the BHATE team to successfully tackle the geotechnical challenges to stabilize the site and maximize land use by developing practical and economical recommendations.  Our preconstruction geologic design to stabilize the rock faces allowed the construction to continue without delays.  The HealthSouth project had a critical schedule to meet, as well as a construction budget, which allowed no room for time or cost overruns because of unknown site conditions.   Based on our findings, the structural engineers and architects were able to complete their designs on schedule and allowed the contractor to commence work on this fast-track project.

BHATE’s was involved with all aspects of earthwork and foundation design, working with the design and construction team including LBYD and Brasfield & Gorrie to finish the project on time and on budget.

In November 1997, BHATE was presented with the Associated Builders and Contractors of Alabama “Excellence in Construction Award” for our work on this project.  We are particularly gratified at the trust the owner and the team placed in us to contribute to successful project completion.  This is an excellent example of creative engineering for practical solutions that allowed the owner to locate the building on the site of their choice and of teamwork for a successful solution to unique problems.

Building long-term trust and relationships with our clients and team members are the hallmark of our company. We were proud to continue this relationship and be a part of the new headquarters building built for Encompass (formerly HealthSouth) at Liberty Park in 2018.