Cumming City Center Phase I
United Consulting was retained to provide geotechnical recommendations to the City of Cumming, Georgia for its new City Center development, located on a 51-acre site of undeveloped land north of downtown. The development was designed to feature retail, restaurants, amphitheater, miniature golf, walking trails, and pocket parks for families. A defining aspect of the project is the convergence of several streams into Kelly Mill Branch Creek. The key challenge was providing foundation recommendations for multiple building types, bridges for stream crossings, culverts, substantial slopes, and overall modifications to the existing grades.
During early design stages, the drilling program was conducted using a widely spaced grid of borings across the site. As the design evolved, our team of experts refined foundation recommendations for the two largest culverts, the amphitheater, retaining walls, two surface parking areas, the parking deck, roads, and individual buildings. United Consulting also gathered critical data to inform site grading and earthwork recommendations, including rock excavation, fill placement, management of unsuitable and alluvial soils, groundwater considerations, and overall quality control. This was accomplished through a targeted Standard Penetration Test (SPT) drilling program, as well as test pits and air track drilling for rock considerations.
Our team provided multiple foundation options for each structure, allowing the client to choose the most cost-efficient method for supporting the buildings. We identified areas where partially weathered rock and rock may impact planned cuts and provided recommendations for soil removal and potential reuse placement. We also identified low consistency soils, undocumented fill, and alluvial soils that may not be suitable for reuse as fill and provided recommendations for improvement and usability.
