NRMCA Senior Director, Local Paving, Doug O'Neill and Ross Holmes of NRMCA Producer member United Materials in Buffalo, NY, recently met with a local developer to discuss pavement options.

 

"After attending NRMCA’s Concrete Parking Lot workshop, I decided to reach out and start asking the question that most of us have long forgot or have never asked, 'what about the parking lot?'," Holmes said.

O’Neill enlightened the developer about the resources available from the concrete industry, including NRMCA’s Design Assistance Program (DAP), LEED, how to get the most from concrete used on a project, to NRMCA's ability to facilitate technical and field resources for a developer who might have a question or concern about a concrete application. O'Neill said the developer was skeptical about concrete pavement being affordable on a first-cost basis, but admitted to never actually pricing one out. The promotion team of Holmes and O’Neill were able to convince this developer to allow NRMCA to use DAP on an upcoming project in an effort to show a competitive bid would occur. Holmes had lined up several local concrete contractors to make sure that the project was bid properly so that the client will see whether concrete paving can be affordable. On another note, this developer often builds with stick framed construction and had not considered concrete framing for the same reason he never considered concrete pavements; he assumed the initial cost was too high.

"Another good opportunity uncovered simply by asking a few questions," O'Neill said.

For more information, contact Doug O’Neill at doneill@nrmca.org.