St. Therese Corcoran: Civil Engineering for Corcoran's New Downtown

Project Overview

BKBM provided civil engineering services for St. Therese Corcoran, a 153-unit senior living community and the first project built within the planned Corcoran Downtown City Center. Designing ahead of finalized public infrastructure required creative coordination and adaptive site design from the start.

Project Highlights

  • Site Design and Civil Engineering:
    • Full site design for a 13-acre senior living campus including grading, drainage, and utility layout
    • Design proceeded based on conceptual public roadway and utility alignments before final city plans were available
  • Civil 3D Dynamic Grading:
    • First large BKBM project to use Civil 3D dynamic grading, enabling efficient design updates as public infrastructure details were finalized
    • Dynamic grading model allowed the team to adapt quickly when the city's engineer released final roadway and utility designs
  • Public/Private Grading Coordination:
    • Coordinated with Stantec (city engineer) to develop a unified grading plan encompassing both the St. Therese site and adjacent public improvements
    • Combined scope allowed a single contractor to mass grade the entire development, reducing mobilization costs for the owner
  • Infrastructure Tie-In and Adjustments:
    • Managed iterative design revisions to align the site with final public roadway and utility configurations
    • Coordinated road and utility extensions required to serve the site as the first development in the district

Engineering Solutions

With public infrastructure still in design when the St. Therese site work began, BKBM bridged the gap through proactive coordination with Stantec and a flexible Civil 3D grading model that could absorb changes without restarting the design. The decision to unify private and public grading under one contractor scope was a practical solution that saved time and money for the owner.

Results & Impact

St. Therese Corcoran opened as the anchor development in the new Corcoran Downtown City Center, with a civil design that was delivered on schedule despite the challenges of designing ahead of public infrastructure. The unified grading approach reduced construction costs, and the project established a civil framework that will support future development across the district. It's a project that reflects BKBM's ability to navigate complexity early — so clients don't have to absorb it later.