Ehrhart Griffin & Associates was a member of the design team selected by the City of Omaha to prepare construction documents for the construction of the City's new $288 million dollar Convention Center/Arena. The Convention Center/Arena will occupy a 110-acre site that once was home to the Union Pacific Railroad yard. The scope of work of the design team will perform includes the preparation of construction documents for the demolition of existing railroad facilities and the preparation of the construction documents of all proposed infrastructure and parking lots necessary for the proposed Convention Center/Arena.

Ehrhart Griffin was responsible for the preparation of construction documents and the construction management of the four phases of demolition of the project site. The site in it's present day condition held only four major structures, but had previously housed approximately 100 buildings of varying sizes and uses. An extensive array of historical documents, some dating back to 1898, that portrayed the historical development of the project site were made available from Union Pacific Railroad's Engineering Division.

Members of the Ehrhart Griffin staff researched the pertinent documents in order to determine the existence and location of all previously demolished buildings and utilities. In almost all cases, these previous buildings were removed only to existing grade, leaving footings, pilecaps, foundations and floor slabs in place. Clear zones for utility extensions and building foundation elements were identified early in the design process in order to minimize the financial impact of the demolition upon the project budget. Demolition techniques utilized to keep construction costs minimized included the crushing of existing pavement into structural fill material for re-use onsite.

Close coordination was also necessary with UPRR and their environmental consultants as they began their efforts to produce an environmentally clean project site. The contracts for the first three demolition phases were awarded in the summer of 2000, with completion of the demolition scheduled by December 1, 2001.

Future design efforts by the Ehrhart Griffin staff will include the design of approximately 2,700 lineal feet of public streets, storm drainage design for several parking lots totaling approximately 4,700 stalls, and other supporting infrastructure design. Due to the overcharged storm sewer systems in this area, surface detention requirements will be a mandatory part of the design. Construction obstacles will include poor soils conditions and high groundwater tables. Close coordination with all public utility companies was critical during the demolition process and will be necessary during the design process as well.