Keller’s Vibro Pier® design provided schedule and cost savings for a student housing facility.

construction site with three rigs

The project

To provide more affordable housing for its students, Santa Rosa Junior College constructed a five-story building with 258 units and a capacity for 352 students. Due to the poor soil conditions on site, a CFA (auger cast) pile solution was recommended with a pile cap and grade beam foundation.

The challenge

Meeting the construction schedule was critical for housing to be available for the start of the following school year.

The solution

Based on previous project experience, the client turned to Keller to provide alternative, time-saving and cost-saving options to the CFA pile foundation system. Keller recommended a design-build foundation solution using Vibro Piers to meet the project requirements while saving the client time and money. 

Keller installed 711 Vibro Piers up to 35 ft deep across the building footprint. To verify the design assumptions and construction methods, Keller conducted three modulus tests on the installed Vibro Piers.

Project facts

Owner(s)

Santa Rosa Junior College

Keller business unit(s)

Keller

Main contractor(s)

Weitz Company

Engineer(s)

Keller