Virtual Ghost Kitchen Utilizes Mark III’s Volumetric Solution to Expedite Schedule

Posted on March 15, 2022 •

Sacramento is about to be home to its first-ever virtual ghost kitchen. The Line is on schedule to open this Spring, less than four months into the construction phase of the project.

To achieve this aggressive opening date, Sutter Capital Group took an innovative approach to construction by opting to use a volumetric modular approach to construction. Enlisting the help of Mark III Construction, the project team got to work designing and manufacturing each kitchen pod to maximize space and material efficiency.

Tyler Girimonte, a partner with Sutter Capital Group says, By constructing the kitchens offsite, we were able to compress the overall building schedule, allowing us to reduce project costs.  It has been a very efficient process, from the high quality and repeatable buildout of each kitchen to the streamlined inspection process to the seamless installation of each kitchen once onsite.  As we look at potential sites for virtual kitchens, knowing that we can repeat the modular construction of the kitchens significantly helps with our underwriting and overall assessment.”

To provide the best value and shorten the schedule, Mark III proposed manufacturing the kitchen pods and wall panels in the company’s Sacramento-based 24K SF MEP manufacturing facility. Moving a large portion of construction to a controlled environment enabled Mark III to take advantage of the facility layout, controlled environment, and flexible work cells for each trade. The kitchen pods and wall panels, complete with mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) connections were assembled off-site and shipped to The Line’s facility for installation.

Due to the location, special care was required for delivery coordination. Elvis Avenue is a highly trafficked street, just a few blocks away from St. Francis and a mile from Sac State. Additionally, electrical lines obstruct the driveway adding an additional obstacle. To overcome these challenges, the pods were scheduled for early morning delivery. Over the course of two days, from 2 AM to 5 AM, Mark III’s crew of 10 delivered, offloaded, and set all 5 kitchen pods.

“To maximize space for future The Line tenants and reduce wasted material, we designed and manufactured 5 volumetric kitchen pods and stick framed the remaining 4 kitchens. Each parallel shared wall of the volumetric pod was fabricated to include electrical and plumbing systems to support each side-by-side kitchen unit. This enabled the owners to maximize efficiency and optimize useable space within the 5K SF facility” says Mark III project manager, Silviano Velazquez.

What’s Next

Volumetric modular construction enabled Sutter Capital Group to reduce costs while also ensuring high-quality workmanship in all phases of development for The Line. Mark III are veterans to manufactured and prefabricated building methodologies, completing over $5 million worth of healthcare construction by way of componentized solutions over the past three years and have $3 million under construction.

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