In the fall of 2016, JC Hines and Associates was selected to join the design team of Watermark Residential as they finalized site design for a major new project in Chesterfield, MO. One of the nation’s top multifamily builders, Watermark had already begun planning the sprawling apartment community when they recognized that the site plans for the project would require a dozen critical retaining wall structures.

The retaining walls would not only need to meet the complex geotechnical and structural needs of the project, but also the signature upscale aesthetics of Watermark Residential communities. In effort to meet their needs, Watermark specified two types of precast block: Redi-Rock and Versa-Lok.

Eight smaller walls inside the community perimeter were designed and built with Versa-Lok blocks. The Mosaic block face provided by Versa-Lok’s residential blocks closely matched the desired visual aesthetics for the community. With only one reinforced wall at 12-feet tall, the other seven Versa-Lok walls were short in height or tiered structures.

Seven larger walls around the perimeter of the property were designed and built with Redi-Rock blocks. Both longer and taller than the Versa-Lok walls, these seven perimeter walls were constructed with Redi-Rock because of the easy integration of the Positive Connection system. With sections reaching 20-feet in height, strong geogrid reinforcement was integral to ensuring the stability of these larger structures.

This unique project was completed in 2018, totaling over 4,000 square-feet of Versa-Lok wall face, and 21,000 square-feet of Redi-Rock wall face. Midwest Block & Brick provided the Versa-Lok blocks while the Redi-Rock blocks were supplied by Schreiter Concrete.