Van Zandt on West 7th: From Topping Out to Closing In

 

A few weeks ago, we stopped work for an afternoon and brought together the people who built the Van Zandt structure. Concrete finishers, ironworkers, framers, drywall crews, electricians, plumbers, operators, and the Oline field team filled a banquet hall in Fort Worth to celebrate topping out. It was an opportunity to recognize a major milestone, but more importantly, to thank the men and women whose work got the building there.

Today, those same crews are pushing into the next phase, and the Van Zandt is beginning to close in.

 

Topping Out: Thanking the People Who Built It

A topping out is the moment a building reaches its full height. On the Van Zandt, that meant the last of the concrete structure on the residential tower, an achievement that represents months of formwork, rebar, and pours above a busy corridor on West 7th Street.

In the middle of a Texas summer, we were happy to get the crews out of the heat for an afternoon and into an air-conditioned banquet hall. Hundreds of tradespeople joined us for lunch, giveaways, and a chance to step away from the jobsite and celebrate what they had accomplished together. We gave away tools, coolers, grills, and a few larger prizes, but the most important part of the afternoon was simply being able to say thank you.

A few days later, members of the Oline Construction, Aurum Concrete, and Goldenrod Companies leadership teams gathered on the completed deck for a second topping out celebration.

Standing on the completed deck brought the milestone into perspective. Beneath us were months of planning, forming, reinforcing, placing, finishing, and coordination by Aurum Concrete, Oline, and the many trade partners who worked together to get it there.

It was a chance to recognize how far the project had come, but also to look ahead. Topping out does not mean the work is slowing down. It means the next phase is already moving.

Closing In: Where the Enclosure Stands

With the structure topped out, the focus has shifted to the building skin. The enclosure is what turns a concrete frame into a weathertight building, and it sets the pace for everything that happens inside.

As of our late September enclosure report on the residential tower, Levels 4 through 10:

 

• More than 80 percent of the exterior cold formed metal framing is in place.
• More than half of the tower is wrapped in exterior sheathing, with most of the courtyard faces sheathed to the roof.
• Air barrier crews are on the wall and working their way up from Level 4.
• Window installation and the EIFS and metal panel finish follow the air barrier, level by level.

The enclosure is progressing quickly. Over the coming weeks, exterior sheathing will be covered by the air barrier, followed by windows and the finished facade, bringing the Van Zandt closer to the finished appearance envisioned in the renderings.

 

How We Are Running It

Enclosure work on a building this size is a sequence of trades stacked on top of one another: framing, sheathing, air barrier, windows, and finish, all working different levels and different faces at the same time. Daily internal coordination meetings and detailed breakout schedules keep that sequence clear. We review daily activities and look-aheads so work on one face or level does not interfere with adjacent facade activities, and every crew knows where it is going next.

Quality checks guide the handoffs between trades. Our team conducts daily QA/QC walks using activity-specific checklists, and the next trade starts only after the checklist is released. We also coordinate early with the facade and roofing subcontractors so roof-to-wall transitions are built and inspected as one continuous weatherproofing system. Joint walks with the owner’s third-party waterproofing consultant provide another layer of verification.

We fly the site every Monday morning and Friday afternoon to measure the week’s enclosure progress against the schedule. From the scaffold, 360-degree camera walkthroughs document the weatherproofing layers before they are covered, creating a permanent record of what is behind the finished wall.

Together, these schedules, inspections, and progress records help us spot issues early and keep work moving. At Oline, clarity creates speed.

 

What Comes Next

Through the fall, exterior sheathing will continue around the remaining portions of the residential tower while the air barrier and window installation progress upward. EIFS and metal panel finishes will follow, and the office building enclosure will move forward behind the residential tower. At the same time, precast panel erection is beginning, adding another major visible phase to the project.

This next phase is about more than enclosure and schedule. It is about delivering on Goldenrod’s vision for a landmark mixed use development that will anchor West 7th. With every completed elevation and every panel set, the appearance of the Van Zandt will continue to change. We will keep sharing that progress as the project closes in. Most importantly, thank you to every trade partner, superintendent, foreman, craft professional, and member of the project team who helped us reach the top and who is now helping us turn that structure into a finished building.

 

About the Van Zandt

The Van Zandt is a mixed use development at West 7th Street and Foch Street in Fort Worth, Texas, with residential, office, and retail space. The residential tower and office building rise over structured parking, with a Level 4 amenity deck.

 

About Oline Construction

Oline Construction is a general contractor with regional offices in Fort Worth, Omaha, Atlanta, and Somerville, New Jersey, and is part of the Goldenrod Companies family alongside Aurum Concrete, GRIT Construction, and Goldenrod Mechanical Services. We build with disciplined process and repeatable systems, and we measure success by the quality of the work and the people who go home safe every day.