Photo courtesy of ALL Crane

The 257-room, eight-floor Embassy Suites Gulf Shores is being constructed with a big assist from a tower crane provided by ALL Crane Rental of Alabama, a member of the ALL Family of Companies.

The city of Gulf Shores, Ala.'s $15 million revitalization investment in its beachfront continues to pay dividends with construction of the second major hotel along the strip.

The 257-room, eight-floor Embassy Suites Gulf Shores is being constructed with a big assist from a tower crane provided by ALL Crane Rental of Alabama, a member of the ALL Family of Companies.

A Potain MDT 389 tower crane was erected on the site last fall, with a 246-ft. jib and final hook height of 169 ft. In addition to building the hotel, it also has assisted in the construction of the adjacent three-level parking structure. The general contractor for the project, and ALL's customer, is Robins & Morton.

The hotel is a joint venture among three firms: DD Partners and Woodbine are leading development and asset management efforts, and Peachtree will manage operations for the resort beginning in summer 2025.

"The tower has mainly been used for concrete pours," said Scott Swearengin, sales representative of ALL Crane Rental of Alabama. "To date, we've poured 21,000 cubic yards of concrete."

Two challenges related to the Gulf Coast location include the sandy terrain and the area's history of hurricane activity. The sand necessitated careful attention to ground bearing pressures and also required crane mats for a 350-ton Grove GMK 6300-L all terrain (AT) crane used as the assist crane on construction of the Potain tower.

To prepare for possible hurricane activity, the Alabama branch coordinated with Sam Moyer, general manager of ALL Tower Crane and a professional engineer, on a severe weather plan to implement in the event of high winds.

The hurricane planning has proved effective. On Sept. 27, Helene hit the Florida coast as a Category 4 major hurricane. Helene made landfall in the Big Bend region near Perry, Fla., followed ten days later by Hurricane Milton, which struck as a Category 5. Both storms' impact zones left Gulf Shores worried but safe, and Swearengin reported the cranes were unaffected. However, said Swearengin, it's about being prepared.

"In 2020, Hurricane Sally made landfall near Gulf Shores. We plan better because we can't count on the weather to play along."

ALL also brought a 110-ton Liebherr LTM 1090-4.2 all terrain crane to the site to help construct the elevator shaft for the property as well as to perform roof and steel work.

"Use of the AT meant coordination with the moves of the tower's jib to maintain clear swing paths for both," said Swearengin.

Upon completion of construction of the hotel and parking deck, for tower tear-down, ALL will bring back the Grove GMK 6300-L and set it up on 1st Avenue on the far side of the parking deck. Configured with main boom of 245 ft. at a lift radius of 100 ft. with 203,900 lbs. in counterweight, the AT will help disassemble the tower. The project is expected to wrap up this fall.

For more information, visit www.allcrane.com.

This story also appears on Crane Equipment Guide.

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