A new 55-plus condominium project in West Des Moines, Iowa, was off to a good start with All Star Concrete pouring the foundations and other concrete work. 

“It’s a unique project with a lower-level parking garage and the condominium living quarters above,” says Alex Vazquez, Owner of All Star Concrete, based in Ankeny, Iowa. 

The $19 million, three-story condominium community for active adults ages 55 years and older is Hubbell Realty Co.’s first older-adult community project, which is located in the Greenway Square neighborhood, close to restaurants and shops. 

Aventura features 13 different floor plans, with 62 units ranging from 1,200 to 1,800 square feet. The community includes an underground, heated parking garage; gardens; a carpentry woodworking area; a pet wash area; sunroom; exercise room; an outdoor terrace with a fire pit; walking and biking trails; craft rooms; library; and conference room. The units are selling for between $250,000 and $400,000. 

“Aventura offers the active lifestyle we believe West Des Moines has been missing,” said Kris Saddoris, Vice President of Commercial Development for Hubbell of West Des Moines in a statement. “From modern finishes including quartz countertops and numerous amenities, this brings more options to the community to enjoy the Greenway Square neighborhood.”       

Hubbell Construction Services of Grimes, Iowa, serves as the general contractor on the Aventura project and hired All Star Concrete to pour the foundations, footings, piers, walls and columns and install anchor bolts on the lower level. The company will also pour an elevator pit, the parking garage, a 3-inch layer of concrete over prestressed precast slabs, and the exterior parking lot and sidewalks. 

Work began on Aventura in October 2018 and is expected to wrap up in 2020. Rain delayed the project by about two months, as the dirt subcontractor could not work in the inclement weather. The dirt required fly ash for stabilization and a temporary gravel driveway. 

All Star Concrete has worked with Hubbell Construction Services in the past on a $1 million-plus, 110,000-square-foot warehouse in Grimes. And once the Aventura project wraps up, Vazquez anticipates starting on footings for another phase of the warehouse project for Hubbell. 

“Hubbell is a big and known contractor in the Des Moines area,” Vazquez says. “We are very excited to be working with Hubbell on these large size projects in the metro area and hope to continue working with the company in the future.”

Having the Right Equipment

The right equipment makes any job run more smoothly. 

All Star Concrete owns about 10 track loaders, a couple of mini excavators, laser screeds with 3D GPS capabilities, laser box graders, Trimble total stations, a Putzmeister Telebelt, and a large inventory of concrete finishing tools and equipment. 

When needed, All Star Concrete rents larger equipment, such as excavators or dump trucks. The firm rented, on the Aventura project, a Takeuchi TB250 Compact Excavator from Star Equipment in Des Moines. The excavator features a dig depth of more than 12 feet and a reach of more than 20 feet, a rounded body for improved functionality and a conventional tail swing for stability. All Star Concrete also rented a Takeuchi TL10 Compact Track Loader, with a vertical lift loader arrangement. Its wide block tread decreases noise and vibration for a smoother ride. 

Family-owned Star Equipment, founded in 1968, sells new and used equipment, rents heavy machinery and services equipment. The company offers service and sales throughout Iowa and parts of Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, Illinois and Missouri. Star likes to say it sells productivity, offering the latest technology. 

“Star Equipment has been great to work with,” Vazquez says. “We have bought many skid loaders and other equipment from the company.”

Star Equipment did an in-house finance with All Star Concrete for its first skid loader and the relationship has flourished through the years. Now, all of the contractor’s skid loaders come from Star Equipment. 

“I like investing back into my company and buying more equipment,” Vazquez says. “I’m always looking for new technology and equipment that can help with production, speed, accuracy and be easier on the guys.”

All Star Concrete plans to purchase a paver in the near future to pour slip-form curbs and gutters, which will help with production and eliminate some labor-intensive work. 

“We want to buy more equipment and technology,” Vazquez says. 

Continued Growth

Vazquez began working with concrete at the age of 17, immediately after high school. He learned the ropes at a few different contractors and then established All Star Concrete in November of 2013, with about five employees. By the spring of 2014, residential work began to take off. The next season brought the company’s first commercial job, a hotel parking lot. 

“The rest is history,” Vazquez recalls. “It has just kept growing and growing. Now, we have about 60 guys in the field, and eight office and supervisory employees.”

Vazquez plans to keep the company at about the same size, while pursuing more projects as a subcontractor. 

All Star Concrete has completed several apartment building projects, retail buildings, warehouse foundations, and walls, floors, parking lots and sidewalks. Project costs range from $15,000 to more than $2 million. It has also poured the concrete flatwork for more than 600 newly built houses in the last couple of years in the area.

“I do a lot of negotiated work and form strong relationships with builders and contractors,” Vazquez says. “People see that we are doing parking lots and floors, and people started reaching out to us. This market is about who you know and who you have strong relationships with. The quality has to be there and the good reputation as well.”

Vazquez credits the staff he has built into a team with building a successful business. Some foremen have moved up to superintendents, and concrete finishers have moved up to foremen positions. Vazquez says he believes in giving people opportunities. When a complicated job comes All Star Concrete’s way, Vazquez and his team will discuss the project and its challenges and come up with a way to successfully finish the job. 

“We brainstorm thoroughly how we will complete a job; then we go out there and get it done,” Vazquez says. 

The company specializes in commercial and residential concrete construction in Des Moines and surrounding areas. However, All Star Concrete will travel for established customers.

“When we have a good relationship, we will take care of them,” Vazquez says.