How Flooring at the Obama Presidential Center Reflects Craft and Commitment

Consolidated Flooring is one of the largest commercial flooring contractors in the United States, with locations in eight major metropolitan areas, including Chicago. Its service offerings include every aspect of the trade, from standard flooring for school gyms, to resilient carpet for hotels and offices, to site-finished wood flooring — a specialty practice that’s in full effect at the Center.

“One thing that makes us unique in Chicago is that we are one of the only contractors capable of completing large-scale, site-finished hardwood flooring projects,” said Kristy Burlingame, Executive Vice President for Consolidated Flooring’s Chicago office. “This makes us uniquely suited for the Obama Presidential Center project, which is utilizing the relatively uncommon practice of site-finished hardwood. These are the products that last a lifetime versus a lease.”  

Site-finished wood flooring, a labor intensive process performed by skilled craftspeople, was popular until the market downturn in the 2000s, Burlingame said. As clientele moved toward luxury vinyl tile flooring and prefinished-engineered flooring that is manufactured at mills and easily glued down, many of the skilled site finishing installers became non-union or fell by the wayside.

“Another thing that sets us apart is that we are signatory to the carpenters’ union Local 1185, and we're 502, which means that we have concrete people on staff as well as carpenters,” she said. “That is helping us bridge the gap for a lot of challenges that exist in the marketplace right now.” 

Consolidated’s qualifications aside, Burlingame says that, during the bidding process, it became clear early on that the job specifications would be elevated. Her attitude was “anything can be done.”

“These parameters are not in place to make something impossible. They're in place to challenge us to be excellent. It excited me to be part of an organization who said ‘Yes, we can,’ to quote the Obamas,” she said. During the scope review, which took place over several days, Burlingame’s team and Consolidated’s diverse partners convened with Lakeside Alliance and the architect to hash out the details. 

“The planning was more than anything I ever imagined it could be. But because of that planning, I knew we could do this job, and Lakeside Alliance knew we could do this job,” Burlingame said. “Site conditions must be perfect for a floor of this kind to perform. Lakeside Alliance is going above and beyond to ensure that they are, which is quite a feat in any ground up construction with Chicago’s climate conditions. Additionally, from the FSC certified wood materials to no VOC wood finishes, meeting the environmental impact requirements while still maintaining the design and performance intent were the most impressive we’ve ever seen.”

The company’s scope includes the Library, program and exhibit spaces, the president's and the first lady's private quarters, the Auditorium area and a replica of the oval office. The project is particularly unique because Consolidated is doing a full buildup of sub-floor systems that consists of a sleeper system, plywood with solid wood on top that is then sanded, sealed and finished on site.

“So much goes into making sure a floor like that goes in flawlessly. Not just anybody can do this,” she said. “The most unique floor on the project is a cool end-grain mesquite and it is definitely the most challenging. The installation and finishing techniques have to be perfect for those floors to look as intended in the end.”

So much wood is required for the project that the mill is producing more even as it is being shipped by multiple truckloads. “It’s an incredible amount of material to receive, verify and keep safe and sound. The scale of it is unbelievable! Not every project is important enough to give that much space to, but this project matters.”

For Burlingame, who started in construction at just 19 years old, her story is also about changing the face of the industry. Historically, few women pursued flooring installation compared to trades like electrical or painting. But through job shadowing and mentorship, Consolidated has helped bring more women into Local 1185 than ever before. “Flooring is demanding work, but the idea that women can’t do it just isn’t true,” Burlingame said. “What is needed is better recruitment and support.”

And though the job is challenging, the talent on site is performing some of the most gratifying work of their careers, said Michelle Heron Means, Director of National Engagement and Talent Leadership for Consolidated in Chicago. Meeting these technical challenges while leaning into inclusion and Lakeside Alliance’s call for transformative commitments — a call issued to contractors on the project to go above and beyond to create opportunity for local and diverse participation — means that the company’s impact will extend far beyond the Center itself. 

“This project is truly a partnership. I know that word is thrown around a lot, but our plan here is to truly make a long-term impact,” Heron Means said. “We recognize that a lot of communities don't have these opportunities. We want to bring the work to them so that they are not traveling 30 to 40 minutes and can instead say that they're working on a project that's right in their neighborhood.”

Burlingame concurred: We've done plenty of projects with M/WBE requirements. What was special about this was it was inclusive of MBE, WBE, VBE, DBE, LGBTBQ . . . and once we started to get even more involved in all of these different areas, we’re proud to have gained a reputation as the kind of people who can get this done with a robust group of diverse partners. It's so ingrained in our current approach that it doesn't seem like it sets us apart anymore, but it definitely does!”