LATHROP 9/13/07 3:57 PM Page 192

THE LATHROP CO.

Lathrop is the contractor for The Shops at

Fallen Timbers, an outdoor retail center that

Tom Ethington
will include department stores, restaurants
and a movie theater.

Acquiring Clients For Life

The Lathrop Co. is completing a large open mall. The Shops at Fallen Timbers, in Maumee, Ohio. It
expects to be on time despite material and weather problems during the early stage of construction.
By Fernie Grace Tiflis project is we were able to do a lot of pre-planning, which

T he Shops at Fallen Timbers, an outdoor retail center

located in Maumee, Ohio, is expected to attract locals
and tourists alike when it is completed this fall. Own-
er General Growth Properties Inc., a real estate investment
trust based in Chicago, awarded the project to Toledo, Ohio-
based general contractor The Lathrop Co., a wholly owned
subsidiary of Turner Construction.
Lathrop is the contractor for the 750,000-square-foot
open mall, which will have about 280,000 square feet of
retail in 10 buildings. The tenants will include a 200,000-
square-foot Dillards department store, JC Penney and a 14-
screen Showcase Cinema, as well as Barnes
The Lathrop Co. – The Shops
at Fallen Timbers Project & Noble and PF Chang’s China Bistro.
www.turnerconstruction.com The Shops is expected to be completed
/lathrop in October 2007 after 13 months of con-
Project location: Maumee,
Ohio struction. Lathrop’s focus on teamwork
Employees: Four (on-site) took it through tight schedules and ardu-
Services: General contractor ous weather conditions, Project Executive
Ray Benjamin, project man-
ager: “Good relationships with Ray Benjamin says.
the project team ... is the key.” “One of the advantages we had in this
made it successful,” Benjamin says. “Through our efforts in
pre-planning and pre-construction phases, we believe the
owner realized the benefits, especially when we’re able to
work in a partnership type of atmosphere.”
In addition, architect ka Architecture of Cleveland is in-
volved throughout every phase of the project, Benjamin
states. “ka is a team member as far as solving issues,” he
notes. “That’s something unique, because a lot of times you
don’t see that.”
Benjamin adds that both the architects and subcontrac-
tors help with the tight deadline. “Our relationships with
our subcontractors are really strong – that is one of the
major reasons for this success,” he says. “Good relation-
ships with the project team – owner, architect, engineer
and subcontractors – is the key.”
Setting the Pace
A challenge Lathrop faced was modifying already fabricat-
ed steel to accommodate some of the tenant’s last-minute
changes. Project Manager Dan Singler says it adapted by

192 ■ CONSTRUCTION TODAY ■ OCTOBER 2007