Precise planning, attention to detail, and innovative safety measures lead to exceptional results and high client satisfaction at Korsmo Construction’s Great Wolf Lodge renovation in Grand Mound.
Grand Mound, Washington — Almost 2,000 people visit Great Wolf Lodge’s Grand Mound location daily. The resort is the national chain’s only location serving the Pacific Northwest, with its closest franchise neighbors in Anaheim, California, and Colorado Springs, Colorado. Great Wolf Lodge Resorts contracted Korsmo to renovate nearly all public spaces in the lodge, including the construction of a new main lobby stair, retail spaces, and food and beverage outlets.
Above: The newly renovated grand lobby of Great Wolf Lodge resort in Grand Mound, Washington. | Image: Aaron Lock Photography
A Complex Project
Korsmo began renovation on Great Wolf Lodge Grand Mound in May 2023. Construction was a highly complex project that included work on nearly every public space in the building. The final punch list would eventually consist of a modernized grand lobby, new reception area and immersive performance space, live-action game center, 10,000-square-foot arcade, themed restaurants, multiple counter-service eateries, retail shops, waterpark cabanas, and restroom and locker room updates. At 382,000 square feet, the project had the additional challenge of allowing Great Wolf Lodge to remain open and fully operational throughout the work.
One Highly Integrated Team
The complexity of the Great Wolf Lodge Core Renovation meant that team integration was critical to project success. Using a design-assist delivery method and connecting with the Great Wolf Lodge team early, Korsmo provided preconstruction, estimating, and scheduling support from conceptual design through construction.
Above: Expanded dining options at Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound. | Images: Aaron Lock Photography
Continuous communication was vital to maintaining the timeline throughout the project’s 31 unique milestones in 26 phases with 21 completion dates. Each area was treated as an individual project during the collaborative planning process and given a critical path method schedule. Korsmo met with on-site resort staff twice daily to keep all parties apprised of evolving logistics plans and construction activities – in addition to weekly owner, architect, and contractor (OAC) meetings.
Accuracy and reliability brought both parties together, particularly in estimating and scheduling. Close collaboration and open lines of communication instilled a high degree of confidence in Korsmo as the builder and the team as critical partners.
Creative Phasing: Delivering the Work and a Seamless Guest Experience
Above: Water park retail kiosks were completed while the resort was still fully open and operational. | Images: Aaron Lock Photography
Phasing was a critical component of the Great Wolf Lodge project, and the Korsmo team worked all hours necessary to accommodate guests and staff. In one such example, all retail kiosks and arcade games needed to remain open, so teams built temporary pop-up stores with low-voltage power, lighting, and curtain walls to isolate construction. With no plans provided for temporary outlets, the team built each space as needed. Custom branding completed the buildout of each sub-space, maintaining the resort’s branding throughout the process.
During construction, the arcade games moved to flex space in the main hall and protected from welding activities through an innovative, portable cover system. In the grand lobby and hallways, the tile flooring included intricate patterns that required the installation of large sections at once. Flooring had to be coordinated for completion overnight, using speed-set mortar that allowed entire corridors to be shut down and reopened by morning.
One final critical path milestone that could significantly disrupt lodge operations was the relocation of the central stairwell at the transition between the grand lobby and reception areas. Any miscalculation in this zone would trigger interference with other structural components in an area without room for rework. Using virtual design and construction technology, the Korsmo team performed a point-cloud scan of the stairwell structure to generate a highly accurate 3D model. This model was then used to coordinate with the steel fabricator to ensure a perfect structural fit at installation. Throughout this phase, Korsmo built temporary lobby stairs for continued public access to upper levels.
Above: Family dining options were refreshed, improved, and expanded to provide exciting new options for all guests. | Images: Aaron Lock Photography
Safety and Containment
As is typical at theme parks, the resort’s 2,000 daily visitors (many children and overnight guests) meant constant activity throughout the building at all hours. The fully operational water park facility added further complexity as visitors brought wet belongings through the main lodge or navigated floors barefoot. Complex phasing, innovative containment strategies, and strict safety standards allowed the resort to continue providing exceptional guest and staff experiences. Korsmo worked carefully to establish strict safety standards, successfully managed by multiple foremen and supervised by a full-time on-site safety officer. The Korsmo team’s careful planning and monitoring enabled them to safely advance work concurrently in over twenty areas without incident. Great Wolf Lodge was completed with no recordable injuries.
Above: Korsmo created a 10,000 square-foot space dedicated to arcade gaming, significantly enhancing the Lodge’s ability to provide this style of age-inclusive entertainment. | Images: Aaron Lock Photography
Above: Improvements to the resort’s signature MagiQuest experience included new retail areas and interactive structures. | Images: Aaron Lock Photography
Client Satisfaction: Success by the Scope
As a family destination resort with national acclaim, the Great Wolf Lodge project was subject to intense scrutiny and required exceptional attention to detail. The owner was so confident in the team’s progress that Great Wolf Lodge added $1 million to the project in program and scope. Korsmo estimated and constructed the additional work while meeting the original project completion date. At delivery, the resort’s Director of Waterpark Construction, Christopher Hewison, remarked,
“Korsmo Construction is an exceptional partner, and I am highly impressed with your team’s work ethic, customer service, schedule development, and cost estimating capabilities. I will definitely be reaching out to [Korsmo] for any of our future renovation needs and highly recommend others do so as well!”
In the news:
Great Wolf Lodge Completes Largest Renovation in Its History | Travel + Outdoors | southsoundmag.com