The city of Glendale, Arizona will be giving resort goers the ultimate experience in 2024. The VAI Resort will be the largest resort in the state of Arizona once construction is complete. This massive getaway destination is planned to have 1,200 hotel rooms and suites with potential for a licensing partnerships with the premium room product.
The groundbreaking for the resort began in 2021. Fisher Industries was one of the companies fortunate enough to be tapped in helping pour concrete for the build of this up-and-coming resort. “The unique challenges of this project that arise have been fun for me,” says Mike Scronce, Project Manager from Fisher Industries. Scronce has mentioned that they have never poured a resort of this size before. “Some of the deck pours on the buildings are over 700 yards. The site has a tunnel system that runs through it. We are doing the concrete tunnels, basements and vertical on four of the buildings,” said Scronce.
VAI Resort is set to be a state-of-the-art resort and the premier daylife, nightlife and entertainment destination in the U.S. The largest resort in Arizona will deliver luxury and fun all rolled into one with convenience included being only 20 minutes from the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and across the street from the NFL Stadium. The resort will deliver a $40 million 360-degree concert stage, a 5-acre swimming oasis with the largest man-made party island, 12 upscale restaurants, half of which boast waterfront views, 10 exclusive bars and lounges, a high-end shopping center, and the world’s first Mattel Adventure Park and much more.
Scronce, an 11-year veteran with Fisher Industries, said that crews are working non-stop from 5am to 7pm most days on the resort project. He mentioned that it’s not a true job without a little bit of a struggle. “Originally, due to supply chain issues, getting concrete for this job was the biggest issue. We partnered with American Eagle Ready Mix and set up one of their batch plants on site which gave us the ability to control the production of the concrete and have it readily available for all pours on site. This really helped us take control of our own destiny,” said Scronce.
Mike and his team have been happy working on the job and thankful to be able to utilize SCHWING equipment for the project. “For our pump operators, specifically the 43-meter and the 52-meter pumps they like the ease of working the SCHWING pumps, the comfort, and the reaction time to the controllers. It’s more self-explanatory to use,” says Scronce. With the plans to open in 2024 , Scronce said “We have gone with SCHWING because of their reliability and uptime. They are very reliable, and we need reliability for this job.”
VAI Resort offers more than just a place to stay. VAI Global Development is working closely with the City of Glendale on a water conservation plan to include a water sustainability system. In addition, they are incorporating solar power in an effort to reduce the carbon footprint.
Scronce says he’s beyond proud of the work accomplished since he’s been involved from day one of the groundbreaking in 2021. “Being able to sit back and look at the accomplishment of what the crews have completed is my favorite part of the job. I started this project when it was a hayfield and broke ground here and to look at it now with four buildings coming out of the ground, it’s pretty amazing to see it come to life,” says Scronce.
To view the resort, check out www.vairesort.com.