Bozeman, Montana is a city on the move, no doubt about it. As the nearest major passenger airport to Yellowstone National Park and the city nearest Big Sky Ski Resort, “Boz-Angeles” is currently growing at a rate of 3.2% annually. Its population has increased by 42.9% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 53,293 in 2021.

Of course, housing demand is rising, so the addition of a five-story mixed-use residential building fit in well with the City of Bozeman’s vision for its future downtown and added much-needed housing stock. The Merin is a mid-rise building that features 31 living units above two ground level retail spaces, with 35 parking stalls. Encompassing over 71,000 sq ft, it will also feature a courtyard, and private balconies for the residential units. DCI Engineers designed the primary framing systems for The Merin’s podiumstyle construction (post tensioned concrete slab design for the ground level and wood framed above-grade levels). The engineering team also designed the building’s cantilever sizes to maximize the efficiency of the concrete slab and provided maximum economy of the post-tensioned concrete system by coordinating regular column spacing for the ground floor layout.

Plumbing Planning

The project ground broke in the fall 2019 and was off to a good start when ownership changes jostled the plumbing installation

schedule. The project used Aquatherm polypropylene piping for the domestic coldwater mains, Uponor PEX in all the units, PVC for the drain and waste, and cast-iron risers on toilet stacks, with copper stub outs coming off the water heaters. Harvey’s Plumbing, a Bozeman-based, fullservice plumbing and mechanical contractor was tabbed for the project’s plumbing installation (Harvey’s was subsequently purchased by Bozeman-based Williams Plumbing and Heating). Harvey’s had recently completed three similar projects in the Bozeman area, so the project was straightforward, and there was an established process for the plumbing installation, resulting in less time spent modeling the plumbing system design. Still there were challenges. According to Mitch Rausch, Director of Preconstruction for Williams Plumbing/