Canal Insurance
Greenville, SC

Project Strategy

Canal Insurance Company is a commercial truck insurance company headquartered in Greenville, SC. Previously occupying the dated 1940’s Sears, Roebuck & Co. building on Stone Avenue for 30 years, the family of shareholders and employees needed a new place to execute their mission and company values in a post-covid environment.

Canal’s previous office space was lacking natural lighting, welcoming spaces, and updated finishes. The design team drew inspiration from these deficiencies by helping Canal find 57,000 square feet of office space with an abundance of windows, redistributing the meeting rooms and gathering spaces throughout each floor of the new building, and carefully selecting finishes that would reflect the core of a great insurance company.

Milliken’s Straight Talk Collection, with its cushion back technology encompassed comfort and design, streamlining working areas for all employees at Canal Insurance. Luxury vinyl plank tile provided warmth and stability in flex spaces throughout. Stone porcelain tile provided that urban and updated feel while maintaining harmony within each space. The use of other textural Porcelain Tile created a playful feeling with its light and shadow pattern markings. These finishes and many others were chosen to develop a workspace that is bright, contemporary, and welcoming to all guests and employees of Canal Insurance.

Unique Installation Challenge Strategy

This started out like many corporate tenant improvement projects. A design firm, set of documents to demo and install new materials for a large company relocation. Until demolitions start and then the beginnings of the unknown start to surface. With a tight schedule in front of us, we were faced with a subfloor that had not been touched in over 20 years. Each uncovered conditions that were never addressed from the previous owner. One of the biggest challenges for this project was the floor prep needed on 4 floors. When this building was first constructed years ago, one of the floors was a multi-slab pour and used as a parking deck. When the area was prepped for a wood flooring install by a previous contractor, there was no primer used under any of the self-level so massive sheets of concrete were coming up all over the space. The contracted flooring contractor, shot blast, used a gas level to mark and record height variations, and properly prime and prep the floor using Ardex products. This is the short version of what was an arduous task of validating the need for change orders with an owner's rep that was involved as part of the decision-making process. Ultimately, it was a unified effort by everyone involved to keep the pace of construction, while a looming massive move date for the new occupant. Photos included in the submission are reflective of a beautiful project. Recognizing this unique installation challenge draws attention to the complexities of existing conditions that would challenge the wrong installer involved. There was a lot of validation with our General Contractor and ultimately the owner. Never underestimate the good conversations that surface long after an owner occupies their space. We went the distance on this project.