This unique project began with one simple question: Ice cream in the desert? The answer — though not quite as simple to produce — stands as an 85,000 square-foot tribute to Big-D’s seamless design-build process.

In 2001, Dean Foods — parent company of Meadow Gold Dairy — contacted Big-D to help assess the viability of a new Greenfield facility in the Las Vegas area. After months of due diligence, in which Big-D provided site analyses and detailed project cost models, Dean Foods gave Big-D the green light for the new Greenfield project.

Despite initial zoning challenges — the original site was annexed by the City of North Las Vegas and later re-zoned for allowance of this facility — Big-D procured a site clearing permit in February 2003, and a building permit in June 2003. By June 2004, the Certificate of Occupancy was issued, enabling Meadow Gold to commence operations (receiving, processing, and shipping) in July 2004.

The project consists of three separate buildings: the main plant, guardhouse, and a 10,746 square-foot vehicle maintenance facility. Attached to the VMF is a 3,000 square-foot ice cream freezer (for storage of product made elsewhere). The main building has approximately 17,000 square-feet of cooler warehouse for storage of final product.

This project also includes a truck scale, administrative offices, enclosed milk receiving bays, and processing, packing, mechanical and blow-mold areas.

Sitework for this facility included offsite improvements and connection of utilities to the processing equipment. Finishes in the process areas include acid brick flooring and ceramic tile walls. Ceilings are IMP walk-on ceilings with interstitial mechanical spaces above.