Multi-level fulfillment centers have turned the slab into a structure, and that changes what an owner should ask a builder. In Thornton, a fulfillment center announced near I-25 and 144th Avenue was described as an 855,000 square foot, three-level building with 2.4 million square feet of floor area. In the Colorado Springs market, a planned distribution and sorting center was described at about 4 million square feet over five stories, with 800,000 square feet on the first floor. Elevated decks, vertical conveyors and robotics floors are now part of the brief.
We build for ecommerce operators, their landlords and their automation vendors. The owner's concerns are launch date, order throughput and the operating cost per unit shipped, and the builder's job is to remove variables from all three. That means a floor that meets the automation vendor's flatness specification, a power and data backbone sized for the second phase, and a site that can move trucks and employee vehicles through a shift change without a backup onto the public road.
We treat the programs as repeatable. Operators opening several sites a year need a building that is known, scheduled and priced, and our distribution center expansions work for existing sites applies the same discipline to a building that is already moving parcels.
Start from the automation vendor, not the shell
The order of design is inverted compared with a speculative warehouse. The automation integrator, the racking supplier or the robotics provider publishes load, flatness, power and fire protection requirements, and the shell is designed to receive them. We bring the vendor into preconstruction, request their installation requirements in writing and reconcile them with the architect and structural engineer before the building footprint is frozen. Mismatches found at that stage cost a drawing revision, while mismatches found after the slab is poured cost a grinding crew and an apology.
On multi-level buildings, we add a second coordination track for the vertical system: stair and elevator cores, vertical lifts, ramps for vehicles or conveyors, and fire separation between levels. We hold a weekly coordination session with the design team, the vendor and the owner's operations lead, and record every decision in a log that moves into the turnover binder. A logistics fulfillment center built this way has fewer surprises at integration.
Decks, mezzanines and the floors that carry robots
Multi-level space can be built as a steel mezzanine system, a composite concrete deck on steel, or a structural frame with precast or cast-in-place levels. The choice depends on the live load of the automation, the vibration tolerance of the equipment and the speed at which the owner wants to open. For smaller expansions inside an existing building, our mezzanines, catwalks and platforms package provides a faster path with a lighter structure and clearly posted load limits.
Ground-floor slabs carry the heaviest equipment and the tightest flatness numbers. We pour them with laser screeds, control joint layouts matched to rack and conveyor lines, and surface surveys after each placement. Around the building we build truck courts, trailer positions and employee parking, because a facility with 1,000 to 1,500 positions needs far more parking than a typical warehouse, and the lot has to be built and striped before the first shift starts.
Launch dates and the shell-to-systems handoff
Ecommerce launches are tied to seasons. A site that is not operational before the fall volume ramp misses a quarter of the year, so every schedule we write has a protected date for handoff to the integrator. We work backward from that date through the permit, the shell, the power, the fire protection and the floor, and name the owner-supplied items that gate each step.
The handoff itself is an engineered event. The automation vendor needs a sealed building, permanent or temporary power, a clean and flat floor, and sometimes a temperature-controlled space for controls and servers. We write the minimum handover condition for each system into the contract and verify it with the vendor on a walk before the building is turned over. Items that fall short get a dated punch list instead of a verbal promise, and the vendor's start date moves only if the list does.
Why ecommerce buildings cost more per foot than a shell
The base building is only part of the budget. Fire protection for tall racking and multiple levels, power and data distribution, high-quality floors, mezzanine structures, and larger parking areas all add cost. Evans offers a small example of the other end of the market: a broker listing describes three new industrial buildings on Brantner Road, built in 2025 near Highways 85 and 34 and I-25, with a 7,500 square foot first suite for lease or sale. Smaller suites like those serve last-mile and returns operations, which are priced differently from a large sort center. In Aurora, a roughly one million square foot, $130 million fulfillment center on Smith Road near Picadilly was announced with about 1,000 full-time jobs, a reminder of how much of a program's cost sits in parking, power and site work.
For larger owners, our recommended approach is a layered estimate: shell and site, then structure for elevated levels, then power and fire, then flooring and the owner's automation interface. That layered estimate lets the real estate team compare against a lease rate and the operations team compare against throughput. When a vendor's equipment changes during design, we show the cost effect against the layer it touches, and the owner decides whether the change is worth it.
Life safety on multi-level and high-volume sites
High-traffic fulfillment buildings combine tall storage, automated equipment, forklifts and large staff counts. We plan the egress, the sprinkler design, the smoke control and the fire department access with the fire authority early, because multi-level egress and in-rack sprinklers can change the structure. Crane and lift plans for erecting steel and equipment take into account people moving through adjacent areas, and we separate construction access from owner operations on sites that are partly occupied.
The site has its own safety problems. A shift change moves hundreds of vehicles in a short period, so the parking lot and the entrance are designed for flow, with sight lines at crossings and pedestrian routes that avoid the truck court. Our stabilized parking lots work covers the surface and base for those lots, and the crossing layout is checked with the owner's safety team.
Send the automation spec and the launch date
Share the vendor's requirements, the building size or level count, the target launch and any lease dates. We will return a program, a coordination plan for the automation handoff and a schedule that protects your peak-season date. Owners moving freight in bulk should read our page on logistics and distribution, and grocers adding chilled fulfillment should see cold storage.
Common Questions
Can a multi-level fulfillment center be built on any parcel?
It can be built where the site can carry the footprint, the truck circulation and the parking, and where the jurisdiction allows the height and the fire design. The Colorado Springs project described above covers 69.2 acres inside a 960-acre park. Parcel size, drainage and utility capacity decide feasibility, and we test each of them before the owner commits.
How tight is the floor tolerance for robotics?
Tight enough that it must be written into the contract. Robotics and automated vehicle suppliers publish flatness and levelness numbers, and the numbers differ for travel paths and for fixed equipment. We take the figure from the vendor, pour to it, and survey the slab after each placement.
Who is responsible for fire protection of tall racks?
The design team and the fire authority set the requirement, and the sprinkler contractor furnishes it. We coordinate the rack layout, the commodity classification and the sprinkler design before the roof structure is finalized, since in-rack sprinklers and added pumps affect the building. The owner's insurer often has requirements as well, and we ask for them up front.
What is a realistic way to reduce launch risk?
Lock the automation design early, release long-lead gear with the structural package, and agree the handover condition in writing. Most delays we have seen come from a late change to a vendor's requirement or from an unfinished utility, so we put both on the weekly agenda from day one.