How a transparently-handled subgrade surprise on the first building earned Paved Assets a much larger second job at the same office complex six months later.
Project At a Glance
| Property | Aerial Center — two-building office complex, Morrisville NC |
|---|---|
| Owner | Aerial Center Realty Corporation |
| Property manager | Spectrum Companies |
| Phase 1 — 3000 Aerial Center Pkwy | Spring 2025 — 18,537 sq ft repave (58 spots) |
| Phase 2 — 2701 Aerial Center Pkwy | Fall 2025 — 85,153 sq ft repave (217 spots, including shared entryway with 2501) |
| Asphalt mix | NCDOT i19 binder + NCDOT S9.5B surface mix |
| Drive aisle spec | 4" total (2.5" binder + 1.5" surface) |
| Heavy-load zones | 5" at dumpster pad areas where proof-rolling found softness |
| Parking stall spec | 2" surface mix |
| Coordination | Tenant notification, after-hours work, property line confirmation |
The Challenge
Aerial Center is a multi-building Class-A office complex on Aerial Center Parkway in Morrisville. By 2025, two of the buildings had aging asphalt with cracking, surface failures, and visible signs that the lot was approaching the end of its useful life — the kind of condition that a property manager can't sealcoat away.
Spectrum Companies, the property manager, came to Paved Assets in spring 2025 with a constrained ask: repave a defined section at the smaller building (3000 Aerial Center) to an engineering-grade spec — 4" in the drive aisle, 2" in the parking stalls — without disrupting tenants. The 2701 building was understood to be a later decision.
Phase 1: 3000 Aerial Center (Spring 2025)
The plan
Mill the existing asphalt — 2" deep across the parking stalls (8,180 sq ft) and 4" deep across the drive aisle (10,357 sq ft). Install NCDOT-spec asphalt in two lifts on the drive aisle (2.5" i19 binder + 1.5" S9.5B surface) and a single 2" surface lift on the parking stalls. Restripe ~58 spots.
The surprise
Once existing asphalt was milled out, our team identified subgrade sinkholes beneath curbing adjacent to the catch basins — water leakage had eroded the earth under the curb in two spots, leaving voids the original spec couldn't address. Paving over them would have failed within a season.
How we handled it
Two things mattered to Spectrum here, and we hit both:
- Documented in writing, before doing any extra work. A formal change order with scope and line-item pricing. Nothing was done until Spectrum signed.
- Reduced charged. The additional work covered subgrade dig-out, binder reinforcement, ~158 LF of curb rip-and-replace, and ABC stone backfill around the catch basins. We zeroed out the extra mobilization and overhead line.
It's the right thing to do — a discovery that's no fault of the owner isn't an opportunity to upsell — and it builds the kind of trust that gets you hired back.
Phase 2: 2701 Aerial Center (Fall 2025)
The repeat call
Six months after 3000 Aerial wrapped, Spectrum called back. They wanted the same engineering-grade spec — 4" drive aisle, 2" stalls — applied to the much larger 2701 building. The Re: line on the September 2025 quote read: "This quote mimics the specification of the work we did at 3000 Aerial." That's the kind of sentence that only happens when Phase 1 went the way it should have.
Lessons applied
On 3000 Aerial, the subgrade issue came as a surprise. On 2701 Aerial, we proof-rolled the lot before we milled anything — a heavy roller pass that flexes the existing surface and reveals soft spots underneath. Result: ~12,000 sq ft of drive aisle leading away from the dumpster pads showed softness, and we deepened the spec there from 4" to 5" preemptively. No mid-job surprise. No second change order.
Scope at 2701
- ~85,153 sq ft total mill-and-overlay including the entryway shared with 2501 Aerial Center
- Parking stalls (~35,154 sq ft) at 2" mill-and-overlay
- Standard drive aisle (~37,999 sq ft) at 4" — 2.5" i19 binder + 1.5" S9.5B surface
- Dumpster pad approaches (~12,000 sq ft) at 5" — 3.5" i19 binder + 1.5" S9.5B surface, accounting for trash truck point loads and the softness identified during proof rolling
- Restripe ~217 parking spots including ADA stencils, arrows, crosswalks, stop bars
- Quoted with and without the shared entryway with 2501 — giving Spectrum the optionality to coordinate with the neighboring property or proceed solo
Why It Mattered for Spectrum and the Owner
- Engineering-grade spec, not a one-size-fits-all paving job. A 4" drive aisle and a 5" dumpster approach are not standard for a parking lot repave — they're what you specify when you want the lot to last twenty years instead of seven. Spectrum knew the difference and asked for it. We delivered it on both buildings.
- Tenant impact minimized. Both buildings are working office properties. We sequenced the work in coordination with property management to keep tenant access throughout, with cars off affected zones by 8 a.m. on work days.
- Documentation a property manager can use. Mapping software measurements, photographed pre-conditions, change order scope, and final-spec specifications were all delivered in writing — the kind of documentation that supports CapEx approvals, warranty discussions, and lender reporting later.
- Repeat business is the result of doing it right the first time. The 2701 contract was a direct outcome of how 3000 was handled — including the change order. There is no shortcut to that kind of trust.
Project Specifications — Combined
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Properties | 3000 + 2701 Aerial Center Pkwy, Morrisville NC 27560 |
| Total area repaved | ~104,000 sq ft across two buildings |
| Total parking spots restriped | ~275 |
| Drive aisle (standard) | 4" — 2.5" NCDOT i19 binder + 1.5" NCDOT S9.5B surface |
| Drive aisle (dumpster pads) | 5" — 3.5" NCDOT i19 binder + 1.5" NCDOT S9.5B surface |
| Parking stalls | 2" NCDOT S9.5B surface mix |
| Compaction | Vibratory rollers, multi-pass per lift |
| Tack coat | Applied to all vertical edges and between asphalt lifts |
| Phase 1 timeline | Spring 2025 (with mid-job change order 5/13/2025) |
| Phase 2 timeline | Fall 2025 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Why specify 4" of asphalt in the drive aisle when 2" is standard for parking stalls?
Drive aisles handle every car that uses the lot, plus delivery trucks, garbage trucks, and emergency vehicles. The repeated point loads at lower speeds concentrate stress on the asphalt surface — exactly the conditions that cause premature failure on a thin section. A 4" drive aisle (typically a 2.5" binder lift plus a 1.5" surface lift) provides the structural depth those traffic patterns require. Parking stalls, where vehicles sit static with their weight distributed across four contact patches, can be specified thinner.
Why was the dumpster pad approach specified at 5" instead of 4"?
Trash trucks are the heaviest vehicles that regularly visit a property — a fully-loaded refuse truck can weigh 50,000+ pounds, with most of that weight transferred through tandem axles right at the point where the truck stops to lift the dumpster. At 2701 Aerial, proof rolling before milling identified softness in those approach zones; specifying the section to 5" (3.5" binder + 1.5" surface) addressed that ahead of time rather than discovering it as a problem after paving.
What's a change order, and what should I expect when one is issued?
A change order is a formal, written scope-and-price document covering work that wasn't included in the original contract — typically because something was discovered during demolition that couldn't have been priced beforehand. A good change order spells out: (1) what was found, (2) what additional work is needed, (3) line-item pricing, (4) the new contract total. It's signed before the additional work starts. On 3000 Aerial, the extra mobilization and overhead line was zeroed out — discovered subgrade issues aren't an upsell opportunity, full stop.
How long should this asphalt last?
With the spec installed at Aerial Center — full-depth mill, properly prepared base, NCDOT-grade binder and surface mixes, full compaction — the drive aisles should perform 18–25 years before another full mill-and-overlay is justified, and the parking stalls 12–18 years. Routine maintenance (sealcoating every 2–3 years, prompt crack filling, addressing any drainage issues quickly) is what makes the difference between the high and low end of those ranges.
