Situated on 49 acres near Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and featuring more than 320,000 square feet of leasable retail space, the Shoppes at Montage rivals any of the local shopping malls in its overall area and size. According to Jamie Hollingsworth, project manager for Ford & Associates, the lead architect on the project, what sets the Shoppes at Montage apart from its shopping mall counterparts is its personality.

Situated on 49 acres near Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and featuring more than 320,000 square feet of leasable retail space, the Shoppes at Montage rivals any of the local shopping malls in its overall area and size. According to Jamie Hollingsworth, project manager for Ford & Associates, the lead architect on the project, what sets the Shoppes at Montage apart from its shopping mall counterparts is its personality.

“Each storefront is designed and constructed independently, allowing each store to create its own personal identity,” said Hollingsworth. “Shoppers associate with the look and feel of the stores where they like to shop, so shopping centers such as the Shoppes at Montage play off of that by creating an exterior atmosphere that makes them feel comfortable and welcomed.”

A major part of each of the Montage stores’ identities is the metal fascia and coping used along the building’s roof edges and downspouts. Manufactured by W.P. Hickman from Asheville, N.C., these innovative products are available in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes that allowed each store to customize its look and feel.

W.P. Hickman has been manufacturing quality edge metal products for decades, so they have built a solid reputation within the roofing industry. Their products are ANSI/SPRI ES-1 compliant and are available in a variety of standard or custom colors. They also feature a Kynar 500 finish that ensures long-term performance and protection against the elements.

According to Hollingsworth, the factory-baked finish on the Hickman edge metal products was an essential component in selecting the material. He said the Kynarcoated material comes with a long-term warranty and provides a durable, long-lasting finish that minimizes maintenance demands for the developer. “Field fabricated edge metal products require constant repainting, typically every two to three years. That’s too much maintenance for a complex this size,” said Hollingsworth.

Design for the Shoppes at Montage project began in July 2005 and was completed in February 2006, when architects submitted the necessary drawings to begin construction. Shortly after the drawings were submitted, Duke Construction, the project’s construction manager and general contractor, began constructing the shopping complex.

Most of the building was constructed from 13½ -inch pre-cast concrete, which was then covered with brick to give it a more formal and pleasing appearance. After the concrete and brick were set in place, the project’s roofing contractor, Eastern Roofing Systems from Moscow, Pa., began installing the building’s single-ply roof system. After the roofing membrane was installed, Eastern Roofing Systems attached a temporary edge metal system to the building to keep it watertight until the individual stores were leased. As stores became occupied, Eastern Roofing removed the temporary metal edging and attached the specific Hickman products that the new occupants selected. According to John Basalyga, president of Eastern Roofing Systems, Hickman’s wide range of available color options allowed stores to select their own desired palette. The colors that were used range from Concord Cream and Ascot White to Patina Green and Regal Blue.

“Hickman offers some of the most diverse colors and products in the industry, which is why we’ve been installing their product since I started this company over fi ve years ago,” commented Basalyga. “We installed 14 different edge metal colors throughout the project, and out of all of them, only one was a nonstandard, custom-order color.”

Eastern Roofing installed numerous variations of two of Hickman products on the Shoppes at Montage project. For the fascia they installed Hickman’s TerminEdge ™ Roof Edge Fascia, a two-piece product comprised of a snap-on fascia and rigid termination bar. Hickman’s Permasnap coping, which is also has a snap-on cover, was installed on the building parapet walls.”

TerminEdge and Permasnap have been tested per ES-1 as required by code, and are warranted against blow-off from winds up to 110 mph. This was a major concern for this project, as the retail center sits atop Montage Mountain, one of the highest elevations in Pennsylvania. Eastern installed the TerminEdge fascia by first applying a thin bead of water cutoff mastic to the bottom of the 20-gauge galvanized steel retainer and then fastening it to the wood blocking with Hickman’s factory-provided, 1¼ -inch hex-head fasteners and neoprene washers.

The concealed retainer is part of Hickman’s innovative, non-penetrating system that allows it to be fastened without puncturing holes in the roofing membrane. “That’s the beauty of this product,” said Basalyga. “The retainer is fastened below the roof line, so no hole in the membrane at the roof surface which reduces the likelihood for future leaks.”

After the 10-foot, straight-length retainers were attached, Eastern simply snapped the finished fascia cap over the retainer to complete the fascia installation. Working with a small, two-man crew, Eastern Roofing was easily able to complete the fascia installation on two to four storefronts per day due to the ease and simplicity of the Hickman system.

The Permasnap coping installation was similarly as easy. Eastern Roofing simply installed Hickman’s coping clips every 60 inches on center along the wall and then fastened them with 1¼ -inch hex-head screws and washers. When all the clips were attached they fastened joint splice plates over each clip and then placed the formed coping cap over the outer edge of the clips. Hooking the coping cap over the outer edge of the clips and rolling them over the inside wall edge; Eastern Roofing snapped the coping into place and completed the installation.

To date, Eastern Roofing has installed Hickman’s metal edging on 62 storefronts at Shoppes at Montage complex. The building has the capacity to accommodate up to 70 stores, and with the new shopping center’s apparent popularity it is very likely that the remaining slots will be filled shortly. Although no one is quite sure what other retail outlets are showing interest in joining the Shoppes at Montage lineup, one thing is for certain - whoever moves in is sure to get a quality, Hickman roof edge that creates a unique sense of style and one-of-a-kind shopping experience.