Municipal Magazine Feature: Fabric Buildings - A Proven Storage Solution for Municipalities Nationwide
For more than 25 years, the Fabric Building Division at Greystone Construction has partnered with municipalities across the United States to design and build high-quality, cost-effective storage solutions for salt, sand, equipment, wastewater, recycling, materials storage and more. With over 2 million square feet of salt storage and thousands of successful installations, Greystone continues to set the standard for safety, efficiency, and long-term durability.
“Across the country, we’re trusted by municipalities for their storage needs,” said Colin O’Brien, Vice President of Business Development and Principal at Greystone Construction. “Our goal isn’t just to sell a building — it’s to provide a tailored solution that enhances operations, meets local design requirements, and delivers exceptional value for decades.”
“With every project, we share our best practices to ensure each customer receives an engineered, high-quality product with a layout that best fits their operational needs. Those best practices include engineering to meet local wind, snow, seismic and unbalanced snow loads; designing for capacity requirements and future expansion; using independent foundations and panels; reducing risk of corrosive damage from the salt with post-production hot-dipped galvanized steel and keeping salt away from building components with independent concrete wall panels with corrosion inhibitors; proper ventilation; and sufficient building clearance. These practices are proven to result in a building that is a return on investment for many years to come.”
City of Lakeville, Minn.
“We’ve hired Greystone for multiple projects. In 2005, they installed a 110-foot-by-171-foot fabric building that has held up extremely well,” said Tom Breeggemann, Facilities Supervisor for the city of Lakeville, Minn. “It’s been easy to maintain and very affordable. Whenever we needed maintenance, Greystone responded immediately and handled the repair. When the fabric needed replacement after 20 years, they took care of it. That kind of responsiveness made it an easy decision to partner with them again.”
“When we started planning our newest building, we wanted easier access and versatile functionality. The side-access layout met those needs,” Breeggemann continued. “It makes loading and unloading easy, helps keep the city compliant with environmental permits, and provides great neighborhood screening. It’s improved our operations and storage capacity.”
“Fabric buildings are cost effective, durable, and offer excellent protection from the elements,” he said. “They’re bright, low maintenance, and quick to build. For bulk storage like salt and sand, they’re hard to beat.”
“Greystone has been reliable, easy to work with, and consistently professional,” Breeggemann added. “Their team took our idea and made it a reality. Communication was great, their crews efficient, and the final product solid. Both buildings have exceeded expectations.”
City of Lawton, Okla.
“I would recommend a fabric building for material and equipment storage because it allows for a much more open footprint at about a third of the cost of traditional con-struction methods — without sacrificing quality or durability,” said Cliff Haggenmiller, Deputy Director of Public Works for the city of Lawton, Okla. “The Greystone team made the entire process easy. They were professional, courteous, and clearly take pride in their work — the kind of partner you can trust to deliver.”
Town of Woodstock, N.H.
“The shed has been great — plenty of room and exactly what we needed,” said Mike Welch, Director of Public Works for the Town of Woodstock, N.H. “I recommend this shed highly. The Greystone team was great to work with. Due to scheduling requirements, our fabric building had to be built in the winter and they got it done.”
Waite Park, Minn.
“Greystone was one of the best vendors I have ever worked with!” said Tom Koralewski, Facilities Supervisor for Stearns County. “From start to finish, they were terrific. Design for our 80-foot-by-100-foot salt storage building was simple and the whole construction process was quick and easy. Everyone at Greystone was very responsive with anything I needed.”
City of Willoughby Hills, Ohio
"I would definitely recommend a fabric structure to any municipality,” said Mark Grubiss, Road Superintendent for the City of Willoughby Hills, Ohio. “Compared to wood or concrete, a fabric structure is more cost effec-tive, and the fabric cover warranty is another big advantage.”“We told Greystone we needed our build-ing quickly. After our staff and city engineer completed site work, Greystone finished the foundations in two days, then installed the trusses and fabric cover just as fast. Our teams worked well together, and we’re very pleased with the result.”
City of Box Elder, S.D.
“We needed an engineered building that could withstand our windy conditions and provide quality at a competitive price,” said Mike Gubka, Superintendent of Streets and Parks for the city of Box Elder, S.D. The city partnered with Greystone’s Fabric Building Division to design a structure meeting local IBC requirements, including 105 mph wind loads.“The fabric building came in at a lower cost than a traditional salt shed while still meeting our goals. Its design allows easy machinery access on all sides. Greystone delivered a great product and excellent service — professional, efficient and the best experience for our team.”
Greystone Construction’s team of fabric building experts is prepared to assist municipalities with their salt, sand and equipment storage needs. Call 888-742-6837 for a free consultation and quote. Visit www.GCFabricBuildings.com to learn more.