CFS building 9

Sagebrush Apartments by Douglass Colony

CFS building 9

Geared to attract local residents, Sagebrush is a 90-unit building nestled in the foothills of East Gros Ventre Butte and overlooking Flat Creek. Perfectly situated near downtown Jackson, Sagebrush aims to be one of the most popular complexes in the area — and a project Douglass Colony was proud to work on.

Date: 14 Oct 2020

Sagebrush Apartments

Douglass Colony Group, Commerce City, Colorado​


The job

Jackson, Wyoming — the largest town in the entire valley of Jackson Hole — is known for its rugged American west culture, exhilarating ski hills, sweeping views of Grand Teton National Park, and now — a stunning new long-term rental property by the name of Sagebrush.

Geared to attract local residents, Sagebrush is a 90-unit building nestled in the foothills of East Gros Ventre Butte and overlooking Flat Creek. Perfectly situated near downtown Jackson, Sagebrush aims to be one of the most popular complexes in the area — and a project Douglass Colony was proud to work on.

Taking into account the unique C-shape design and fast-turn timeline, the construction of Sagebrush was the perfect opportunity to use the advanced end-to-end steel frame design and manufacturing system, FRAMECAD. Thanks to FRAMECAD’s incredible accuracy, it allows for the fast, mass production of cold-formed steel frames which results in cut build times by as much as 75%.

With over 70 years of full-service specialty contractor expertise and as the only manufacturer the Rocky Mountain Region equipped with FRAMECAD, Douglass Colony was a natural fit to assist with the metal framing of the Sagebrush Apartments.

CFS building 9

Douglass Colony used the most advanced manufacturing system FRAMECAD to assist with the metal framing of Sagebrush Apartments located in Jackson, Wyoming.

The build process

Jumping into the project over 500 miles away at their FRAMECAD workshop in Commerce City, CO, Douglass Colony faced the challenge of the tight timeline head on.

To start out, their warehouse crew began by using the automated FRAMECAD system to fabricate and assemble the massive metal panels for Sagebrush. They then sheathed and applied moisture barriers to all exterior wall panels and shipped it all out to a build site where the pieces were installed on site by Douglass Colony partner, Standard Drywall, Inc.

But the job didn’t end there. The next step in the project was to build and ship the trusses and drag trusses using the same process as the panels. Ultimately, these trusses and drag trusses would be used to support the roof by being attached to the top level of wall panels and sheathed to receive the final building finish.

During this step, Douglass Colony again used the FRAMECAD system. Additionally, they chose to have the pieces built on-site, thus eliminating the need for in-field adjustments and saving valuable time needed to reach the deadline.

The result

Working on such a large-scale build with a constraining timeline is a true testament to the abilities and advantages of FRAMECAD technology — especially its capability to erect buildings in a fourth of the time when compared to conventional framing.

FRAMECAD & Truss Estimator at Douglass Colony Group, Joe Doxey agrees:

“We were glad to provide an advanced solution that could increase construction speed on site, and ensure that the building was installed and completed ahead of heavy winter conditions.”

Paired with Douglass Colony’s innovative process, years of expertise, and incredible work ethic, the four-story Sagebrush building project was completed on schedule in just four months — a truly impressive accomplishment for any project of this size.


Douglass Colony Group is a full-service specialty contractor that has been servicing the Rocky Mountain region since 1947 with the mission of providing excellent, seamless service from design to completion using quality materials, competent, friendly communication, and innovative, energy-efficient solutions. Douglass Colony’s capabilities include roofing, metal, solar, waterproofing, FRAMECAD panelized metal stud framing, and light gauge steel trusses.

Douglass Colony Group has three locations throughout Colorado (Commerce City – HQ, Greeley, and Colorado Springs) and is licensed to work in numerous other states (AZ, CA, CO, KS, MT, ND, NJ, NM, NV, OH, OR, PA, SD, UT, WA, and WY), employing over 400 people including field workers, designers/CAD draftsmen, superintendents, project managers, sales, accounting, safety, marketing, and quality control.

With our FRAMECAD division, Douglass Colony can mass produce panelized metal stud wall panels with precision and accuracy, allowing projects to be erected in ¼ of the time.

To contact Douglass Colony Group, visit their FRAMECAD Connect page here.

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