 John Kadlec of Beta Engineering originally planned the use of 8-inch HCS, which he specified could withstand 120 pounds per square foot, a load which exceeded specifications on all 8-inch HCS. During the bidding process, the owners were advised by a bidder, Precon, that the specified load could not be handled by the HCS without reinforcements from a composite concrete topping. However, Kadlec advised the owners that the plans called for 8-inch HCS which could withstand the load without reinforcement from topping. The contract was thus awarded to Coreslab, despite Coreslab's design tables indicating that the specified project loads were 38 % higher than the maximum load. In 1992, over a decade after the mall's construction, Coreslab retracted the claim to be able to support the load without the use of a composite topping.
