Boulderscape Delivers Record-Breaking Shotcrete Installation for Cabela’s Lone Tree Retail Center

Boulderscape Delivers Record-Breaking Shotcrete Installation for Cabela’s Lone Tree Retail Center

Lone Tree, CO – When Cabela’s — one of the largest outdoor retailers in the country — needed a high-performance retaining wall system for its Lone Tree, Colorado location, they turned to Boulderscape, Inc.. The challenge? Build a cost-effective, visually stunning solution across a complex, multitiered terrain — and do it fast.

Boulderscape delivered on all fronts, installing over 56,000 square feet of structural and architectural shotcrete in record time, saving the Rampart Range Metro District over $100,000 in construction costs and helping the Cabela’s project push ahead of schedule.

Tailored Design Meets Geological Realism

The retaining wall system needed to wrap around the back of the retail center and complement the natural Colorado landscape. Boulderscape produced a series of custom visual renderings and onsite mock-ups for stakeholder review, helping Rampart Range Metro District compare multiple wall systems.

In the end, they selected a soil nail wall shoring system paired with Boulderscape’s exclusive Columnar Basalt Finish® — a sculpted design inspired by regional geologic formations. This combination offered the strength and durability of shotcrete with the artistry and authenticity of natural stone.

Multi-Tiered Engineering, Unmatched Craftsmanship

The installation included several walls ranging in height from 10 to 36 feet and lengths between 250 to 720 feet. Boulderscape applied 8 inches of structural shotcrete and an additional 2 to 6 inches of architectural shotcrete carved by artisans with over 2 million square feet of carving experience.

A 4500 PSI gray shotcrete mix was used to ensure freeze-thaw durability — a crucial consideration for Colorado’s climate. Boulderscape’s team meticulously carved and textured each wall face to replicate columnar basalt, including functional drainage crevices designed to prevent water entrapment and concrete spalling. Learn more about our detailed shotcrete process.

“Blending such a high-profile retention wall back into mother nature was a tall order for this project with its 3-tiered walls towering over the Cabela’s retail center,” said Ryan Allen, CEO of Boulderscape. “We had to really search the local area to locate a geology that best suited the project’s size and complexity.”

Enhancing the Environment, Not Competing With It

To make the retaining system look native to the site, Boulderscape added an undulating wall top, integrated low-lying vegetation, and planted trees on wall terraces. Sculpted surfaces were hand-stained with earth-tone colorants that seamlessly blended with the surrounding terrain — a hallmark of Boulderscape’s finish library.

This project is a showcase of what happens when artistic vision meets structural necessity — and why Boulderscape continues to be a trusted name in large-scale, visually integrated retaining systems across the country. You can view more work like this in our project portfolio.

To bring your next infrastructure or development project to life, request a quote or explore our client experience to see why agencies, developers, and engineers trust Boulderscape coast to coast.