Last year,
Hoar Construction, LLC, Birmingham, Ala., accomplished what so many contractors affected by the dearth of private sector construction have set out to do: It won the first American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) project it pursued.
What was the firm’s secret to success? For one, the Robert Smith Vance Federal Building and United States Courthouse is located in Hoar’s hometown, where the general contractor has 70 years of experience managing and building projects for commercial, institutional and industrial clients.
Equally critical was Hoar’s decision to form a joint venture with
The Christman Company, which has an excellent reputation for performing historical restorations through its offices in Michigan, Georgia and Virginia.
The 90-year-old Vance building was an ideal candidate for a piece of the General Services Administration’s (GSA) $5.5 billion in ARRA funding—$750 million of which was allocated for the construction and renovation of federal buildings and courthouses. Plans to modernize the 173,000-square-foot building had been shelved for several years due to a lack of funding, so energy-efficiency and anti-terrorism upgrades were long overdue.
“We were selected for design phase services with the initial award, and then the GSA awarded us construction phase services,” says Randall Curtis, Hoar’s vice president of government services. “We’re working with the design team now to assist with constructability, phasing and scheduling to make sure we stay on budget.”
Hoar performed exploratory demolition in the basement to uncover mechanical and electrical systems for the design team’s progress documents, which are about 65 percent complete. Next month, the firm will issue a package for new boilers. (The four-story building currently uses steam heat, which the local power company will cease supplying in May 2011.)
A plan also is in place to achieve LEED Silver certification through a new cistern, a greywater system, and energy-efficient chillers and lighting.
“Overall it’s a modernization of the building systems to bring them up to current conditions for energy efficiency, which was the basis of the Recovery Act,” Curtis says. “Along with that, there’s going to be some aesthetic improvements, including upgrading existing finishes and restoring the historic nature of the building.”
Even more challenging than accommodating the requirements of an ARRA contract—which Curtis says mirrors project management practices Hoar already has in place—will be maintaining the historic integrity of the Vance building while implementing modern systems.
The windows illustrate the project’s complexities: They must be energy efficient, blast-resistant and accurately reflect the building’s neoclassical style. “We can restore the existing windows and replace some of the elements, or replace the windows with historic replicas. We’re still exploring all options,” Curtis says.
As work continues through fall 2012, all employees except those on the second floor, which was remodeled a few years ago, will move to temporary space. Hoar anticipates having 50 to 80 workers onsite throughout the project, and is looking to work with subcontractors that meet the government’s goals for small business participation.
The key to winning this type of work, Curtis adds, is to “show experience in doing similar projects and then do what we’ve done: Partner with another subcontractor that may be able to offer some additional resources or services to make a stronger team.”
Up to the Task
Because ARRA bidding opportunities for GSA projects tend to come in spurts—and draw intense competition—many firms would like to replicate what construction manager
McDonough Bolyard Peck, Inc. (MBP) has achieved during the last two decades: longstanding relationships with public owners. MBP, which is based in Fairfax, Va., has proven to both GSA and the Virginia Department of Transportation that it can handle the detailed reporting associated with ARRA projects, as well as meet security requirements, utilize building information modeling, and manage work in occupied spaces or those with limited laydown areas.
“We don’t compromise on things that are important to the owner, and we do what we say we’re going to do,” says Danelle Prezioso, MBP’s communications director.
The company has worked on more than 50 courthouses through its regional offices in Georgia, Maryland, New York, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Work currently is progressing on 22 courthouse projects, eight of which are funded by the ARRA.
Earlier this year, MBP won a $25 million indefinite delivery/infinite quantity contract from the GSA for a boiler and air handler unit replacement and variable frequency drive installation at the Walter E. Hoffman Courthouse in Norfolk, Va. It’s also finishing up supervision of the J. Caleb Boggs Courthouse in Wilmington, Del., which needed new building systems and renovations to existing spaces per a $747 million ARRA-funded contract.
In Pensacola, Fla., MBP is in the midst of a four-phase effort to restore, modernize and hurricane-proof the 61-year-old Winston E. Arnow U.S. Courthouse. The 65,000-square-foot building was scheduled to undergo work when it incurred damage from Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina. The project received $15.5 million of special emergency funding appropriated under the Bush administration to install a new roof, demolish interiors and remove mold (phase one); upgrade the HVAC system, construct interior partitions and install new electrical systems (phase two); complete painting, wood finishing, and flooring and crown molding installation (phase three); and build additional secure space for U.S. Marshall services, holding cells for prisoners and parking for judges (phase four).
MBP expects courthouse work to remain steady as RFPs for stimulus projects continue to filter down; in particular, the GSA’s Southeast Sunbelt Region should be active for a long time.
Local Opportunities
While judges and other federal employees—many of whose current facilities are too small, too old or too inefficient—are welcoming the influx of projects, not everyone is convinced the scope of the GSA’s courthouse program is warranted.
In a May hearing before the House Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management, the U.S. Government Accountability Office reported that in the last 10 years, the GSA built 3.5 million square feet of unneeded courthouse space, costing taxpayers more than $800 million. Factors accounting for the waste include courthouses that exceeded congressionally authorized size limits, inflated employment projections for future judges and a lack of courtroom sharing, according to the report.
Even if the GSA scaled back its building plans—which seems unlikely given the administration’s 2011 Capital Improvement and Leasing Program includes seven alteration and modernization projects, three design projects, five leases, and five construction and acquisitions projects—all would not be lost for contractors seeking to boost their backlogs with public work. Courthouse projects also are being funded at the local level, where many historic city- and county-owned buildings are in desperate need of repair.
These non-GSA projects are a boon to smaller contractors specializing in restoration work. In June,
Caldwell, Heckles & Egan, Inc., Lancaster, Pa., finished refurbishing the circa 1874 Juniata County Courthouse—recreating ornate architectural details with weather-resistant AZEK building products in its millwork shop.
Renaissance Restoration, Inc., which has offices in Davenport, Iowa, and Galena, Ill., also has a handful of courthouse renovations on the books, including the completed Dallas County Courthouse in Adel, Iowa. The project involved stripping the window jambs in place, repairing deteriorated components, and installing new wood window sash with insulated glass that looks just like the original.
Some brand new facilities are coming to fruition as well, due to funding from county bonds approved when the economy was thriving in the mid-2000s.
Last year, a bond program brought the city of La Porte, Texas, a new municipal courthouse—and a chance for the Houston office of
Turner Construction Company to collaborate with a new owner. Turner competed against six other general contractors to win the lump sum $3.2 million contract, which was awarded based on the lowest bid and a follow-up interview.
“During the interview, we kept wondering, ‘What did we forget?’” recalls Todd Granato, Turner’s project executive on the City of La Porte Municipal Court. “But we went over the scope with the owner and said we could do it for the number submitted. In the end, all of our subcontractors made it happen.”
The 11,000-square-foot concrete structure was built in just six months, wrapping up three months ahead of schedule in August 2009. Maintaining that fast-track schedule was made possible through communication and great working relationships, according to Granato. Turner had worked with about 50 percent of the project’s subcontractors in the past, but both the city of La Porte and the architect, Houston-based Huitt-Zollars, were unfamiliar.
Fortunately, the city manager and the county judge were located only a few miles from the jobsite, which allowed for questions to be answered quickly. The lead architect was equally approachable and willing to come to the jobsite when needed.
“It was one of the best jobs I’ve ever worked on in terms of teamwork,” Granato says. “Everything came together really well.”
The team’s efficiency shined through when a project flaw surfaced: The tiltwalls were being erected on unsuitable soil.
“We got a revised design on a Tuesday, it was priced on Thursday, we installed new piers and foundation on Saturday, and on Monday we were back to working normally,” Granato says. “It only ended up being a $4,000 fix; I could have easily seen it going six figures if the subcontractors, architect and owner hadn’t jumped in to get it done.”
Though the single-story courthouse looks fairly straightforward from the outside, it packs a punch on the inside. Sustainable details include low-VOC and recycled materials, motion sensors, reflective roofing and exterior paint, efficient MEP systems, and indigenous and drought-tolerant landscaping. The double-pane tinted glass windows have a low solar heat gain coefficient, and boast a level 5 missile projectile rating.
In addition to accommodating municipal court operations and proceedings, the building is equipped to serve as an emergency control center and to withstand a Category 3 hurricane—a necessity given La Porte’s waterfront location.
Though the courthouse’s grand opening has come and gone, Turner maintains contact with the city of La Porte. “We worked well together, and we’ve become friends,” Granato says. “They tell us about other opportunities and projects, including other courthouses around the state.”
While Turner hasn’t won any other contracts from La Porte, it’s working on a $45 million jail expansion nearby and just finished a 100-bed jail in Fort Bend County, Texas. “Most of the sheriffs and judges around here know each other, so it helps us chase public work,” Granato says.
- 74,774: number of active ARRA projects in the United States (worth $207 billion)
- 45 percent: ARRA contract, grant and loan funding that has been paid out (worth $125 billion)
- $174 billion: ARRA funding awarded to states and territories between February 2009 and December 200 ($53 billion was received)
- $26 billion: ARRA funding awarded to states and territories between January 2010 and March 2010 ($7 billion was received)
- $4.8 billion: ARRA funding the General Services Administration has left to pay out ($743 million has been paid out)
Sources: Recovery.gov, Recovery.org and General Services Administration