Awards of Excellence 2006

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News-Journal Center

Owner: Lively Arts Center, Daytona Beach, Fla.
Location: Daytona Beach
Cost: $25.7 million
Contractor: Centex Construction, Orlando
Architect: Baker Barrios Architects, Orlando

Built as a unique private/public partnership, the News-Journal Center serves as a cultural community center that will accommodate events in the arts, culture and education, with space for nonprofit arts, cultural and community organizations to rehearse and perform. It also houses a nationally unique master of fine arts in musical theater degree program through a partnership between the University of Central Florida and Seaside Music Theater; a proposed performing arts academy for high school students from across Volusia County; and exhibit space programmed and supervised by the Museum of Arts and Sciences.

Previously known as the Lively Arts Center, the facility became the News-Journal Center through a generous naming rights agreement provided by the Daytona Beach-based News-Journal Corp. This long-term agreement represented a $13 million commitment to the project.

The facility includes a main, full proscenium theater that seats 850 people; an adjoining 250-seat studio theater; rehearsal and dance studios; the UCF theater department classrooms; and related support spaces.

Centex Construction started construction in April 2004 and completed the project in December 2005. Additionally, Centex Construction's value engineering resulted in $4 million worth of savings.

HSBC Mortgage Services

Owner: HSBC Mortgage Services
Location: Fort Mill, S.C.
Cost: $30 million
Contractor: Lauth Construction Group, Charlotte
Architect: LS3P Associates, Charlotte

HSBC Mortgage Services' new $30 million corporate headquarters in Fort Mill, S.C., near Charlotte, is an 182,000-sq.-ft., Class-A, 4.5-story building.

HSBC's new headquarters represents the company's flagship for sustainability or LEED certification in North America and is the first office building in Lancaster County, S.C., to meet that qualification. The commitment to constructing the project as a LEED building wasn't decided upon until three months into the project. Despite that, the building includes a long list of sustainable features, most notably the irrigation system that includes the use of rain gardens to collect a sufficient amount of water for 100 percent of the property's irrigation needs.

Other green items include bicycle storage racks and shower facilities to encourage riding bicycles to work; charging stations for electric cars; a highly reflective roof; water-efficient plumbing features, including waterless urinals; distribution of outdoor air to indoor spaces occupied by people; 10 percent of the building constructed with recycled material; and 20 percent of the building made from locally manufactured products.

The project was designed and built in less than 12 months and was completed in July. LEED certification is pending.

Upstate Veterinary Services

Owner: Upstate Veterinary Specialists, Greenville, S.C.
Location: Greenville
Contractor: SYS Constructors, Greenville
Architect: Animal Arts

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The main objective for SYS Constructors on its Upstate Veterinary Specialist facility project was to build a seamless 14,000-sq.-ft. addition to the existing 13,000-sq.-ft. building. The renovation included additional surgery rooms, surgery preparation areas, additional examination rooms, animal holding areas, new doctor offices, conference room and new cancer treatment area.

SYS phased the project and completed the new structure so that the client could be relocated into that section of the building while the existing space was renovated. Also, to avoid downtime, temporary operating rooms were set up so that 25 percent of the existing building could be demolished without interrupting the 24/7 operation. SYS also had to maintain a medically clean environment during construction.

The pride of the Upstate Veterinary facility is the linear accelerator in the cancer treatment area. While these are traditionally built underground or in a hill, this linear accelerator was positioned at the front of the building, making it especially difficult to address construction issues and potential radiation leaks. A special-mix concrete that is heavier than standard concrete was used. To prevent a radiation leak, the walls and lid are a minimum of 3 ft. thick and the isocenter walls are 6 ft. thick. This room required approximately 500 yds. of concrete.

The Symphony

Owner: Symphony Towers LLP, Boca Raton, Fla.
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Cost: $68 million
Contractor: Suffolk Construction Co., West Palm Beach
Architect: Cohen, Freedman, Encinosa and Associates, Miami

The Symphony is a resort-style, high-rise condominium complex located directly on the New River in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Measuring approximately 863,000 sq. ft., the project included 338 units in two identical 22-story towers and construction of a six-story parking garage.

The first two levels of the complex include a full-service spa/health club, gym and weightlifting facilities, emporium, wine cellar, humidor, card room, business center and library, clubroom, movie theater and complete concierge service. A row of private boat docks is situated at the waterfront portion of the project.

Due to several issues with the previous general contractor, Suffolk Construction was brought in to finish the project. Suffolk's preconstruction department collaborated with the owner's representatives and the project's design team to bring the project within budget.

One challenge was the recreation deck, which sits atop the parking garage on the seventh level and features a swimming pool, spas, fountains, landscaping and a cabana/bar. The design of the "rec deck" was incomplete at an inopportune time, threatening the schedule. To overcome this, Suffolk reinforced lines of communication between the architect, structural engineer, waterproofing consultant and landscape architect to complete the recreation deck in accordance with the project schedule.

University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute

Owner: University of Florida, Gainesville
Location: Jacksonville, Fla.
Cost: $30.6 million
Contractor: Perry-McCall Construction, Jacksonville
Architect: Tsoi/Kobus & Associates, Boston

The University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute, located on the campus of Shands Hospital Jacksonville, one of the nation's top teaching hospitals, is a 98,000-sq.-ft. facility providing conventional radiation cancer treatment and proton therapy.

The facility includes clinics for the pre- and post-therapy and on-treatment evaluation of cancer patients, planning suites, an infusion and anesthesia suite, psychosocial and dietary services, a research office and faculty offices. At capacity, the facility can treat up to 200 patients.

Since this project was based on a recently built proton therapy center in Boston, the architects first designed the Jacksonville facility with the first floor of the building underground for the purposes of radiation shielding. Since the Jacksonville site featured a wet low-land environment, building underground would have added approximately $3.7 million to the cost of the project for sheet piling and dewatering.

Perry-McCall, the project contractor, devised a solution that saved the owner nearly $3 million: raise the building out of the ground and increasing the exterior concrete shielding walls from 10 to 18 ft. thick.

Palmetto Health Heart Hospital

Owner: Palmetto Health Alliance, Columbia, S.C.
Location: Columbia
Cost: $62.5 million
Contractor: Rodgers Builders, Charlotte
Architect: KMD Architects, San Francisco

This project required Rodgers Builders to construct a 200,000-sq.-ft. heart hospital with 124 private rooms, cardiovascular surgery unit, cath lab and facilities for cardiac diagnostics, cardiac rehabilitation, CV intensive care, coronary care, progressive care and critical care. The contract also called for the construction of a separate medical office building.

One of the construction team's biggest tasks was building directly adjacent to the existing hospital's emergency heliport. This necessitated FAA-required painting of cranes, plus rotating beacons and two-way radio communication between crane operators and the hospital's Life Flight department.

Construction began before the design was complete, and the design evolved throughout the project. For example, significant components of the 60- by 120-ft., three-story atrium were still under design review with only nine months left in the project timeline, and the Rodgers team had to work closely with architects, owners, subcontractors and suppliers to deliver this segment - and the rest of the project - within the project budget and on schedule.

Booker T. Washington High School, Renovations and Additions

Owner: Atlanta Independent School System, Atlanta
Location: Atlanta
Contractor: Turner Construction Co., Atlanta
Architect: Warren Epstein & Associates, Atlanta

Originally constructed in 1924, Booker T. Washington High School is a six-story building - five floors and a partial basement - of reinforced concrete with brick veneer walls. The design incorporates a mix of medieval and Byzantine elements, culminating in an exterior recognized on the National Historic Register. The original structure is a symmetrical building with a central entrance with three portals, flanked by classroom wings on each side.

Turner Construction Co.'s contract called for completing approximately 220,000 sq. ft. of extensive renovation work and 35,000 sq. ft. of new construction in just more than 12 months. The historic nature of the building and surrounding area posed the biggest hurdles because the building's structural integrity had to be maintained and its historical elements protected. Although the interior was updated to modern building standards and the latest educational programming, the historic nature of the building was to remain unaltered.

The original demolition plan called for selectively demolishing walls in the main classroom building in an effort to save money, but it was determined that complete interior demolition was actually faster and less labor intensive and resulted in a more attractive reconstructed interior.

The building was completed in sections so as to allow the owner early move-in and occupancy.

Oakleaf School

Owner: Clay County District Schools, Green Cove Springs, Fla.
Location: Orange Park, Fla.
Contractor: Barton Malow Co., Jacksonville, Fla.
Architect: JRA Architects, Tallahassee, Fla.

The 150,000-sq.-ft. Oakleaf School was originally scheduled for an August 2007 opening when awarded. Due to its explosive population growth, however, Clay County District Schools requested delivery of the school in August of this year. Barton Malow Co. worked with CCDS and the architect, JRA Architects, to deliver a two-stage GMP contract that allowed an early start on site development as well as procurement of the pre-engineered metal building framing and integrated roof assembly while the balance of the design was completed.

Barton Malow established a milestone schedule incorporating the accelerated delivery for use during subcontractor selection. Additionally, Barton Malow identified key materials requiring long leads and purchased these materials in advance.

Of particular note was the pre-engineered metal building framing and the integrated roof assembly. The PEMB supplier was selected on price and available plant capacity. Shop drawings were expedited using a collaborative review in which the structural engineer, architect and Barton Malow reviewed the drawings concurrently. This process cut the standard two-week review to a matter of days and the delivery time frame from 12 weeks to eight.

Barton Malow delivered the Oakleaf School within the accelerated schedule and in time for the 2006-2007 school year. Barton Malow consolidated 59 change order requests into only seven.

University Center, Nova Southeastern University

Owner: Nova Southeastern University, Davie, Fla.
Location: Davie
Contractor: Moss/Miller, a joint venture between Moss & Associates and Miller Construction Co., both of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Architect: Cannon Design

The University Center project at the Nova Southeastern University campus in Davie is a convocation building that contains a fitness center, several basketball courts, volleyball courts, racquetball/squash courts, climbing wall, student activity offices, lounges, aquatics facilities, intercollegiate sports facilities, multiuse arena/convocation center, food service and conferencing facilities.

The project was located around the existing Rosenthal building, which was not to be affected, and an existing recreation pool that was to remain and be incorporated into the new University Center design.

The 245,000-sq.-ft. project contained variable levels and irregular shapes. The east side of the facility is a three-story structure with cantilevered decks and balconies overlooking the second-story fitness center and two-court basketball court. The structure's west side has three floors, too, though its second-floor structure is at a 16-ft. elevation and the third floor structure is at a 54-ft., 6-in. elevation.

The far west side of the building is a three-story space housing the concession, restrooms, mechanical facilities for the main arena and a single-story section containing storage and therapy areas. The center's north side contains the student lounge and recreation areas and will connect to a future performing arts building currently being constructed by the same Moss/Miller team.

St. Cloud Lakefront Park

Owner: City of St. Cloud, Fla.
Location: St. Cloud
Contractor: Wharton-Smith Construction Co., Lake Monroe, Fla.
Engineer: PBS&J, Orlando
Architect: Bumpus & Associates, Kissimmee, Fla.

This expansion to the community centerpiece of the city of St. Cloud, Fla., consisted of the addition of 143 boat slips, fixed and floating docks, a new seawall with cap, boat ramps, dredging of the marina basin and installation of water/electric utilities for boat use.

The project also included a 10,000-sq.-ft., two-story multipurpose building that houses meeting/dance hall space, kitchen with food service, bathroom facility and seven shelter structures.

The grounds were adorned with new landscaping and irrigation, as well as decorative retaining walls, colored concrete hardscapes, 135 parking spaces, new lighting, playground, splash pad, open recreation lawn and two new trail heads.

Construction began in January 2005 and was completed in March.

West Mitchell Hammock Water Treatment Facility

Owner: City of Oviedo, Fla.
Location: Oviedo
Cost: $13.9 million
Contractor: Wharton-Smith Construction Co., Lake Monroe, Fla.
Engineer: Boyle Engineering Corp., Orlando
Architect: Baker Barrios Architects, Orlando

The contracted scope of work for phase one of the West Mitchell Hammock Water Treatment Facility included construction of a new operations building, including SCADA control room and workroom, operators' workstation area, laboratory, offices, training/break rooms, locker room, records file room and electrical/communications room.

Construction of a new chemical handling building included bulk storage and chemical feed systems, air compressors, electrical rooms, water softening and instrumentation controls. The project also included the addition of two new forced-draft aerators; new odor-control scrubbers; a new transfer pump station including three variable-frequency driven pumps, concrete wet well, pipe and valves; new high-service pump facility including variable-frequency driven high-service pumps, motor control center room, backup generator, fuel storage tank and shop facility; 2.5 MGD ground storage tank; and lift station.

Wharton-Smith also oversaw construction of a new road, onsite stormwater storage, utilities, security system, communication towers, modifications to the existing well field, irrigation and landscaping.

Interstate 285 Bridge Structures

Owner: City of Atlanta, Department of Aviation
Location: Atlanta
Cost: $159.5 million
Contractor: Archer-Western Contractors, Atlanta
Engineer: Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade and Douglas, Atlanta
Engineer: Heath & Lineback Engineers, Marietta, Ga.

Archer-Western's Interstate 285 Bridge Structures project was a major component of the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport's fifth runway expansion, and it also was the largest and most complex design-build project in the state of Georgia at that time. The overall expansion for the runway included these bridge structures for both Runway 10-28 and Taxiway U, which collectively cross 10 lanes of I-285, with the runway bridge structure representing the longest runway bridge span constructed in the world.

The project consisted of two separate structures than span 400 ft. over I-285 and two future three-lane collector roads on either side of the interstate highway. The runway bridge structure is approximately 1,200 ft. in length to allow for a 500-ft. wide runway at a skew. The taxiway bridge structure is more than 500 ft. in length for the 220-ft.-wide taxiway.

The contract required that all 10 lanes of I-285 remain open throughout the duration of the project. The schedule allowed 1,170 calendar days for substantial completion. Archer-Western completed the $159.5 million project on time and under budget.

Lithonia Industrial Boulevard

Owner: Georgia Department of Transportation
Location: Atlanta
Contractor: E.R. Snell Contractor, Snellville, Ga., and Shepherd Construction, Atlanta, a joint venture
Construction Manager: PBS&J, Atlanta
Engineer: Georgia Department of Transportation

Constructed by a joint venture construction team that included E.R. Snell Contractor and Shepherd Construction, the Lithonia Industrial Boulevard project encompassed remediation of seven bridges and the reconstruction of four others. The project also required 6.8 km of widening, grading, drainage, base and plant mix resurfacing to Interstate 20.

The project introduced two new access roads, one on each side of I-20, following the flow of traffic from the interstate and intended to improve the transportation needs of the growing area. The project was completed in February.

The largest Georgia DOT contract at the time of its construction, the Lithonia Industrial Boulevard project incorporated a team from both GDOT and PBS&J, which led the construction management of the bridges and environmental compliance policies.

The project team encountered numerous hurdles during construction, ranging from design errors to environmental control issues. One of the biggest was the unforeseen amount of granite rock discovered at several site locations, requiring the recalculation of the steel H piling for several bridges.

Granite rock was discovered at depths that would limit the contractor from reaching minimum tip elevation for steel H piling. Resolution to this problem involved the construction team and GDOT's material research specialist testing and certifying that the rock was solid and unbroken between hard and soft material. After recalculation and redesign, a resolution was achieved, allowing the contractor to continue work without any delays to the project.

U.S. 17 Wilmington Bypass

Owner: North Carolina Department of Transportation
Location: Wilmington, N.C.
Cost: $102 million
Construction Manager: PBS&J
Contractor: GLF Construction, Miami
Engineer: T.Y. Lin International, Raleigh, N.C.

Due to excessive traffic volume in the downtown Wilmington area, the North Carolina Department of Transportation began construction of the Northeast Cape Fear River crossing, a 6.5-km-long segment of a 27-mi.-long bypass.

This particular segment of new highway connected U.S. 117 to U.S. 421 in New Hanover County. The project included roughly 2,255 meters of structure associated with the crossing of the northeast Cape Fear River with a cast-in-place segmental, balanced-cantilever main span. Span lengths are 85 meters, 146 meters and 85 meters, with a deck width including possibly the largest cast-in-place span segment (29.5 meters) built to date.

All work was performed from the temporary work bridge that general contractor GLF Construction built over the wetlands. Extra precaution was taken to prohibit the dripping of anything, especially slurry, into the waters of the northeast Cape Fear River.

On this project, NCDOT mandated that all construction be staged from a trestle bridge built over the wetlands. Built on 24-in. pipe piles, the work platform kept the wetlands connected and allowed tidal waters to keep flowing to facilitate the recovery of damaged areas.

Contractor GLF Construction also created the shortest operational rail line in New Hanover County, which was attached to the south side of its work bridge to assist the movement of supplies around the cranes positioned on the work bridge.

Nancy Creek Tunnel and Influent Pumping Station

Owner: City of Atlanta
Location: Atlanta
Cost: $163.5 million
Contractor: Nancy Creek Construction and Obayashi, Atlanta
Engineer: Jordan, Jones & Goulding, Norcross, Ga.

For thousands of Atlanta home and property owners affected by the existing capacity-limited Nancy Creek Basin sanitary collection system, relief arrived as the Nancy Creek Tunnel was placed into service on Dec. 31, 2005.

A deep tunnel - with the least amount of environmental and community impacts - was selected to mitigate the area's wet weather overflow. Conventional open-cut sewer construction would have required clear-cutting a swath of land extending nearly 10 mi. The accelerated design and construction of the $131.5 million, 8.3-mi.-long, 18-ft.-diameter deep-rock tunnel and its $32 million, 100-MGD pumping station were completed under budget.

The deep tunnel's 66-mg flow equalization capacity shaves peak flows during wet weather and minimizes the need for constructing costly treatment facilities with higher capacities. The horizontal and vertical alignment of the deep tunnel was selected on the basis of best geology, shortest route for maximizing project economics and reduced risks.