Sneed says the district's construction program has been boosted by lower-than-expected costs on several projects that were completed during the recession.
Prices spiked in the 2006-07 period, he says, “but in 2008-10, prices per square foot fell by about 25%,” saving the district a total of more than $30 million.
As a result, the Fairfax County district has accelerated the pace at which it will tackle planned projects in its “renovation queue,” Sneed says. “We probably have 25 projects in planning or permitting.”
Competition for Fairfax County school projects is fierce. “Large contractors who never would have contemplated bidding on our projects in the past are bidding on them now. No one likes a recession, but when you're an owner and you have funding in place, a recession is definitely a great time to be building.”
Building is certainly on Fairfax County Public Schools' agenda. With enrollment expected to increase by 11,000 over the next five years, the district's 2012-15 capital improvement plan calls for $805 million in spending on new schools, expansions and renovations.
Donor-Backed Projects
With state budgets tighter than ever, state support for higher-education construction projects continues to drag. Still, coast to coast, several major projects are advancing at colleges and universities, thanks to donors providing millions or even tens of millions of dollars in funding.
For example, the University of Texas at Austin is building the Bill & Melinda Gates Computer Science Complex, thanks in part to grants totaling $40 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation (the University of Texas system contributed $20 million, and the University of Texas at Austin kicked in $60 million). “We couldn't be doing [the project] without donations,” says Nancy Hatchett, the UT computer science department's associate director for external affairs. She says the computer science complex will enable the department—now scattered across six buildings—to be located under one roof for the first time.
New York City-based Tishman Construction is managing construction of the Weill Cornell Medical College's new medical research building on Manhattan's Upper East Side, says Richard Thomas, senior director of capital planning at Cornell University's medical school. Thomas says the 476,000-sq-ft project, which will roughly double the school's research space when it is completed in 2014, will have 18 stories above grade and three below.
Including all soft costs, the price tag for the overall project is expected to total $630 million; Tishman's guaranteed maximum price for the construction of the building is $391 million, which is lower than the school had expected. “Everyone benefits when institutions build during a recession. They get better pricing and help keep workers working,” Thomas says.
At Harvard Business School, Cambridge, Mass., construction is set to begin by year's end on a new $100-million, seven-story building that will provide classroom and dormitory space. The project's primary benefactor is Tata Trusts and Cos., a philanthropic wing of India's Tata Group. Mumbai-based Tata is a worldwide conglomerate headed by a Harvard alum.
