‘Hotlanta’ has cooled off, but government and industrial work has picked up in other parts of the state. “The driver (in Georgia) has always been Atlanta, and that is not the case now, with the private sector down and out,” says Jeff George, vice president of the Atlanta Commercial Group at Balfour Beatty Construction. Balfour Beatty has turned to opportunities in other parts of the state, including Columbus, where it and Freeman & Associates of Columbus are building the $35-million G.W. Carver High School and a $42-million barracks project at Fort Benning. “Georgia is doing pretty well, given the economic
Photo courtesy NoliWhite NoliWhite Group field staff carry drawings, change orders and other �paperwork� into the field on an iPad and access files remotely. Related Links: A Health-Care Comeback? NoliWhite Group has found a convenient and inexpensive method of bringing information technology into the field. The Brentwood, Tenn., company has added a WiFi system to the John D. Archbold Memorial Hospital jobsite in Thomasville, Ga., and provided staff with iPads to access project information and specific drawings kept on a website maintained by Lellyett & Rodgers PDM document storage system. “The ability to see all the design information and have
Simulator technology has enabled Rex Healthcare physicians and administrators to virtually “walk through” the Raleigh, N.C., health system’s $200-million campus regeneration project—while it remains in schematic drawings. Photo Courtesy FullCon Solutions FullCon Solutions 1:2:1 Analysis technology allows owners to experience the feel of their new buildings in a full-scale virtual environment. Related Links: The Southeast�s Top Design Firms “It allows physicians and other key stakeholders to experience what the space might feel like and give real-time feedback to the design team,” says Chad T. Lefteris, vice president of support services of Rex Healthcare, a member of UNC Health Care. “We
Health care remains one of the region’s stronger markets, with new projects starting up now that some of the uncertainty surrounding national health-care reform has abated. “The Southeast has more work in the health-care sector than other parts of the country,” says Mike Noli, president of NoliWhite Group of Brentwood, Tenn. “And it’s stronger than commercial or residential.” NoliWhite is building the $109-million, 245,000-sq-ft John D. Archbold Memorial Hospital’s new North Tower in Thomasville, Ga. The 112-bed, eight-story project is the last component of a multiphased modernization initiative. “We have a lot of health-care work,” adds Dave Johnson of Perkins+Will
2009 was a year many working in the Southeast’s construction and design industry would rather forget. While contractors of all types certainly suffered, many architects and other designers felt the pain just as intensely, as the number of business opportunities fell away with the receding markets. At the same time, some engineers and other designers were able to keep busy last year with projects that moved forward as the result of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act. Related Links: 2010 Top Design Firms Ranking Full-Scale Virtual Design 2010 Top Green Design Firms Ranking Duke Energy Center Certified Platinum Overall, however,
A commitment to energy efficiency and sustainability drove Wachovia Bank in Charlotte, N.C., to build the Southeast’s first LEED-Platinum Core and Shell building. The building is the 51-story Duke Energy Center, and it’s part of a $1.3-billion cultural campus developed by Wachovia’s parent, Wells Fargo Co. “We developed some pretty high-level, triple-bottom-line goals on people, profit and the planet, hanging on energy efficiency and how we could do things to stretch and reach,” says Curt Radkin, development director for the Corporate Properties Group at Wells Fargo. The $390-million, 1.5-million-sq-ft, 51-story Duke Energy Center is the first building to receive LEED-Platinum
Plainly, 2009 was not a good year for Southeast contractors and designers. And judging from the data collected from Southeast Construction’s annual Top Specialty Contractors survey, for the ranking published here, specialty firms took a severe hit last year. Related Links: Specialty Contracting Slowdown KHS&S Gets Lean Top Specialty Contractor Rankings The number of responses to this most recent annual survey was down considerably. In itself, that’s a telling indicator. While each of the previous two Top Specialty Contractor rankings had reached a depth of 200, this latest “Top” survey generated only enough responses for a ranking of 150. Last
The more than $5-billion infusion of federal stimulus dollars jump-started many transportation projects in the Southeast, but with those lettings winding down and some projects finishing, state transportation departments are now facing smaller budgets and fewer new starts. “Post-stimulus, for all states, is not a pretty picture,” says Todd Long, director of planning for the Georgia Dept. of Transportation in Atlanta. “What we have is a continuation of a transportation bill that has expired on a national level, and that is problematic.” Congress granted an extension of the funding level under the current Federal Highway Program, but has not enacted
Specialty contractors are feeling the pinch of less available work and greater competition in a continuing slow economy. Related Links: Top Specialty Contractors KHS&S Gets Lean Top Specialty Contractor Rankings “It’s a different world than it was two years ago,” says Jack A. Olmstead, president of Tri-City Electrical Contractors in Altamonte Springs, Fla. “We have to dig harder. We work harder.” The electrical contractor has seen deals fall apart at the last minute due to financing problems. It continues to work in health care, assisted living and Dept. of Veterans Affairs projects. OLMSTEAD School jobs have dropped off with population
The last several years have been tough ones for many of the Southeast’s specialty contractors. On this year’s Top Specialty Contractors ranking, revenue is down almost across the board. Photo Courtesy KHS&S Contractors KHS&S of Tampa is installing more than 700 factory-built bathroom units on a dormitory project at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. The project is the contractor’s first as the exclusive installer of Eggrock bathrooms. Photo Courtesy KHS&S Contractors A view of the FAU dormitory project shows numerous of the bathroom units positioned for installation. Final installation occurs after the building is enclosed. Related Links: Top Specialty
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