The State Transportation Board in Georgia plans to use up to half of its $932 million in stimulus funding for maintenance projects, such as resurfacing and interstate rehabilitation. Roughly a quarter will go for new-capacity or congestion-relief projects. About 10% will fund bridge replacement and rehab, another 10% is for safety projects and 4% is for enhancements. Photo: GDOT Attending the ceremony marking Georgia's first stimulus project were, from left: Clayton Co. Commission Chairman Eldrin Bell, Deputy U.S. Transportation Secretary John Porcari, Gov. Sonny Perdue, and Georgia Dept. of Transportation Commissioner Vance C. Smith, Jr. Photo: Steve Hudson Trucks get
Zachry of San Antonio, Texas, topped Southeast Construction's design-build contractor list with $378 million in project revenue in 2008, and since then the company has added to its portfolio. Photo: FPL A recent aerial view of FPL's $2.1-billion West County Energy Center project, currently under construction in Palm Beach County. Related Links: Top Design-Builders Ranking Zachry, in a joint venture with Black and Veatch of Kansas City, Mo., began working on units one and two at the $2.1-billion West County Energy Center for Florida Power & Light of Juno in April 2007, and later it picked up the contract for
Suffolk Construction Co. in West Palm Beach is weathering South Florida’s harsh brand of economic turmoil by branching out into new markets and embracing technology to streamline operations. Photo: Suffolk Construction Suffolk Construction's Met 2 project in downtown Miami. The project's office and hotel towers are rising simultaneously. Photo: Suffolk Construction Suffolk Construction completed the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies in Port St. Lucie, Fla., five months early. Related Links: South Florida Report: All Dried Up “We’re not growing, but we are staying even in our revenues,” says Rex Kirby, president and general manager of the Southeast Region for
New construction starts have slowed in Palm Beach and Broward counties, but a couple of big projects about to begin in South Florida have contractors hopeful for better times ahead. Photo: Aerial Photo Inc./www.api4.com A reminder of recent times, when construction opportunities dotted the landscape. Miami-based Coastal Construction's nearly completed Promenade project. A rendering of the new Florida Marlins baseball park, which will feature a retractable roof. Located in Miami, the $430-million project, which officially broke ground is July, is raising hopes of creating jobs for contractors located in Broward and Palm Beach counties, too. Image courtesy Populous. Related Links:
At the end of 2008, when the nation’s financial system seemed on the verge of a complete meltdown, the outlook for 2009 construction activity certainly was not a rosy picture. In the 2009 Outlook that Southeast Construction published in January, McGraw-Hill Construction economists Robert Murray and Jennifer Coskren used phrases like “clearly in retrenchment,” “this bodes particularly poorly” and “less than upbeat” to describe what awaited contractors in the then-coming year. Related Links: Tampa Report: No Recovery in the Private Market, but Public Sector Offers Hope BILL PINTO Even so, at the time, McGraw-Hill Construction predicted only a 6% decline,
The new Tampa Museum of Art and related improvements to adjoining parks and gardens is expected to breathe new life into downtown. “That is going to be a jewel,” says Frank Cardinal, senior vice president and account manager with Skanska USA Building in Tampa, which is working on the museum and related components. This rendering of the new Tampa Museum of Art shows how the architect, Stanley Saitowitz of San Francisco, raised the gallery areas and created the illusion that the building is "floating above the water." Related Links: Tampa Report: No Recovery in the Private Market, but Public Sector
Competition for projects in the four-state Southeast Construction region has been at an intense level throughout 2009, as an increasing number of building contractors find themselves chasing a declining number of new contracts, hoping to build a backlog during this historic downturn. Photo: Sam Barnes State transportation agencies across the four-state region report receiving bids that are often well below the initial engineering estimates, giving them more bang for their stimulus bucks. Related Links: 2009 Midyear Outlook: Worse Than Expected As the residential and commercial markets continue their declines, contractors operating in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina have
The board of Tampa Bay Water has approved an estimated $125-million repair program for the agency’s four-year-old, 15.5-billion-gallon C.W. “Bill” Young Regional Reservoir. The facility, which cost roughly $140 million to construct originally, has been experiencing significant cracking since late 2006. The authority is also moving ahead with a lawsuit against the three lead members of the original project team: HDR of Omaha, Neb., the designer; Barnard Construction of Bozeman, Mont., the contractor; and construction manager Construction Dynamics Group of Columbia, Md. Related Links: Tampa Report: No Recovery in the Private Market, but Public Sector Offers Hope Tampa Bay Water
The economic recession and tight financial markets have considerably slowed construction activity in Florida’s Tampa Bay region, but government entities continue to invest in roads, ports, airports and other projects. Slide Show Photo: courtesy the Beck Group The Beck Group of Tampa is building its new LEED-silver certified regional headquarters in Tampa. Related Links: Building a 'Frame for Art' Tampa Bay Water OKs Big Repair Bill for Cracking Reservoir “The private market is basically nonexistent,” says Tom Fronce, senior vice president of marketing for Creative Contractors in Clearwater. “The private market is having difficulty getting funding. We don’t see anything
Southeast Construction presents its second annual Top Design-Builders ranking. Derived from information obtained during the Top Contractors survey conducted earlier this year, it documents the amount of revenue related to design-build activities by the firms that participated in that ranking. Related Links: Top Design-Builders Ranking Lights On for Zachry The Top Design-Builders ranking is based upon the ‘08 regional revenue that each firm estimated came from design-build projects within the four-state region of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. The ranking also includes more information about each firm, including the location of its main regional office, phone number and
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