Turner Construction Co., New York City, is looking to put $333 million back on its books after it won a bid protest regarding a new 745,000-sq-ft hospital planned for Fort Benning, Ga. On Aug. 5 the Army Corps of Engineers reinstated the design-build contract, which was terminated in March because of organizational conflict-of-interest charges. The move follows a July 8 federal claims court ruling that agreed with Turner’s appeal of a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) decision against the firm. The concerns centered on Turner’s design partner Ellerbe Becket, Minneapolis. The firms began pursuing the hospital project in 2008 and
Turner Construction Co., New York City, is looking to put $333 million back on its books after it won a bid protest over a new 745,000-sq-ft hospital planned for Fort Benning, Ga. Photo: Fort Benning, Ga. Army site’s hospital project was focus of contract protest. . On Aug. 5, the Savannah District of the Army Corps of Engineers reinstated the design-build contract, which had been terminated in March over charges of organizational conflicts of interest. The job re-award follows a July claims court ruling that agreed with Turner’s appeal of a decision by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) against
Turner Construction Co., New York City, is looking to put $333 million back on its books after it won a bid protest over a new 745,000-sq-ft hospital planned for Fort Benning, Ga. Photo: Fort Benning, Ga. Army site’s hospital project was focus of contract protest On Aug. 5, the Savannah District of the Army Corps of Engineers reinstated the design-build contract, which had been terminated in March over charges of organizational conflicts of interest. The job re-award follows a July claims court ruling that agreed with Turner’s appeal of a decision by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) against the
These are trying times for specialty contractors. Given the limited opportunities for new work, the struggle to get paid for completed jobs and the reluctance within the lending community to extend credit to construction firms, the region’s subcontractors are fighting on all fronts to survive. Many contractors are cautiously optimistic that the economic environment could improve in 2012, but conditions could get worse before they get better. Public projects such as road, transit and infrastructure jobs have provided the most work for specialty firms over the last year. Related Links: TSC Overall Ranking in the Tri-State Area TSC Rankings broken
Under the gun to stay on schedule with more than $4 billion in Base Realiagnment and Closure Act projects at Fort Belvoir, Va., post program managers have developed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ first 4D, Google Earth-based animated construction model for an entire military installation. Using Google Earth as a backdrop, the model links a mountain of facility and site data with nearly 140 project schedules to enable more effective construction coordination on or around the 8,600-acre garrison. Belvoir New Vision Planners, a joint venture of PBS&J, Tampa, Fla., and Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, Chicago, developed the model with
Uncertainty looms over the petroleum sector. In March, the industry saw new opportunities open up when President Obama lifted a 20-year moratorium on offshore drilling along the East Coast, as well as portions of the Gulf of Mexico and the Alaskan coastline. Three weeks later, the political environment took a dramatic turn following the April 20 explosion at BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The administration ordered a temporary ban on offshore drilling in the Gulf and halted exploration of several new areas. Portions of the oil industry have since been locked in a court battle over
After more than two years in the doldrums, design firms are starting to hear the rumblings of a recovery, but it could be many months before talk turns into action. With private developers still severely hampered by the credit crunch and many public entities facing budget shortfalls, the funding stream for projects remains a trickle. Photo: HDR While there are fewer hospital megaprojects being built, some continue, such as this $1.27-billion replacement hospital for the Parkland Health & Hospital System in Dallas. Related Links: View More on Top 500 Sourcebook 2010 View Complete Top 500 Sourcebook 2010 with Data and
Rear Adm. Greg Shear, retiring chief of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, likely had a few sleepless nights in 2006 when he first took over the U.S. Navy’s construction and facilities management arm, worrying about how it would handle a then-record $9-billion building mission. But at least that would be the peak, he told Navy brass. Three years later, the NAVFAC program has grown nearly 80% to $16 billion and is reaching around the world. “So, I’m not a good prognosticator,” he says. Changing military missions, new political priorities, global disasters and other contingencies have combined to test NAVFAC’s ability
Associated Builders and Contractors members are lobbying Congress to stimulate construction, not with stimulus funds but by pushing financial regulators and banks to restore lending to private-sector projects and firms. To push jobs, the open-shop construction group calls for unfreezing project lending for more access to capital, examining federal guidelines on write-downs and curtailing financial institutions from “unnecessarily restricting, reducing or calling in lines of credit” to contractors and suppliers. “Freeing up credit is how to create a real economy,” said James W. Elmer, president of the Spokane, Wash.-based construction firm that bears his name and ABC’s chairman. Also speaking
With revenue continuing to be a significant struggle for many contractors, salaries for construction staff are languishing at levels not seen in decades. Salary increases fell from 4.1% in 2008 to 3% in 2009 among companies that offered raises, and contractors estimate they could dip to 2.9% in 2010, according to a recent survey by PAS Inc., a construction-compensation consulting firm in Saline, Mich. Related Links: ECONOMICS: With Stimulus Spending Running Out Recession Will Keep Grip on Costs CONFIDENCE SURVEY: Industry Firms Begin To Believe The Worst May Soon Be Over CEMENT: Weak Demand Undercuts Prices HIGHWAYS: Soaring Asphalt and
