Jacksonville's New Main Library

Joint Venture Team is Pushing Hard to Meet Tough Schedule

By Scott Judy

Libraries always have due dates, and usually they're more than sufficient for the task at hand - reading a book. But the Auchter-Elkins-Lodestar-Parris joint venture building the $55 million new Main Library for the city of Jacksonville is finding its due date rather restrictive.

For example, in May, just eight months from the completion target of January,the construction team had just topped off the four-story, 300,000-sq.-ft. structure designed by Robert A.M. Stern of New York. With detailed brick and architectural precast concrete still to be put in place on the high-profile facility's exterior, and with high-end interior finishes such as terrazzo floors, stone and elaborate millwork waiting inside, the team has many goals to go before it rests.

"We're pushing it," said Jack Belt, senior project manager and senior vice president with joint-venture participant The Auchter Co. of Jacksonville. "It's aggressive, and it's got a lot of challenges to it. We're taking the approach that we need to get there."

Belt added the team has instituted its plan to have numerous subcontractors work second shifts for many of the project's various components, and that several of the firms involved with the structure are working six to seven days a week.

The team mobilized in February 2003, about two months after the city held its groundbreaking - and about four months after the team had originally hoped to get started with foundations.

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Despite the delay, the end date remained fixed at its pre-Super Bowl timetable. Even so, Belt described the 24-month schedule as "typical of all projects anymore. Everybody wants it now. Right now it's not planned to be used for any (Super Bowl) functions, but it would be a nice thing to point at when visitors come to town."

While the city acknowledges the challenges the team faces, it remains confident the contractor will meet the deadline.

"Jack is certainly correct - it certainly is an aggressive schedule," said Rex Holmlin, a program principal for the Better Jacksonville Plan and the city's main contact for the library project. "Jack and his team are doing an outstanding job. They're on a glide path to success."

Project Progress

That "glide path" has had its bumps along the way. First, the team experienced the four-month delay at the beginning, and since then it has seen its cast-in-place concrete structure rise somewhat more slowly than expected.

Local utility provider JEA has kept Duval Street - which abuts the library project and is the main access point for materials delivery - unavailable for longer than expected due to its placement of a chilled-water line that will serve the library.

Additionally, the costs of numerous standard building materials have risen dramatically since the beginning of the project. Though the joint venture had many of the materials ordered and delivered at the old prices, supply has tightened greatly.

"It's an availability issue," Holmlin said, hinting at the possibility for delivery delays of some materials. For instance, he said though the city has a "very aggressive direct purchase program," drywall allocation had become an issue. Holmlin added that if it had started one year later, the project - as it's being built now - would have cost significantly more due to the rise in material costs.

As it is presently, the project is a result of considerable input from the joint-venture team during design.

"We came in early, at some conceptual schematic stages, and did a lot of early estimating," Belt said. He added that the joint venture contracted with the city in fall 2002 and provided estimates during design development when documents were at 30, 60 and 90 percent complete.

Belt didn't recall any major changes, but said, "The list of recommendations hit all divisions." Subcontractors "were all involved," with significant input from mechanical and electrical firms, he added.

The coordination of materials deliveries is a major focus right now, said Scott Humphrey, project superintendent for Elkins. He added that approximately 75 percent of the project's laydown area has been closed due to coordination with the chilled-water-line installation.

"We spend a lot of time coordinating materials deliveries," he said. "We have charts. We have daily meetings that are mandatory for all subcontractors. There's been a great deal of cooperation with everybody."

Contents

The new main library will be roughly three times the size of the city's existing facility and will feature numerous amenity improvements. The city has great expectations.

"It will have a very significant effect, not only on the downtown Jacksonville area but on the citizens of Duval County," Holmlin said. With the inclusion of a 600-space parking garage as part of the project, he said, "It will be much easier for citizens to come down and use the library."

Based on similar projects in other parts of the country, the city is expecting library attendance to double or triple over current numbers.

Holmlin described the amenities as "phenomenal," citing the new children's area and theater. A 10,000-sq.-ft. Grand Reading Room will sit on the top floor, underneath a steel-domed, arching roof. An open-air courtyard is located on the second floor of the building's southern elevation and will include seating, landscaping and water features to produce a tranquil space for library users.

One floor below the main ground floor, the library will feature a conference level with meeting and conference rooms that will be accessible from the building's rear entry off of Main Street.

A monumental staircase will greet visitors from the library's main Laura Street entrance, and terrazzo floors will make up most of the main lobby and other areas. There will be a significant amount of woodwork and crown molding, and some Vermont marble will be used.

"The interiors are really a high level of quality, real ornate but not ostentatious," Belt said. "I'm anxious to see how a lot of this turns out."

Holmlin called the finishes high quality but functional. Referring to former Mayor John Delaney, who shepherded passage of the Better Jacksonville Plan that included the new library, he added, "One of the previous mayor's promises was to build only first-class buildings. This is going to live up to that promise."

About the Builders

The main library was the only major vertical structure to be awarded to a team of mostly local general contractors. Auchter and Elkins have the majority of liability for the project, though participation is divided equally among the four parties: The Auchter Co., Elkins Constructors, Lodestar and The Parris Co.

Though Auchter and Elkins are longtime and current competitors, Humphrey said the team has "put all of our differences aside." "The joint venture has worked out great," he added. "We all look at this as one company we're working for."

Belt said everyone's focus is this job. "We have not seen any kind of competitiveness (among the project team members)." he added. He credited a similarity in philosophies between the two longtime Jacksonville firms.

"Auchter's and Elkins' philosophy … is to give the attention to the projects and the owners," he said. "If we take care of the project, everything else will work out."

Holmlin concurred.

"Both Auchter and the Elkins are very knowledgeable and results-oriented," he said. "The personnel on the job have melded together well, and their attention to detail is outstanding. The AELP team is doing a great job."

Despite the optimistic comments, Belt and company know the pressure is only going to intensify as the team heads toward the conclusion.

"It is extremely high profile," Belt said. "Citizens have a vested interest in this. And we're under a microscope. The level of stress is going to increase. It's going to be a sprint from here on out.

"It's probably the highest-profile job I've ever done, even though I did City Hall and the St. James Building. The city is going to have a facility they're going to be really proud of."

The BJP funded renovations or improvements to numerous city libraries, and the new main library will stand as the symbol of the city's renewed investment in these facilities.

Holmlin, who is overseeing many of the projects, said: "This is the flagship building, a project that citizens of this county are going to be proud of for many, many years. They're going to be wowed. And the firms (building it) are going to have something to be proud of."

Project Team: