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Southeast's Top Projects
Value of This Year's Ranking is
Approximately $5.9 Billion
By Scott Judy
Southeast Construction presents its annual "Top Projects"
report, a ranking by contract value of the biggest projects
to break ground during 2005 within Florida, Georgia, North
Carolina and South Carolina.
Together, this year's Top Projects
list represents approximately $5.9 billion of construction,
up slightly from the $5.5 billion value of a year ago. Additionally,
the most current version of the ranking represents a slight
departure from the magazine's past approach. Whereas previous
rankings have listed the top 25 projects, this year's includes
all projects with a construction value of $100 million and
above.
In researching the candidates for this year's list, Southeast
Construction found so many projects of this value, that for
the first time we chose to expand the depth of the ranking
and include all of the contracts. In last year's Top Projects
ranking, for example, 22 projects had a construction value
of $100 million or more. This year, Southeast Construction
found 39 such projects.
Despite the proliferation of $100 million-plus projects, and
the gain in the cumulative value of the list, this year's
ranking can actually be viewed as lesser than last year's.
For example, the collective value of this year's top 25 equals
slightly less than $4.5 billion - or about $1 billion less
than last year.
Our sources included reports generated by the Dodge Division
of McGraw-Hill Construction, a survey of general contractors
working in the region, information from the various state
transportation agencies, items previously reported in Southeast
Construction and other sources. After assembling a preliminary
list, we followed up with general contractors and owners for
the latest information on their projects.
Every effort was made to obtain accurate and complete project
information.
This Year's List
Of course, the escalation in the number of projects totaling
more than $100 million in construction value is likely the
result of the increasing cost of materials that has impacted
the region - and the rest of the country - for several years
now.
Leading the way in this year's ranking are condominium and
other residential-related developments. Of the 39 projects
listed here, 20 are residential-related. While most are condos,
there are a few exceptions, with Centex's $133 million Villas
at Reunion Square apartment complex in Kissimmee, Fla., and
Hardin Construction's $106.8 million Piedmont Ellis Student
Housing project at Georgia State University in Atlanta among
the most notable.
As Southeast Construction reported throughout 2005 - the year
this ranking is based on - and into 2006, condominium construction
seemed to reach an all-time regional high. Though South Florida
served as the hotbed for this type of construction - gaining
national exposure for its high-flying ways - high-rise multifamily
projects were certainly not limited to just this area.
Throughout the four-state region, luxury condominium projects
dotted the coastlines and popped up in numerous downtown areas
as well. Indeed, major developments started or continued in
Atlanta, Orlando, Tampa, Fort Myers, Sarasota, St. Petersburg,
Myrtle Beach, Charlotte and Jacksonville, as well as the Florida
Panhandle, adding numerous new projects to the mix.
For the purposes of this ranking, however, it was the South
Florida condo developments that reached the biggest and most
amazing heights.
Topping the list of multifamily projects was the $222.7 million
Everglades on the Bay project that W.G. Yates is building
in Miami. According to the contractor, that project features
two 52-story towers as well as an additional eight-story structure.
And other nearby condos were right behind that one.
Just three spots down on the ranking was Pavarini Construction's
$209 million 900 Biscayne Bay condo project, located near
the emerging Everglades condo and across the street from the
Performing Arts Center project.
Other South Florida condo projects making the top list included
the $166 million Plaza on Brickell; $160 million Trump Royale;
$158 million Axis; $150 million 2700 North Ocean; $135 million
500 Brickell; Four Midtown and Carillon Hotel and Condominium
projects, each tallying $120 million; $110.2 million Ivy at
Riverfront; $110 million Met 1 Miami; $107 million Marina
Blue; $106.7 million Continuum II in South Beach; and $100
million Tao in Broward County.
Top Spot
As was the case last year, however, a power project took the
top spot in this year's ranking.
Engineering firm Black & Veatch of Kansas City, Mo., and
Zachry Construction Co. of San Antonio have teamed up again
- as BVZ - to build the $600 million Turkey Point Combined-Cycle
Generation Station for FP&L.
The companies previously worked together to build the utility's
Martin and Manatee plants, which were completed last year.
The project will provide the Florida-based utility with approximately
1,150 megawatts of additional power generation at its existing
Turkey Point facility, which currently features two nuclear-powered
units and two oil/gas-fired generating units.
Other Hot Markets
Transportation and health care also placed prominently.
Highway and heavy projects took seven of this year's top spots,
including the No. 2 project, the $243 million Escambia Bay
Bridge on Interstate 10 in Pensacola, Fla.
That project became necessary when, in 2004, Hurricane Ivan
slammed into Florida's Panhandle and its storm surge wiped
out the two lengthy 1960s-era spans by lifting and dumping
their unsecured bridge decks into Escambia Bay.
The team that won that project, a joint venture of Flatiron
Constructors and Tidewater Skanska - the same group that built
the acclaimed $600 million Cooper River Bridge in Charleston,
S.C. - followed up its I-10 win by also being awarded the
next-highest transportation project on this year's Top Projects
list, the $192.7 million State Route 60 Memorial Highway Bridge/Tampa
Airport Interchanges project in Tampa.
On the health-care side, the largest project this year was the
$154 million contract for the replacement hospital at the Medical
University of South Carolina in Charleston. That overall project
- which includes other contracts that did not make this ranking
- is funded by the second-largest mortgage ever awarded by the
Federal Housing Administration, totaling more than $400 million.
Editor's Notes
Southeast Construction should also note three projects actually
repeat from last year's ranking. The $218 million Raleigh
Convention Center, the $210 million West Area Storage and
Tunnel Facilities and Pumping Station project in Atlanta and
the $120 million Carillon project in South Florida appeared
on last year's list.
During this year's research, it was discovered that these
projects experienced delays to the start of their construction
- the key criteria for inclusion on the list. Therefore, they
were included on this year's ranking.
Southeast's Top Projects >>
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