Southeast Construction’s Best Of 2008

The magazine presents the winners of its eighth annual “Best Of” competition, honoring excellence in construction and design within the four-state region of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

By Scott Judy

Best of 2008 Awards of Excellence, Merit

Southeast Construction presents its eighth annual Best Of awards this month in honor of the “best” construction and design efforts completed between Sept. 1, 2007, and Sept. 1, 2008.

As we have done in the past, the magazine first solicited entries from contractors, designers and other firms from throughout the four-state area for the projects they thought merited consideration for a “Best Of” award.

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This year, judges reviewed 129 nominated projects in more than 20 categories. Their work resulted in awards for the following categories: Private Building; Public Building; Hospitality; Retail; Cultural; Multifamily; Health Care; Governmental; K-12 Schools; College/University; Sports/Recreation; Mixed-Use; Office Buildings; Civil; Transportation; Specialty Contracting; Engineering; Private Design; and Public Design.

Representing various segments of the Southeast’s construction industry, the group gathered on Sept. 4 at McGraw-Hill’s offices in Lake Mary, Fla. Judges were chosen based on their industry knowledge and expertise, and for their independence from firms submitting entries. If any judge had a perceived conflict of interest with any particular project, he or she abstained from voting and an average score was substituted for calculation purposes. The group of judges included:

• Ken Cristol, owner and president of Cristol Marketing Co., Longwood, Fla.;
• Bruce Kershner, executive director of the Underground Utility Contractors of Florida, in Longwood, Fla.;
• James Croson, CEO of J.A. Croson Co. in Sorrento, Fla.;
• Maria Ehrlich, marketing manager with Boyle Engineering of Orlando;
• Susan Pendergrass, director of business development with RLF Architecture Engineering Interiors of Winter Park, Fla.;
• David Metzker, former director of public works with the City of Orlando; and
• Ted Garrison, of Garrison Associates, Ormond Beach, Fla.

The panel was directed to rate the project entries on the following criteria:

• Solutions to construction or design challenges
• Project management
• Construction or design innovation
• Client service
• Safety (construction entries)
• Design unity (design entries)

The judges were given full latitude in awarding entries. For most categories, the judges allowed the highest-scoring entry in a category to be given the “Best Of” award for that group. However, some categories failed to impress the judges, and no awards were presented.

A project entry could also win an “Award of Excellence” or, below that, an “Award of Merit.” This year, two entries scored high enough to win an Award of Excellence, while 14 entries earned scores for an Award of Merit.

In addition to recognizing the “best” in each category, the judges were also asked to select the best overall project for the “Judges’ Award.” This year, the award was presented to two separate entries, for construction and design. The Judges Award for construction went to Hardin Construction Co.’s 3344 Peachtree project in Atlanta, which also won the Best Mixed-Use Award. Meanwhile, Ayres Associates won the other Judges Award for its work on the U.S. 17-92 General Hutchinson Pedestrian Bridge. The firm also won the Best Engineering Award for this project.