Retooling to Survive and Thrive

Suffolk Construction Diversifies, Streamlines in Tough South Florida Economy

By Debra Wood

Suffolk Construction’s Met 2 project in downtown Miami. The project’s office and hotel towers are rising simultaneously. Photo courtesy Suffolk Construction.

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.

“We’re not growing, but we are staying even in our revenues,” says Rex Kirby, president and general manager of the Southeast Region for Suffolk. “At one point, I wasn’t happy about that, but now I’m tickled. It’s taken a lot of different strategies.”

Diversification—working in several different markets at once, such as schools, health care, office towers and hotels—is helping Suffolk manage in these economic times.

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“We’re working in multiple markets successfully, and that differentiates us,” says Tim Sterling, vice president of Suffolk’s Miami operation.

Suffolk, a privately held company with more than $1 billion in revenues nationally, is working to secure more federal government projects. Each region dedicates personnel with experience in the federal arena to serve on a company committee that focuses on national government work.

“How you respond [to proposals] and some of the language can make a difference winning or losing,” Kirby says. “With people who have knowledge of that, we’ve been able to tweak our proposals to get to the point where we are winning some work.”

Suffolk recently received a contract to design and build a $13-million, 63,000-sq-ft Bachelor Enlisted Quarters at the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, Ga. The LEED-designed project includes utilities, parking and antiterrorism force protection. Work will start in September and is scheduled for completion in 2011. Marcobay Construction of Lakeland, Fla., will perform the concrete shell and masonry work.

Kirby says he expects more owners will opt for design-build contracts, especially on federal projects.

“That delivery method has been successful for us,” he adds.

Suffolk also used design-build on the $40-million Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies in Port St. Lucie, Fla., and the $25-million Port St. Lucie Civic Center, both completed last year.

Suffolk is pursuing work as a joint-venture partner with Marcobay and has been short-listed for a contract to build an elementary and middle school at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

Suffolk Construction completed the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies in Port St. Lucie, Fla., five months early. Photo courtesy Suffolk Construction

Marcobay has built office, school, retail and industrial projects. The partnership had chased a University of South Florida polytechnic project in Lakeland but did not receive the contract.

“We believed a local partner was desired by USF for this new campus,” Kirby says. “(Marcobay is) a good fit culturally, so we decided to look at other opportunities where we could bring value to each other, including other opportunities in and around Lakeland, and a project at Fort Bragg, where they already had resources from a past project and were able to self-perform concrete work.”

Austin Jones, who handles business development for Marcobay, adds that his firm has experience in school construction and in working in North Carolina. It is the first time Marcobay has joint ventured with another firm, but Jones hopes to pursue more work with Suffolk.

Suffolk also is building a team that can bid on design-build-finance projects. The team would lease the municipal buildings and schools back to the community.

Staying Busy Suffolk has begun cultivating a health-care portfolio. It performed several small projects for Jupiter Medical Center in Jupiter, Fla., which led to additional work.

Suffolk Construction recently broke ground on the Plumosa Elementary School Modernization for the School District of Palm Beach County. Photo courtesy Suffolk Construction

“We are building our reputation,” Kirby says. “If we can get our foot in the door, we will work hard to make sure we win a client.”

Suffolk is working on the $40-million, 185,000-sq-ft Fifth and Alton retail center in Miami Beach for Berkowitz Development Group of Coconut Grove, Fla.

“I’m impressed with the quality of Suffolk’s personnel,” says Jeff Berkowitz, company founder.

Although K-12 school construction has slowed, due to funding and decreasing student counts, it remains a strong market for Suffolk. The company recently secured the $15-million James Stephens International Academy project for the School District of Lee County, on Florida’s west coast. Suffolk also is building the $23-million, 105,000-sq-ft, LEED-registered Plumosa Elementary School Modernization for the School District of Palm Beach County, scheduled for completion in 2010.

Suffolk continues work on the $325-million, 2.3 million-sq-ft Met 2 in Miami. The company broke ground in fall 2007. The 47-story, 750,000-sq-ft office tower and 43-story, 357-room Marriott Marquis Hotel sit on an 18-story, 833,000-sq-ft podium and parking deck with space for 1,500 cars. Crews are using Vela Systems punch-list field software on Met 2 to identify problem areas and automatically create work and punch lists for subcontractors.

Harnessing Technology Suffolk has increased its use of building information modeling (BIM) and is training additional personnel how to employ the software and build more efficiently.

“A lot of the hospital work, science and tech projects, and federal work look for it, and even in some cases require BIM,” Kirby says. “We’ve used it most for conflict resolution to date, but we are ramping it up in other areas. We’re flushing out issues prior to finalizing the contract amount, so once we put a shovel in the ground, there are fewer changes to deal with.”

Suffolk used BIM while building Torrey Pines, bringing the job in five months early and under budget.

Looking Ahead Suffolk continues to hire and supports staff with in-house training programs through its Red & Blue University. Novices participate in a two-year Career Start course in which Suffolk trains them in how it conducts business before sending them to a jobsite.

“It has made a big difference in how we are able to deliver our projects,” Kirby says. “We’ve got a good crew of young talent ready to help us fulfill the market when it comes back.”

Useful Source:

Suffolk Construction Co. http://www.suffolkconstruction.com
Met 2 http://www.metropolitanmiami.com/home.html
Fifth and Alton http://www.berkowitzdevelopment.com/southbeach.htm