Miami-Dade Awards Parsons-Odebrecht $259M People Mover Contract

Miami-Dade County tapped Parsons–Odebrecht Joint Venture to design and build a $259 million, 1.27-mi-long automated people mover system to run between Miami International Airport and the Miami Intermodal Center, a consolidated rental car facility and transportation hub.

“We are happy to have the opportunity to contribute towards the development of yet another infrastructure project in Miami-Dade,” says Gilberto Neves, CEO, Odebrecht-USA, Coral Gables, a partner in the joint venture with Parsons Corp. of Pasadena, Calif., in a written response to questions.

The Miami-Dade Aviation Department began negotiating with Parsons–Odebrecht earlier this year after rejecting the three design-build-operate-maintain bids it received. The Board of County Commissioners awarded the three-year, fast-track, design-build contract. The county retains the option of contracting with Parsons–Odebrecht to operate and maintain the people mover for 15 years after its completion.

Parsons–Odebrecht received the notice to proceed in October. Stirrup anticipates foundation work to start in February with a partial design.

“[The people mover] will allow the elimination of rental car company busses that circulate the terminal, which will reduce emissions and traffic, and free up curb space for passenger loading and unloading,” says Franklin Stirrup, project manager for Parsons.

This job represents the latest in a string of projects Parsons–Odebrecht has under taken at the airport. The team continues work on the second phase of the South Terminal project and is in the midst of a $1.1 billion North Terminal project.

In addition, Parsons–Odebrecht and Sumitomo are building a $134.9 million, nearly 1 mi long North Terminal rooftop APM to shuttle passengers between the terminal’s four passenger stations. That work is scheduled for a 2010 completion. Source: Engineering News-Record.

In September, Florida Contracts Decline 34%

McGraw-Hill Construction, publisher of Southeast Construction, reported that the value of new Florida contracts declined by 34% overall in September, compared to the same period of a year ago. According to the latest report, the value of September contracts for future construction totaled approximately $2.4 billion, compared to last September’s nearly $3.7 billion total.

For the most recent month, all three sectors used by McGraw-Hill Construction experienced double-digit percentage declines. Residential fell 49% compared to last September to total $786.3 million. The nonresidential sector fell 17% compared to last September to total $1.2 billion. The nonbuilding sector declined by 34% to total $447.1 million.

For the year to date, the total value of new contracts is an estimated $24.8 billion, or 38% behind the 2007 pace. Residential is 47% behind 2007, and is valued at about $9.9 billion. Nonresidential is 21% behind ‘07, with approximately $10.3 billion in new starts. The nonbuilding sector is 45% behind last year, with about $4.5 billion in new projects.

$120M, Special-Needs Prison Project to Start in Santa Rosa Co.

The State of Florida’s Department of Management Services is moving forward on a $120 million contract with the GEO Group’s Boca Raton, Fla., office for the design, construction and operation of a 2,000-bed special needs prison in Santa Rosa County, Florida. The prison will house medium- and close-custody security adult male inmates, the majority of whom will require chronic medical and mental health treatment.

The prison will be lease-purchase financed and owned by the State of Florida. GEO and GEO Care, the company’s wholly-owned mental healthcare subsidiarym will manage and operate the facility upon its completion in 2010.

Work Pushes on Vulnerable Dike Around Lake Okeechobee

Construction worth $97 million to strengthen the most vulnerable section of the Herbert Hoover Dike around Lake Okeechobee will begin as soon as three contractors successfully complete test panels of seepage cutoff walls that they have proposed.

The Army Corps of Engineers’ Jacksonville, Fla., district on Sept. 26 awarded a $29.4 million task order to Hayward Baker of Odenton, Md., for a 3.3-mi-long wall to a depth of 70 ft. Bauer Foundation Corp. of Clearwater, Fla., received a $28.9 million task order in May for a 3.5-mi-long wall. Treviicos South, Boston, was awarded a $38.7 million task order in July for a 3.2-mi-long wall.

Piping is threatening the integrity of the dike, which is one of six dams or impoundments that the Corps has targeted for urgent construction rehabilitation. Source: Engineering News-Record.

Biennial Everglades Report Finds Little Progress, Many Hindrances

Ecosystems are in peril, construction costs are rising and encroaching development threatens the restoration of Florida’s Everglades, while the joint state-federal restoration effort “is bogged down in budgeting, planning and procedural matters and is making only scant progress.” That’s the bleak summary of the National Academy of Sciences’ second biennial report on the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan mandated by Congress and released on Sept. 29.

“Future restoration progress is likely to be limited by the availability of funding” and the cumbersome authorization and funding procedures required by law, the report adds. It calls for CERP planners to “move forward expeditiously with projects that have the most potential for contributing to natural system-restoration progress.”

But the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is “doing a lot of things in sync with what the NAS recommends,” says Stuart J. Appelbaum, the Corps’ Jacksonville, Fla.-based deputy for restoration program management. The Corps has done “a lot of work in the last few months” on developing an integrated delivery schedule that melds science, financial authorization and state input “to finish what’s on our plate plus reestablish sheetflow [of water through the Everglades] by 2020,” he says.

The report calls the Mod Waters project to remove barriers to sheetflow “one of the most discouraging stories in Everglades restoration,” noting that it was authorized by Congress in 1989 and has not yet been completed. But on Sept. 26, the Corps solicited proposals for a one-mile bridge on the Tamiami Trail to partially accomplish the Mod Waters goal. Bids will be opened on Nov. 10. Source: Engineering News-Record.

Met 2 Financial Center Secures $250M Construction Loan

Metropolitan Miami, the $1 billion mixed-use development in downtown Miami, announced that Met 2 Financial Center has secured a $250 million construction loan.

Met 2 Financial Center is a joint venture between Metropolitan Miami’s developer, MDM Development Group, and New York-based MetLife. Participating Banks include: Bank of America, Wachovia Bank, HSBC Bank, RBC Bank and the Bank of Scotland

Met 2 Financial Center will include 750,000 sq ft of Class-A office space, along with a 42-story JW Marriott Marquis-branded Marriott hotel, and the first Hotel Beaux Arts, the new hotel of Marriott International’s luxury group.

Completion of Met 2 is expected for spring 2010. Suffolk Construction of West Palm Beach is the contractor.

Lane Breaks Ground on Montage Apartments in Orlando

Developer Lane Florida celebrated a groundbreaking for its 19-story, luxury apartment development, the Montage, in downtown Orlando.

The project will be built to attain a Silver LEED certification.

The Montage is the first of three rental towers Lane Florida plans for downtown Orlando. It will have 183 apartments and 8,000 sq ft of retail space on the ground floor.

The project was designed by EDI Architects of Houston. Winter Park Construction is the general contractor and Stillwater Technologies of Orlando is the civil engineer. Completion is expected in late spring 2010.

Construction of the second and third towers currently is expected to start in 2010.

JMC Communities Celebrates Ovation Topping Off

St. Petersburg-based developer JMC Communities announced the topping off of Ovation, a 27-story condominium project in downtown St. Petersburg. Ovation’s construction began in February 2007. The 27-story tower is slated for completion in late spring 2009.

The development includes 45 “estate-sized” residences, starting at under $2 million, as well as 17,800 sq ft of retail space. Ovation is being created in partnership with The Sembler Company and ANB Enterprises.

LPCiminelli Named CM for $91M Miami Racetrack-Casino Project

Flagler Racetrack and Magic City Casino have retained LPCiminelli of Buffalo, N.Y., as construction manager for a project to transform Miami’s Flagler Dogtrack into a new racetrack-casino-entertainment complex. The $91-million project includes the expansion and renovation of the existing 29-acre dog-racing facility, starting with upgrades to the grandstand and concourse, as well as a bar and lounge on the gaming floor and a 3,500-seat amphitheater.

Pirtle Construction is CM for $27M FAU Facility in Davie

Pirtle Construction Co. was selected as construction manager for the new $27-million Florida Atlantic University-University of Florida Joint-Use Facility, located on the campus of Florida Atlantic University in Davie. SchenkelSchultz Architecture of West Palm Beach has designed the 75,000-sq-ft building to meet LEED Silver certification guidelines.

The facility will provide the University’s College of Science with expanded research and support facilities, as well as research and support spaces for UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. It will also include office space for FAU’s College of Arts and Letters. Construction is slated to start in March, with completion scheduled for 2010.

Danis to Build Fine Arts Hall at Santa Fe College

Danis Building Construction Co. of Jacksonville has been awarded a $14 million contract to build the new Fine Arts Hall at Santa Fe College in Gainesville. The 36,000-sq-ft facility will feature a 600-seat theatre, 100-seat recital hall, classrooms and a three-story black box auditorium.

The new hall is expected to be complete by August 2010.

STH Architectural Group Designing Mann Research Center

STH Architectural Group of West Palm Beach is designing the new Mann Research Center, located in the Florida Center for Innovation at Tradition, a 2,500 acre master-planned, mixed use community in Port St. Lucie.

The California-based research company is joining the growing bioscience cluster at Tradition with a multi- and single-tenant facility. STH has led a team in developing the master plan for the anticipated six buildings. The firm has designed the first building with three floors totaling 65,000 sq ft, which features multiple lab suites including bio-science incubator space.

Slattery & Associates Designing Palm Beach Library to LEED Certification

Slattery & Associates of Boca Raton is designing the new Acreage Library project for Palm Beach County. The 30,000-sq-ft building, to be located in West Palm Beach, will be the first LEED certified library for Palm Beach County, according to the firm.

Children Will Break Ground on State-of-the-Art Expansion at Hope Haven

In late October, Hope Haven Children’s Clinic and Family Center in Jacksonville was scheduled to host a groundbreaking event to celebrate the 15,594 sq-ft addition to its current facility. Children who participate in Hope Haven’s programming participated in the groundbreaking. Hope Haven provides care to a wide range of clients including those with learning disabilities, developmental needs, and mental health issues. Areas of specialization include children with Down syndrome, autism, dyslexia, depression, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other learning challenges.

The new building is being designed by McCullar and Boatright and built by Stellar of Jacksonville. It will feature math and reading labs, therapy rooms, evaluation centers and a gymnasium. With this expansion, Hope Haven will be able to serve an additional 100 children.

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