Hensel Phelps Awarded $120M Project at Eglin Air Force Base

The Orlando-based Southeast district of Hensel Phelps Construction Co. was awarded a $120 million Phase One project to transition the Army’s 7th Special Forces in its relocation from Fort Bragg, N.C., to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

This project will require clearing, grubbing, grading, and stabilizing a 350-acre site and 130-acre access road, construction of a road system, and infrastructure to support a Special Forces Complex. Infrastructure includes electrical and communications distribution, water wells and elevated water storage tanks, water distribution, and wastewater collection. Buildings to be constructed include the group headquarters, four battalion headquarters, four battalion headquarters/company operations facilities, combat readiness training facility, dining hall and other buildings and infrastructure. All projects must meet LEED Silver certification.

The project owner is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District.

Florida Contracts: January Starts Decline 35%

McGraw-Hill Construction, publisher of Southeast Construction, reported that the value of new Florida contracts signed in January declined by 35% overall, compared to the same period of a year ago. According to the latest report, the value of January contracts for future construction totaled approximately $2.1 billion, compared to the preceding January’s $3.3 billion total.

For the most recent month, two of the three sectors used by McGraw-Hill Construction experienced double-digit percentage declines. Residential fell the most, 65%, to total $483.4 million – making it the lowest-volume sector for the month. That number compared to last January’s $1.4 billion total.

Meanwhile, the nonresidential sector fell 37% to total $850.9 million. The nonbuilding sector showed positive growth, however. That sector jumped by 45% to tally approximately $815.5 million for the month.

BE&K to Build $126M Waste-to-Energy Facility in Palm Beach County

BE&K, a division of KBR, has been awarded a $126 million contract by the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County, Fla., to provide engineering, procurement and construction services for the refurbishment of its North County waste-to-energy resource recovery facility.

The contractor will refurbish the existing two-boiler waste-to-energy facility, extending the facility’s service life by an additional 20 years. Work includes the replacement of boiler internals, upgrades to electrical and control system and pollution control equipment, and other work. The plant, which has been operating since 1989, currently burns 1800 tons of refuse-derived fuel per day and produces enough steam to power a 60 megawatt steam turbine.

Work on the project is expected to begin immediately.

Deferred Jobs Preferred in Florida Stimulus Share

An estimated $12.2 billion in federal stimulus funding should help Florida shore up some of the holes in the state budget and put thousands of Floridians to work. That was the message from Gov. Charlie Crist when he hailed the passage of the federal stimulus bill in mid-February and just days later when he announced his $66.5 billion 2009-2010 budget on Feb. 20.

According to a Feb. 20 statement accompanying the release of Gov. Crist’s budget, the stimulus will add approximately $4.7 billion in revenues for 2009-10, thus reducing the amount of future cuts that had been widely expected. Approximately $3.2 billion in stimulus funding will be utilized within the state’s current fiscal year.

The Florida Department of Transportation will be the biggest recipient of construction dollars. FDOT officials estimate that the stimulus will deliver roughly $1.4 billion in additional work to the state. That compares to the $6.9 billion in projects that FDOT had earlier listed as “ready-to-go.”

An estimated $1.35 billion will go to highway and bridge construction. Also, urban transit systems will receive $290 million in funding, while rural transit systems will get about $20 million. An additional $5.4 million is directed to fixed-guideway systems. The stimulus also funds $50 million in airport improvements.

Dave Lee, in FDOT’s Office of Policy Planning, says the department has been coordinating with its district offices about priority projects throughout the legislative process, and is still finalizing a list of stimulus projects.

The Department is using seven factors to prioritize its projects eligible for stimulus funding. These include: have been previously deferred by the state; are tied to concurrency where development is being held up; have the potential to generate revenues; are geographically balanced; provide congest relief; are located in economically distressed areas; and can be completed within three years.

“We plan to make sure that we don’t lose out on any of the funds available to Florida,” Lee says. “And we hope to actually use some that other states can’t, in that ‘use-it-or-lose-it’ provision.” Lee indicates that the agency has to have projects totaling roughly half of the stimulus total “obligated” within 120 days, and the remaining stimulus projects within one year. Obligation indicates federal approval for a project to move forward.

FDOT, which has been a national leader in the adoption and use of design-build, will likely use this delivery method for some of its stimulus projects.

“That would be a good way to go on a lot of these,” Lee says. “You’re going to see a pretty good range of smaller and bigger-sized projects.”

The governor’s office and FDOT estimates that the additional stimulus funding will “create or retain” an additional 24,200 jobs.

Robert G. Burleson, president of the Florida Transportation Builders Association in Tallahassee, said, “(Transportation contractors) will begin hiring new people immediately.”

While the state’s list of stimulus projects is still being finalized, some major projects are stepping to the forefront. In Tampa, the Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization pushed the $463 million Interstate 4/Crosstown Connector project as its top priority. The road would connect I-4 with the Port of Tampa and the Selmon Crosstown Expressway.

Overall, the stimulus funding saves FDOT’s overall spending from decline. According to Dan Cashin, FDOT budget officer, reductions in gas-tax revenues, vehicle sales tax and real estate-related documentary stamp fees have driven the agency’s overall budget down significantly. Gov. Crist’s budget – which does not include the new stimulus funding – calls for $7.1 billion in total transportation funding in 2009-2010, down from the current year’s $8.2 billion total.

Other public works construction will get a boost. The state is expecting to receive about $134 million for wastewater projects and as much as $90 million for drinking-water facilities.

Those representing the vertical building markets were less optimistic about the impact from the stimulus law on their constituents.

Mark Wylie, president and CEO of the Central Florida Chapter of Associated Builders & Contractors in Orlando, says the impact from the stimulus “will be marginal in Orlando, from what I can tell. The total amount of infrastructure spending appears to be less than 10% of the total package, and when that is divided out over 50 states … it will not have much of an impact on construction activity in any one area.”

Wylie further figures stimulus funds would only cut the rate of unemployment by less than 1%. “That will be great for the people who get the jobs,” he said, “but it will not have much impact on the whole industry.”

FAU, UF Break Ground for Joint-Use Facility in Davie

Officials with the Florida Atlantic University and the University of Florida recently commemorated the groundbreaking of a FAU/UF joint-use facility on FAU’s Davie campus. The 75,000-sq-ft facility, designed to attain LEED silver certification, is scheduled to be completed next fall.

The $30 million facility, funded entirely by Public Education Capital Outlay allocations from the state, will be constructed on 25 acres of land transferred to FAU from the University of Florida. It will be shared between FAU and UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences to study Everglades restoration and environmental science. The first floor is designed for classroom use, including a 100-person tiered classroom. The second floor will house research labs for UF scientists, and the third and fourth floors will combine FAU science labs with office space for FAU’s College of Arts and Letters and other departments.

The FAU/UF joint-use facility was designed by Schenkel Shultz and will be built by Pirtle Construction.

Coastal Construction Tops Off 1450 Brickell Office Tower in Miami

Coastal Construction Group of Miami topped off its $140 million, 35-story 1450 Brickell class-A office tower project in Miami. The 586,000 sq-ft tower is scheduled for delivery in January 2010.

The project team is aiming for LEED Gold certification. The building’s exterior will be clad in high-impact resistant glass. It was designed by Nichols Brosch Wurst Wolfe and Associates. Miami-based Rilea Group is the project developer.

Moss & Associates Tops Off Soho Beach House, Completes CityPlace South Tower

Moss & Associates of Fort Lauderdale announced the topping off of its $33 million Soho Beach House hotel project in Miami Beach. Soho House Ltd. is the developer of the two-building complex.

Architect Allan T. Shulman designed the Soho Beach House, which incorporates the former Sovereign Hotel – a seven-story Art Deco hotel built in 1941 – and a new 15-story tower facing the Atlantic Ocean.

The contractor also announced its completion of CityPlace South Tower, a $106 million mixed-use development in West Palm Beach. Developed by The Related Group of Miami, the 20-story condominium tower features 380 luxury units and 40 private villas, and 9,333 sq ft of street-level commercial and retail space. It also features an adjoining eight-level, 685-space parking structure.

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