Georgia Contract Activity Ends '05 11 Percent Ahead of '04

Georgia contract activity ended 2005 on a positive note, moving up 4 percent in December for an 11 percent overall gain for the year, compared to 2004, according to McGraw-Hill Construction. The value of contracts signed during December for future construction totaled nearly $2 billion, compared to the roughly $1.9 billion reported last December.

Residential again showed growth, experiencing a 6 percent gain for a roughly $1.2 billion total, compared to last December's $1.1 billion. Nonbuilding construction soared by 47 percent to total $287 million, compared to last December's $195 million. The value of nonresidential contracts fell by 13 percent to approximately $500 million, compared to last year's $576.6 million.

For all of 2005, the overall value of contract activity was 11 percent ahead of '04, with about $26.4 billion in contracts reported. Residential, with approximately $16.3 billion in new contracts, ended '05 11 percent ahead of 2004. The nonresidential category was 10 percent ahead, with a $6.7 billion total. Nonbuilding construction was 12 percent ahead of last year's pace, with about $3.4 billion in new contracts reported during 2005.

Flournoy Construction Starting Apartment Project in Augusta

Flournoy Construction Co. of Columbus, Ga., was set to begin work last month on its $22 million Stonebridge Crossing at Reed Creek apartment project in Augusta. The contractor is also acting as the owner's representative.

According to McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge, the project consists of 17 three-story buildings, including 15 apartment buildings for a total of 324 units measuring a collective 324,000 sq. ft.

W.F. Cobb Architect of Phenix City, Ala., is the project architect. Southern Partners of Augusta is handling the civil engineering, while Jordan & Skala Engineers of Norcross, Ga., is the mechanical engineer. Browder + LeGuizamon & Associates of Atlanta is performing the structural engineering work.

Choate Construction to Start on Stegeman Coliseum Practice Annex

Choate Construction Co. of Atlanta was recently awarded a $21.2 million contract to build the new Stegeman Coliseum Practice Annex at the University of Georgia in Athens. According to McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge, work was scheduled to begin within 60 days of the contract award date in late January.

Collins Cooper Carusi of Atlanta is the project architect, and Chasman & Associates of Augusta is the civil engineer. Barnett Consulting Engineers of Norcross is the electrical engineer, and Johnson Spellman & Associates, also of Norcross, is the mechanical engineer. Uzun & Case Engineering in Atlanta is the structural engineer.
Catamount Constructors Starting on Pair of Projects

Catamount Constructors of Roswell, Ga., recently started work on a pair of projects, an $18 million Mercedes-Benz dealership in Atlanta, as well as an office/warehouse building project in Duluth.

McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge reported work was scheduled to begin this past January on the Mercedes-Benz of Buckhead auto dealership facility in the Miami Heights Market Center in Atlanta. The new dealership would include a three-story, 100,000 sq.-ft. building and 80 automotive service bays. The Preston Partnership of Atlanta was the project architect. Baranco & Associates of Lilburn, Ga., is the project owner.

The contractor also started work on two office/warehouse buildings in Duluth for Seefried Properties of Atlanta. Catamount was still starting work on the shell of these buildings in early 2006, McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge reported. This project included two one-story, 100,000 sq.-ft. buildings. Realacorp America of Atlanta is the project architect.

GUCA Holds Winter Conference

The Georgia Utility Contractors Association recently hosted its 2006 Winter Management Conference at the Steamboat Grand Resort in Steamboat Springs, Colo. More than 100 GUCA members and guests attended.

Public Service Commissioner Chairman Doug Everett spoke about damage prevention in Georgia and highlighted the tiered penalties for cities and counties. He also addressed the "large project" language being developed by the PSC Advisory Committee.

Also, Ryan Gravel, son of GUCA member Allan Gravel of Willow Construction, presented a report on the "Atlanta Beltline Project," a concept he helped propose for a 22-mi. transit greenway that reuses existing railroad rights-of-way as a wide linear park with streetcars, bicycle and pedestrian paths connecting over 40 different neighborhoods. It organizes adjacent abandoned industrial land for transit-oriented development, expands transit service within the urban core, and connects various parts of an emerging regional trail system.

In 2001, working as a volunteer with Atlanta City Council President Cathy Woolard, Gravel helped spread the idea to a variety of community groups, business groups and other organizations.

In 2005, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin created the Beltline Partnership, which she charged with creating an organizational structure and strategic plan for the implementation of the Beltline.

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