commentPROJECT COST: $224 million
It has been a long time coming, but the final piece of the city of Jacksonville’s Better Jacksonville Plan is finally becoming a reality. Turner Construction Co. of Orlando is leading the $224-million design-build construction of the Duval County Courthouse.
Construction started in April 2009, with scheduled completion in May 2012. David Reaves, Turner vice president and operations manager, says the company topped out the seven-story, 800,000-sq-ft structure earlier this year.
The facility will serve as a combined civil and criminal courthouse for Duval County and will include 51 courtrooms, judges’ chambers and offices, and other space. The building will be a cast-in-place concrete structure with a glass and precast exterior. It is designed by KBJ Architects of Jacksonville.
The project was originally proposed in 2000 as part of the BJP and budgeted at $190 million. After project costs escalated to $268 million, Mayor John Peyton canceled the contract with the previous construction manager, a joint venture led by Skanska USA Building. The original planned start date under this contract had been May 2003.
Reaves says the project’s subcontractors are delivering low prices during the down economy. There’s been a “greater level of competition at the trade level than we might have had (previously),” he says.
Key Facts:
Location: Jacksonville, Fla.
Owner: City of Jacksonville
Contractor: Turner Construction Co., Orlando
Architects: KBJ Architects, Jacksonville
Start Date: April 2009
Completion Date: May 2012
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