ARRA-Funded Projects Getting Under Way

A Federal Courthouse in Austin and a complex for wounded soldiers at El Paso’s Fort Bliss move closer to ground breaking with ARRA funds.

By Rob Patterson

Rendering of the U.S. Courthouse ; courtesy GSA.

Construction of a new, $107-million United States District Courthouse building on a long-dormant block in rapidly redeveloping downtown Austin will soon get under way thanks to federal stimulus funds.

Funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act also allowed the project’s original construction timetable to be moved up.

White Construction Co. of Austin was contracted in March 2004 as construction-manager-as-constructor for the design and preconstruction phase on the seven-story, 211,590-sq-ft structure (with one level of underground parking). “We were told at the time that it would probably not be until March 2010 before construction would begin because of congressional funding,” says Bill Farnum, White’s vice president of preconstruction. “So it’s actually moved forward about six to eight months.”

The U.S. General Services Administration expects to award White a notice to proceed by July 31, with groundbreaking likely to begin in August. The project’s completion date is set for 34 months later.

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The block at Fifth and San Antonio streets has been the subject of local controversy since high-tech company Intel Corp., Santa Clara, Calif., stopped construction on a 10-story, $124-million microchip design center on the site in February 2001 and left only a four-story steel shell and concrete decks. The federal government bought the property from Intel in January 2004 for $8.89 million.

For six years after Intel ceased work on the building, various civic groups expressed concerns about the unfinished project. Prior to the demolition of the shell in February 2007, Austin Mayor Will Wynn attempted to broker the sale of the site to a private developer for $13 million to speed its development. Wynn also requested that the demolition be delayed and an alternate location for the courthouse be considered.

But the GSA declined to accept the informal offer, citing the investment already made in site acquisition, design and planning. The shell was demolished as scheduled at a cost of $1.3 million.

Construction was originally budgeted at $65-million and is now set at $107 million, including construction contingency funds but not property price and demolition cost. GSA project manager Dale Sherman cites the rising prices of materials and transportation for the higher cost. An additional $9.1 million of stimulus funds will cover the costs of the onsite GSA project management agent and architect’s representative, Sherman says.

The 135-ft-tall, cast-in-place concrete building was designed by Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects of Atlanta with Austin architects Paige Southerland Paige as local consultants. It will house eight courtrooms and jury assembly rooms and offices for the district clerk, federal attorney and public defender as well as probation, pretrial and marshal services and the GSA.

Sherman and Farnum say the project’s tight downtown site is the biggest obstacle. Sherman adds that multiple-level shoring for some of the upper floors is another issue. “It has a complicated floor plate,” he says. “As you go up in the structure, the floor plate rotates. The courtrooms go from one side of the building to the other.”

Farnum says the rotating floor plate and extra shoring are “just part of building a building.”

White recently gave recommendations to the GSA and the city of Austin for offsite staging locations and is awaiting selection and permissions. “The city is literally pouring its heart out to help us,” Farnum says.

The building’s exterior is primarily Texas limestone with glass curtain wall and some metal panels. The interior will feature a two-story atrium that extends to the third floor. “It’s a fairly austere building in a lot of respects,” Sherman says.

The project is designed for LEED-silver certification.

Fort Bliss Building Complex for Wounded Personnel

By Angelle Bergeron

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ first project funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was awarded by the Fort Worth District May 1 to Sundt Construction Inc. of Tempe, Ariz., for construction of the $30-million, phase one, $57-million Warriors in Transition complex to be built at El Paso’s Fort Bliss.

Designed to assist injured soldiers in recovery and re-integration into the Army or civilian life, WT complexes “are a new breed of facilities within the military hierarchy of structures and facilities,” says Tom Mertz, vice president of Sundt’s federal division.

A rendering of the new Warriors in Transition complex at Fort Bliss. Courtesy of the USACE.

“There are hospitals and rehab facilities, but not a complex like this that assists soldiers and their families in recovery,” says Randall Cephus, spokesman for the Fort Worth District.

Covering more than 185,000 sq ft, the WT complex will comprise a barracks that will accommodate 232 injured soldiers, a headquarters and administrative building and a Soldier and Family Assistance Center, a single-story, 15,000-sq-ft building that will house social, legal and financial support services. Sundt’s design-build contract for Phase One of the project includes site infrastructure and construction of the barracks facility.

“The complex will be arranged in a campus, community-style layout where the buildings encircle a large courtyard with a walking trail, labyrinth, seating areas and covered canopies,” says Jason Foltyn, senior project manager for the Corps. The quiet, relaxing atmosphere, will facilitate the recovery effort, he says.

Sundt will incorporate features throughout the facility and site “that reduce tripping hazards and provide additional assistance to recovering soldiers such as benches with a midpoint handrail-armrest that provides an additional point for the soldier to assist them onto and off of the bench,” Mertz says.

Once Sundt begins design, the contractor anticipates breaking ground for construction September 1. Although the basic design and floor plan were developed by USACE’s Centers of Standardization, “it’s up to the design-build team to figure out how to arrange living unit modules, as well as design and install the mechanical, structural, electrical and infrastructure,” Mertz says. The project is located in the historic district of Fort Bliss, so “maintaining that historic flavor in terms of architecture” will be a priority, he adds. Sundt is working on that and additional design-build projects with Michael Baker Jr., Inc. of Pittsburgh, Pa.

Sundt is currently under contract for $330 million in additional projects at Fort Bliss, Mertz says, so “the surrounding community of suppliers and subcontractors is prepared for the type of work.” Sundt anticipates retaining seven full-time jobs to support the ARRA contract, but is not responsible for reporting all of the subcontracing jobs, Mertz says.

The Corps is currently soliciting a small business set-aside Multiple Award Task Order Contract under the HUBZone, for Phase Two of the project to construct the administrative building and soldier and family activity center, says Lisa C. Billman, Corps contracting officer. “Additionally, Sundt is obligated to subcontract 70% of its work to small businesses to complete Phase One requirements. The opportunities for small business under both phases of the WT contract will ensure their inclusion in the process as we help to stimulate the economy while taking care of soldiers and their families.”

Once the small business contract is awarded, remaining funds not needed for the contract will be returned to the overall ARRA program to support other projects, Billman says.

The WT complex is the first of nine MILCON Army projects and one of two WT complexes to be funded under the ARRA, Cephus says. “The second WT complex will be a $43-million facility at Fort Campbell, Ky.”

In January the corps broke ground at Fort Riley, Kansas, on the first WT complex, which is not funded through ARRA. The Fort Riley complex is scheduled for completion in late June, and the WT complex at Fort Bliss is scheduled for completion by the end of 2010.