Two major elements of America’s recovery from the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, highlighted a diverse array of construction projects large and small honored for excellence at the Construction Management Association of America’s (CMAA) National Conference held in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 7 to 9 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.
CMAA’s Project Achievement Awards honor projects that exemplify the contributions professional construction management makes to successful completion of complex jobs. Awards were given for projects both publicly and privately owned in four size ranges, along with an international award and a separate award for outstanding program management.
In its largest project size category, publicly-owned projects of more than $100 million in constructed value, CMAA departed from tradition by bestowing two Project Achievement Awards. The winners were:
• The Phoenix Project, the reconstruction of the attack-damaged section of the Pentagon building, with construction management by the U.S. Defense Department’s Pentagon Renovation (Pen Ren) project team.
• Rebuilding of portions of the New York City subway tunnels in the vicinity of the World Trade Center (WTC), which also were severely damaged by the towers’ collapse.
This project is owned by the New York City Transit Authority and construction management was performed by the Authority’s Capital Program Management office.
“In both of these cases, it was profoundly important to return the facility to normal operation as quickly as possible, both for practical reasons and as a symbol of America’s recovery,” said Bruce D’Agostino, CMAA executive director. “Professional construction management was instrumental in achieving this goal.”
CMAA’s other Project Achievement Award winners were:
• Public project, less than $10 million — The Crystal Springs Water Treatment Plant in Roanoke, VA; owner — city of Roanoke; Construction Management — Construction Dynamics Group Inc., Columbia, MD;
Construction Dynamics not only had to manage construction of a major new water filtration plant, but also install and operate a temporary facility to prevent a water emergency under drought conditions.
• Private project, less than $10 million — Imagine It! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta, GA; owner — the Children’s Museum; Construction Management — Silverman Construction Program Management;
The CM revived a project that had been stopped by complex and acrimonious conflicts and coordinated the work of numerous participants to deliver a significantly enhanced project meeting the original completion date.
• Public project, less than $50 million — The Strom Thurmond Fitness and Wellness Center at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC. The university owns the project, and construction management was done by Hanscomb Faithful & Gould.
This showcase facility contains everything from racquetball courts to a 52-ft. high rock climbing wall to indoor and outdoor pools. During construction, it faced complexities ranging from bad weather to a presidential Inaugural Ball, and although the project scope grew by 17 percent, the schedule was maintained.
• Private project, less than $50 million — Lehigh University’s Campus Square, Bethlehem, PA, with construction management by Alvin H. Butz Inc., of Allentown, PA;
The CM streamlined and fast-tracked project components beginning in the design phase to deliver a new 250-bed student housing facility, along with a 150-car garage, a new bookstore and retail space, all meeting a pressing deadline for the fall semester 2002.
• Public project, less than $100 million — The Airside Terminal Building E at Tampa International Airport, Tampa, FL, owned by the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, with construction management by Beers Skanska Inc.
This 270,000-sq-ft. terminal building with 14 boarding gates and a wide variety of other facilities was completed six weeks ahead of its original schedule despite a very significant expansion of the project scope after it was under way.
• Private project, greater than $100 million — General Motor’s Corporation’s Vehicle Engineering Center Tower at GM’s Warren Technical Center Campus in Warren, MI. Construction management was provided by Parsons Brinckerhoff Inc.
The Vehicle Engineering Center (VEC) is a new eight-story, million-sq.-ft. tower integrated into an existing facility, which also is being completely renovated. The entire Warren Technical Center campus was designed in the 1950s by famed architect Eero Saarinan.
• Excellence in Program Management — The Pier 400 Container Terminal Project built in the Port of Los Angeles, CA, for owner Maersk Pacific Limited. Construction management was by DMJM Management.
Program management applies the professional discipline of construction management to a capital improvement program involving one or more projects from inception through completion.
The honored project is the largest proprietary container terminal in the world, located on 484 acres and including 17 buildings and gate facilities with a combined footprint of 290,000 sq. ft.
It was completed 13 months ahead of the owner’s original schedule.
• International Project of the Year — The Sheppard Subway Project in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, owned by the Toronto Transit Commission with construction management by Delcan-Hatch Joint Venture.
Sheppard Subway is the first subway line in Toronto in four decades. The 4-mi. (6.4 km) line was built largely underground, at a total cost of approximately $700 million.
It includes five passenger stations, three operational track crossings and two connections to an existing subway line.
The project involved more than 50 design and construction contracts.
For more information,visit www.cmaanet.org.
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