New $440 Million Baseball Stadium Plans Underway

The Washington Senators played baseball at RKF Memorial Stadium between 1961 and 1971, as seen in this archive photo. Under a plan to bring the Montreal Expos to Washington, baseball would return to RFK for three years while a new stadium was being built along the Anacostia River.

Much of the local construction community is rooting for Washington, D.C., to get the necessary approvals for a new baseball stadium to be built in the District. The city announced on September 29 that D.C. would be the new home of the Montreal Expos, pending approvals from major league baseball owners and a $440 million stadium financing package.

Legislation on the financing package was still pending as of press time. The proposal calls for the new stadium to be built along the Anacostia River near the Washington Navy Yard. The site would become a major addition to the new Anacostia Waterfront Initiative, a 20-year multi-billion dollar plan that calls for 3 million sq. ft. of new commercial space, 4,600 new housing units and 600,000 sq. ft. of new retail space.

Initial estimates on the proposed stadium call for 41,000 seats, 74 suites, 200 club seats and 1,100 on-site parking spaces. The stadium would need to be completed in time for the start of the 2008 baseball season.

In the meantime, the team would play in a renovated RFK Memorial Stadium. Requests for proposals went out in September in search of companies interested in taking on the $13 million renovation project. RFK was the former home of the Washington Senators and was built to accommodate baseball. Much of that infrastructure remains so no major changes would need to be made to the stadium's structure or major building systems. The needed improvements include baseball playing field restoration, seating bowl reconfiguration, locker room improvements and media area improvements. The project will need to be completed prior to April 1, 2005 in time for the start of the regular season.

Skanska Gets Nod on $166m NIH Project

Skanska USA Building, with offices in Rockville, Md., was recently awarded the construction management contract for the new National Institutes of Health Biomedical Research Center in Baltimore, Md.

Construction is underway for the $166 million 560,000-sq.-ft. biomedical research laboratory designed to house the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute on Drug Abuse organizations.

The new facility will contain clinical and research labs, office space and conference and lobby areas with a library, food service, and security system throughout the building. Skanska is also responsible for constructing an independent utility plant adjacent to the research center. The frame structure will be enclosed with brick, metal panels, and curtainwall.

Smith Management construction is serving as the development manager and CUH2A is the architect.

Bozzuto, Trammel Crow Expand Shirlington Village

The Bozzuto Group of Greenbelt, Md., and Trammel Crow Co., with offices in Washington D.C., are participating in the expansion of the Village at Shirlington in Arlington, Va., Federal Realty Investment Trust recently announced.

The Bozzuto Group is developing a new apartment community called The Delancey. It will offer 241 apartment homes lofting above newly created ground-level retail space in three buildings along the extension of South 28th St. A 12-story structure will house 187 units, a four-story building will offer 45 units and a three-story building will include nine units.

The Bozzuto project has a value of approximately $53 million. The architect is Torti Gallas CHK & Partners.

Trammel Crow Co. will construct 159 condominiums in a separate building along Arlington Mill road. As part of the expansion, Arlington County will build a new regional library and a new home for Signature Theater.

Construction of the approximately $100 million expansion has already begun and a grand opening for the expanded Village at Shirlington is currently scheduled for the third quarter of 2005.

Gilbane Earns CM Duties on Two Projects

Gilbane Building Co., with regional offices in Laurel, Md., recently garnered construction management duties on two regional projects.

Gilbane, in association with the Christman Co. of Alexandria, Va., was selected by the Virginia Performing Arts Foundation, as the construction manager at-risk for the historic restoration of the Carpenter Center in Richmond, Va. The project includes the $60 million expansion and renovation of the Carpenter Center and the construction of a new 1,200-seat music hall for Richmond's Symphony and Ballet, as well as 250-seat jazz club, a community theater and new offices for the Virginia Performing Arts Foundation.

The University of Maryland Medical System selected Gilbane as construction manager for Phase I of the new University of Maryland Greenbaum Cancer Ambulatory Center. The project includes the renovation of approximately 20,000 sq. ft. of existing space and a 1,500 sq. ft. one-story addition to the building along Baltimore St. It also includes the construction of an outpatient pharmacy of approximately 2,000 sq. ft. The new cancer ambulatory facility will include an infusion area, exam room, pharmacy, reception, waiting areas, and clinical support spaces.

Donohoe Begins Construction of WRIT Rosslyn Center

Donohoe Construction Co. of Washington, D.C., recently began construction of the WRIT Rosslyn Center in Rosslyn, Va. The project includes construction of a nine-story apartment building at 1650 Wilson Blvd. with two levels of underground parking and construction of a fifteen-story apartment building at 1601 Clarendon Blvd. with five levels of underground parking. Work also includes modifications to the existing parking garage at 1600 Wilson Blvd. to access the parking garages for the new buildings.

The high-rise building will have 178 apartments and the mid-rise will have 46 apartments. Amenities will include a fitness room, club/community room, and a billiards room. The larger building will also have a two-story sculpture garden featuring art and sculpture by local artists. There will be approximately 5,000 sq. ft. of retail space on the first floor at 1650 Wilson Blvd. Completion is scheduled for fall, 2006.

Washington Real Estate Investment Trust is the developer for the project and the architect is Architects Collaborative.

Donohoe began its projects in Rosslyn has it was finishing up three others in the D.C.-metro area. The company recently topped out Wilton House @ Merrifield Metro in Fairfax, Virginia; Westchester at Kentlands Apartments in Gaithersburg, Maryland; and the Marriott Residence Inn - Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland.

Davis Begins Work with Jack Kent Cooke, Douglas Development

James G. Davis Construction Corp. of Rockville, Md., recently began work on two projects in the Washington, D.C. area. The company started work at 912 F Street in Washington, which is a 140,000-sq.-ft. 12-story luxury loft condominium building. The project, which will include 60 condos, was designed by Shalom Baranes architects. The project consists of the construction of a 12-story curtainwall, concrete and masonry tower, which ties in the restoration of the three historic townhouses. The three-story townhouses will contain two floors of residence and 1 floor of retail. The $18 million project is owned by Douglas Development and managed by Faison. It is scheduled for completion in September 2005.

Davis is working on the 22,000-sq.-ft. Jack Kent Cooke Headquarters in Lansdowne, Va. The project includes the construction of a two-story wood-framed, "residential feel" office building set in a wooded lot. The building consists of a brick and glass façade with a slate pitched roof. It is schedule for completion in October 2005.

Coakley & Williams Lands Three Interiors Deals

Coakley & Williams Construction's Interiors Department was recently awarded contracts with three different companies.

The Gaithersburg, Md.-based company was awarded a contract for Unisys Towers II in Reston, Va. The project involves an interior build-out totaling 254,000 sq. ft. and 12 floors. The new space includes executive offices, conference facilities, offices and teaming rooms. It also contains a mission critical data center with a generator, UPS and supplemental CRAC/HVAC units.

The company will handle interior office renovations for SAIC in Reston, Va., consisting of over 10,000 sq. ft. of demolition and new office construction, including extensive SCIF areas.

Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., awarded a contract to Coakley & Williams that involves the renovation of an existing kitchen including HVAC, finishes, phasing and kitchen equipment.

Dick Corp Awarded $8.7 Million NAS Oceana Project

Dick Corp. was awarded an $8.7 million contract by the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Atlantic to design and build a child development center at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Va. The project includes a one-story, handicapped accessible facility to support 305 children and the demolition of two buildings at the site. The project is scheduled for completion in September 2006.

Dick Corp. is based in Large, Pa. and has a regional office in McLean, Va.

MARCOR, Versar Tackle Hurricane Aftermath

Several regionally-based companies headed south this fall to help Florida recover from Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne. Charley and Frances alone generated nearly 29 million tons of debris, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

MARCOR Remediation of Hunt Valley, Md., sent skilled laborers and supervisors from six of its operations to rip out waterlogged building materials, cut downed tree limbs, shovel out sand and handle other clean up duties. More than 100 people on crews from Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Georgia, Maryland and Massachusetts worked in such areas as Vero Beach, West Palm Beach, Jensen Beach, Orlando, Jacksonville, Miami, Key West, Tampa, Pensacola, Ft. Walton Beach and Destin.

The company's diverse emergency response disaster services include removal, transport and disposal of industrial and hazardous waste.

Versar of Springfield, Va., a provider of pollution prevention and environmental restoration services, received a contract from Campbell Roofing and Construction to provide emergency repairs management as well as health and safety support for reconstruction efforts in Florida following the recent hurricanes.

Versar is supporting Federal Emergency Management Agency's restoration efforts in Florida through an agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers, funded by FEMA. The company created an incident response center to support more than 500 people that are providing temporary roofing and other construction support for residential and commercial buildings in the state.