Construction is booming all across the MidAtlantic region. This year, Mid-Atlantic Construction ranks the top ground breakings in each state in its coverage area: Delaware, District of Columbia, Virginia, Eastern Pennsylvania and Maryland. The project had to break ground in 2006 to qualify for the list. The ranking was based on the full construction value of the project.

The top five in each state (top 3 in Delaware) were selected for publication. The biggest of all projects is the $610 million Washington Nationals Ballpark in the District of Columbia. No other project across the region can top it. Following close behind it is the number 1 project in Maryland, the Johns Hopkins Hospital Clinical Building, Baltimore with a construction value of $573 million. It is in fact, one of the largest healthcare projects in the country.

Eastern Pennsylvania’s top project is the Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course coming in at $310 million. Virginia’s top project is the Arlington County Water Pollution Control plant in Arlington, topping the Virginia list at $238 million. Jutison Landing in Wilmington tops Delaware’s chart with a construction value of $90 million

Goal 1: Washington Nationals Ballpark
D.C. TOP PROJECTS
COST: $610 MILLION

The sounds of a construction site will be replaced with “Play Ball” when the Washington Nationals Major League Baseball team begins play next spring in its new $610 million Washington Nationals Ballpark.

Clark/Hunt/Smoot, A Joint Venture, began the 1 million-sq-ft design-build project in May 2006 with partial drawings. A year later, the design for the 41,000-seat ballpark remains incomplete but work forges ahead.

Facilities will include an outfield restaurant, conference center, two membership only dining locations and street-side retail space. The team recently added two aboveground parking garages to its scope of work. The contract now stands at $432 million.

The partners include Clark Construction Group LLC of Bethesda, Md.; Hunt Construction Group of Indianapolis; and the Sherman R. Smoot Corp. of Washington, D.C. The design is being handled by a joint venture of HOK Sport of Kansas City, Mo., and Devrouax & Purnell Architects of Washington, D.C.

The ballpark sits on 2,400 piles and a concrete foundation. The design calls for poured-in-place concrete on the lower two bowls and structural steel on the upper levels, with structural precast seating. The construction team expects to top out the steel in late June or early July.

Masonry block work continues in the concession areas, and stadium lighting has been installed in about two-thirds of the ballpark, with the balance on hold until steel erection is completed.

Clark/Hunt/Smoot anticipates starting work on the outfield wall this summer and on the playing field in October. It has begun driving piles for the adjacent office and administrative support building.

The DC Sports & Entertainment Commission, the ballpark’s owner, expects the new facility will become the first LEED certified professional sports complex.

Rainwater will drain through a sand-filtration system under the field and building that will clean the water before it washes into the nearby Anacostia River. The system will also collect peanut shells that could harm aquatic life. A light-color roof will reduce heat.

Goal 2: DC USA
D.C. TOP PROJECTS
COST: $150 MILLION

Residents of the revitalized Columbia Heights neighborhood in Washington, D.C., will soon enjoy browsing big-box retailers and frequenting the neighborhood shops at DC USA, a $150 million, threelevel, 1 million-sq-ft urban mall.

Clark/Smoot DC USA, a joint venture between Clark Construction Group of Bethesda, Md., and the Sherman R. Smoot Corp. of Washington, D.C., received the $86 million construction contract and began work in February 2006.

The square footage is nearly evenly divided between a two-level, 1,000-car underground parking garage and three levels of retail above grade.

Ground-floor neighborhood shops will offer direct access from the street. The District’s first Target store, owned by Target Corp. of Minneapolis, will anchor the second- and third-level mall. Other tenants include Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond and Staples.

Goal 3: St. Elizabeths Psychiatric Hospital
D.C. TOP PROJECTS
COST: $140 MILLION

St. Elizabeths Psychiatric Hospital in Washington, D.C., a long-term leader in innovative care for people with mentalhealth problems, will open a new $140 million facility in 2009. The new facility will enable the District of Columbia Department of Mental Health to deliver the latest advances in patient-centered civil and forensic psychiatric services.

Gilbane of Providence, R.I., received a contract from the District in 2001 to begin comprehensive pre-construction planning and project management. The contract encompasses value engineering, procurement strategies, assistance securing regulatory approval and financing, contractor supervision and quality control.

Tompkins Builders of Washington, D.C., a subsidiary of Turner Construction Co., broke ground in December and is building the 450,000-sq-ft, 290-bed, twostory replacement hospital on a Greenfield site on the existing campus. The project employs both deep foundations and spread footings. Gilbane expects the project to wrap up in June 2009.

The design calls for a structural-steel frame with metal decks and concrete masonry unit backup walls. It will be clad in brick and precast concrete. It will have a green roof.

The facility will feature an auditorium and a gymnasium. It includes a complex security system, with locked units for patients’ protection and closed-circuit televisions. A central utilities plant supplies steam, heat and chilled water.

The original Saint Elizabeths was built in 1855, and wounded Civil War soldiers were treated there. The government has not been using that structure for patient care because of its state of disrepair. District and federal officials are studying how to reuse the outdated building.

Goal 4: Station Place-Building 3
D.C. TOP PROJECTS
COST: $140 MILLION

When finished, Station Place-Building 3 will cantilever over an existing vehicular ramp and support the concrete structure from below, presenting challenges for contractor Balfour Beatty Construction.

The Atlanta-based company began construction in August on the third and final office building at Station Place, adjacent to historic Union Station in Washington, D.C.

The $97 million, 529,000-sq-ft building includes 10 stories of above-grade office space, one level of below-grade office space and three levels of underground parking. It will sit on a 4-in. mat foundation.

Before excavation could begin, Balfour Beatty removed steel casings around the existing caissons, which hold up the ramp that services other Station Place buildings, and installed a bracing system. The company also placed sheeting and shoring, with up to four rows of tiebacks along the perimeter to provide support during excavation. An active rail line runs along one side of the site. City streets and an existing building are on the other sides.

Building 3 combines poured-in-place, post-tensioned concrete and structural-steel construction. The majority of the building will be concrete, with the steel supporting the cantilevered floors, five through 10, which reach out between 5 ft and 10 ft. A unitized curtain wall system with stone and metal panels will clad the structure. Offices will enjoy natural light and views of Washington. Developer Louis Dreyfus Property Group of New York rented Buildings 1 and 2 to the Securities and Exchange Commission and is building the third building on speculation.

Goal 5: National Museum of American History
D.C. TOP PROJECTS
COST: $140 MILLION

The National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., has embarked on an extensive, $85 million renovation to enhance the interior, create a gallery for the Star-Spangled Banner and update the 42- year-old building’s infrastructure.

The museum closed in September, right after Labor Day, for the two-year project, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill of New York and executed by Turner Construction of Arlington, Va.

The project includes creating a central atrium with a skylight to give the building a more open feel, a grand staircase to connect the second and third floors, a welcome center on the second floor and new galleries and retail operations. Ten-ft-tall artifact walls will showcase selections from the museum’s collection of three million objects.In addition, crews will replace and relocate elevators; add restrooms; replace the heating, air-conditioning and ventilation system; upgrade the electrical system; and enhance the fire-alarm and security systems.

Federal funds pay for about $45 million of the project’s cost, covering infrastructure replacement, restrooms, elevators and collection protection during the project, with the balance supported by donations and pledges to the museum.

The museum opened in 1964 as the Museum of History and Technology and has changed over the years. A May 2002 report recommending seven key architectural and aesthetic modifications led to the current project.

Goal 1: Justison Landing Wilmington
DELAWARE TOP PROJECTS
COST: $90 MILLION

Heralded by Wilmington, Del. Officials and its developer as the most extensive mixed-use project carried out in the city’s history, Justison Landing promises to revitalize the Christina Riverfront.

J.J. DeLuca Co. of Springfield, Pa., is building the first two seven-story residential condominium structures on parcels two and four of the brownfield site. Both buildings include ground-floor retail space. Construction work on these parcels totals $90 million.

J.J. DeLuca provided value-engineering services for developer Buccini/Pollin Group of Wilmington, which helped to bring construction costs down. The contractor recommended switching from block and plank construction to two different structural systems.

J.J. DeLuca broke ground on the 190,000-sq-ft, 125-unit building on parcel two in July and expects to finish it in January. Early this year, it took over construction management services for parcel four from another firm when that company could not agree on a price with the developer. The building on parcel four includes 212 units.

Pile foundations with grade beams support both buildings. From there, construction methods differ.

J.J. DeLuca recommended primarily employing a Dietrich cold-formed steel floor and wall system for the building on parcel two and used structural steel and masonry for a small core area because reengineering that corridor section would have taken too much time.

Crews moved the Dietrich panels into place with a crane. To maintain a two-hour fire rating in the bearing walls, J.J. DeLuca must carefully limit the size of ductwork and amount of piping running through the walls. The Dietrich system is new to the area and helped to bring construction costs down, but the developer wanted to try it on only one of the mid-rises.

Therefore, the building on parcel four uses a Hambro structural-forming system with metal joists. This construction method required extensive advance planning to identify locations for mechanical, electrical and plumbing prior to pouring.

Developers peg the 11-acre Justison Landing project at $500 million, with build-out projected for three to five years. It will include nearly 700 townhouses, condominiums, lofts and apartments; 75,000 sq ft of retail; 300,000 sq ft of commercial space; and 12 levels of parking.

Parcels one and three have not started yet. Two parcels are slated for offices and two more for residences, with the remaining parcels not yet designated.

The waterfront site is near a train station with rail service to Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York. It’s also close to Interstate 95.

Justison Landing is built on a former industrial site that contained soil contaminated with metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and pesticides. Also found on the site were cyanide, volatile and semivolatile organic compounds and polychlorinated biphenyls. The developer purchased most of the land from Wilmington and the Delaware Department of Transportation.

The remedial plan included removal and safe disposal of hotspots with elevated levels of organic contaminants, placement of a barrier cap across the surface of the site, installation of vapor barriers beneath occupied buildings and groundwater monitoring. The site was a part of the Delaware Hazardous Substance Cleanup Act’s Brownfield Program and the Department’s Voluntary Cleanup Program, which encourages remediation. The remedial work is being handled by the state and is not part of J.J. DeLuca’s scope of work.

Goal 2: P.S. duPont Elementary School Wilmington
DELAWARE TOP PROJECTS
COST: $44 MILLION

The 72-year-old P.S. duPont Elemen-tary School in Wilmington, Del., will receive new mechanical and electrical systems and an updated natatorium during a $44 million renovation.

Bancroft Construction Co. of Wilmington, Del., began working on the phased project in June 2006. The Colonial revival-style building will receive new energy-efficient air handlers and exhaust fans and a floor-piping system with hot and chilled water.

The work also includes restoration of existing intricate millwork and new windows, lighting fixtures, gymnasium flooring, signage and fencing.

The school’s main building systems have not been upgraded since its design and construction in 1935. It currently heats using a gravity system.

Crews began removing the existing boilers as soon as the weather warmed up. Until school let out in June, most work in the school took place at night. Contractors were able to work on the pool during the spring term. Bancroft planned on switching to extended daytime hours once students were out of the building.

Goal 3: Bear-Glasgow Family YMCA Newark
DELAWARE TOP PROJECTS
COST: $17.4 MILLION

After 12 years in planning, construc- Del.tion of the $17.4 million Bear-Glasgow Family YMCA is under way in Newark, Del.

The Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. of Newark broke ground on the 63,500-sq-ft building in November. The one-story structure will feature an eight-lane indoor pool, full-size gymnasium, 9,000-sq-ft fitness center and multipurpose spaces. Outside, it will have two more pools, a bathhouse and two soccer fields.

Construction materials include structural steel and concrete masonry units.

The YMCA of Delaware acquired the land from the Delaware Department of Transportation, which sold the organization 30 acres and leased an additional 70 acres to the YMCA for the recreational facility. The project required preserving some wetland areas and mitigating others, as well as building a road called George Williams Way, which is being funded by the Delaware Department of Transportation.

The Bear-Glasgow YMCA has been operating out of a storefront and modular unit since 1996. The organization expects more than 20,000 people will join the new facility within two years of its opening in February.

Goal 1: Johns Hopkins Hospital Clinical Building Baltimore
MARYLAND TOP PROJECTS
COST: $573 MILLION

A New Clinical Building at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore is one of the largest health-care projects under construction in the country and one of the most expensive in Maryland history. The $573 million project will add 1.5 million sq ft to the prestigious hospital.

Clark/Banks, A Joint Venture, a partnership between Clark Construction Group of Bethesda, Md., and Banks Contracting Co. of Baltimore, began working on the first phase of the 560-bed medical center in June 2006. It features two 15-story towers, housing a 960,000-sq-ft, 320- bed adult cardiovascular and critical-care center and a 540,000-sq-ft, 205-bed children’s hospital. The towers are connected by an eight-story building.

The facility includes 33 operating rooms, 42 radiological suites, 13 noninvasive treatment areas, 16 gastrointestinal and pulmonary diagnostic and treatment areas, and 96 emergency department beds.Parking and kitchen facilities will be located in a garage across the street and connected underground. Clark completed the parking structure a couple of years ago, and the hospital has yet to let a contract to build out the food preparation areas.

The clinical building, when complete in 2010, will provide a new main entrance for the hospital complex and serve as the centerpiece of a $1.2 billion, 10-year master plan to increase Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health Systems’ research and clinical space and replace outdated facilities.

Work began with demolition of an existing parking garage and several buildings In January, Clark/Banks broke ground on the new structure, which will sit on more than 250 caissons, ranging in diameter from three ft to 10.5 ft.

Because of the close proximity to the operating hospital, Clark/Burns has taken steps to control dust and reduce noise and vibration. That required scheduling demolition work between 6:30 a.m. and 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. to avoid activity while delicate surgeries were taking place.

The new hospitals abut two existing structures. Before excavating its 30-ft hole, the team completed underpinning to support the adjacent buildings’ foundations.

Once the building goes vertical, Clark/Banks will break through walls to allow a seamless connection of a few corridors with the Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Building, which is a cancer center, and the Nelson/Harvey Tower.

Clark/Banks will employ several tower cranes. The company must coordinate activity with hospital operations to avoid conflicts with air/ambulance/helicopter traffic.

Clark/Banks expects more than 1,000 tradespeople will be working on the site at peak times.

The State of Maryland has pledged $75 million toward the towers’ construction. Johns Hopkins Medicine approved $418 in financing. Outside donors have pledged $200 million.

Goal 2: Hilton Baltimore ConventionCenter Hotel Baltimore
MARYLAND TOP PROJECTS
COST: $230 MILLION

Location is a prized commodity in real estate, and the $230 million Hilton Baltimore Convention Center Hotel snagged a prime spot in the city’s Inner Harbor area, adjacent to the convention center and within walking distance of Oriole Park and the National Aquarium.

The Baltimore Development Corp. selected Hensel Phelps Construction Co. of Chantilly, Va., to design and build the two buildings and two sky bridges associated with the project.

On the western side of the parcel, the company is building an 850,000-sq-ft, 20- story concrete-frame hotel, with shotcrete structural exterior walls. This structure sits on caissons and, in addition to 756 guest rooms and 16 suites rooms, will house a 62,000-sq-ft grand ballroom, lobby and 550 parking spaces.

On the eastern side of the parcel, Hensel Phelps is constructing a three-story building with a 15,000-sq-ft junior ballroom, 22,000 sq ft of flexible meeting space, three food and beverage outlets, fitness center, business center and ground-floor retail.

It sits on spread footers, geopiers and aggregate piles, with seven caissons under an area dedicated to a future Maglev train.

A two-story sky bridge will unite the hotel’s two buildings. A second sky bridge, supported by micropiles, extends across a road, light-rail tracks and a CSX rail tunnel to connect the hotel with the convention center. It has three segments, with the longest spanning 150 ft.

The sale of $300.9 million in revenue bonds issued by Baltimore funded the project. Construction began in February 2006 and Hensel Phelps expects to complete the project in August 2008.

Goal 3: Silo PointBaltimore
MARYLAND TOP PROJECTS
COST: $150 MILLION

The $150 million Silo Point development converts a 1920s-era grain elevator into luxury residential condominiums with waterfront views of downtown Baltimore, the Inner Harbor and Fort McHenry.

From 1923 through 2003, the building served as a working grain elevator, from which Archer Daniels Midland shipped grain overseas. Parameter of Baltimore designed the adaptive reuse and Suffolk Construction of Boston began working on the project in September. Completion is scheduled for May 2008.

A comprehensive restoration project to repair cracking is under way on all existing concrete in the grain elevator.

The first 100 vertical ft of the 290-ft-tall grain elevator contained concrete storage bins. The structure depended on support from the concrete walls, so most remain.

Parameter architects carved out a threestory lobby in the center of the building. Mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems will be run through a vertical shaft created through the bins.

The top five floors had served as large equipment storage areas, primarily scales to weigh the grain. This section will be converted into condominiums, and a new six-story, structural-steel addition will contain two-story penthouses.

Suffolk demolished 160 100-ft-tall, 8-ftdiameter grain silos to make way for a nine-level parking garage, now complete. Condominiums with a curtain-wall façade will wrap around the three sides of the parking structure facing the water. That 430,000-sq-ft, poured-in-place building will house more than 200 residential units.

Some of the former silos were preserved and sit at the corners of the building, reminding people of the former grain elevator and Baltimore’s industrial past.

Goal 4: National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center Fort Detrick
MARYLAND TOP PROJECTS
COST: $120 MILLION

The Department of Homeland Security’s new $120 million National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center at Fort Detrick, Md., will enhance the federal government’s ability to prevent, respond to and recover from a bioterrorism attack.

Construction-manager-as-constructor Gilbane of Providence, R.I., began work on the center in June 2005, providing extensive preconstruction services that included value engineering, site logistics and cost estimates. The company broke ground in 2006 and expects to complete the 160,000- sq-ft facility in November 2008.

The three-story center includes Biosafety Level 2, 3 and 4 laboratories and administrative and support spaces. The government classifies laboratories according to the safety requirements required for people to work in them, with level 1 the lowest and level 4 the highest.

Workers in a level 2 lab might handle agents such as hepatitis. In a level 3 lab, scientists work with agents that may cause more serious disease or death. Researchers in level 4 labs explore extremely dangerous bacteria and viruses.

Biodefense center scientists will conduct testing of high-hazard threat agents in the labs and on animals. About 120 researchers and support staff will work in the building.

Due to its functions, the building requires complex mechanical and electrical systems, with HEPA filtration, pressureseal doors, biowaste systems and complex building-control systems. Experienced tradespeople are working in relatively small spaces to install the special systems.

The job also calls for specialized concrete work, with extensive penetration detailing, a lengthy cure process and pressure-decay testing of the high-containment block.

Goal 5: Fox Hill Bethesda
MARYLAND TOP PROJECTS
COST: $70 MILLION

Fox Hill, a retirement community that hopes to bring country-club style amenities to seniors, is rising on a 12-acre cleared site in Bethesda, Md.

The Weitz Co. of West Palm Beach, Fla., began building the $70 million development in May 2006 and expects to complete the project in August 2008.

Permitting delays slowed progress. Weitz began with site, foundation and superstructure permits. But the county held off issuing the building permit for nine months as it resolved issues within the department unrelated to this project. That forced Weitz to shut down operations for several months.

The 732,000-sq-ft project sits on a spread-footer foundation with geopiers. The five- to seven-story, post-tensioned concrete buildings contain 240 one- and two-bedroom condominium units, ranging in size from 1,500 sq ft to 2,000 sq ft. Some floors will offer assisted-living services. Curtain wall, Hardy panel siding and synthetic stone will clad the exterior. Asphalt shingles and a membrane system will cover the roof.

A 170,000-sq-ft, structural-steel commons building includes a commercial kitchen for the dining facilities, bistro and lounge, library, various card and crafts rooms, theater, conference rooms, business center, convenience store, pool, spa and recreation area.

Underground retention basins, buried beneath the roadway encircling the complex, will filter and collect rainwater. The tight site precluded creating traditional, above ground retention ponds.

Goal 1: Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race CourseGrantville
E. PENNSYLVANIA TOP PROJECTS
COST: $310 MILLION

The $310 million Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course in Grantville, Pa., will integrate thoroughbred horse racing and gaming at one convenient location.

Keating Building Corp. of Philadelphia received an approximately $150 million contract to build a new grandstand for the racetrack; a five-level, precast concrete parking garage; and a casino. It began work in September and anticipates completing the 365,000-sq-ft facility in time for an early 2008 opening.

The steel-frame and concrete deck, fivestory casino building includes a lower-level service area, the gaming floor with bars and entertainment areas, and a mezzanine level with restaurants and an entrance to the steel and poured-in-place grandstand. The casino can accommodate 3,000 slot machines, but it will open with 2,000 of the machines.

Penn National Gaming of Wyomissing, Pa., will use the upper levels for horse-racing simulcast operations. Simulcasting allows the track to show and take bets on races taking place in other venues. Simulcasting represents about 85 % of this and other tracks’ business.

The grandstand and casino sit on spread-footer foundations. The casino building is clad in an EFIS wall-panel system with prairie stone.

Penn National built a temporary facility, called the Paddock Club, which allowed racing operations to continue while work was under way on the new facilities. The active operations required coordination between the racetrack staff and contractors. The temporary facility will be converted to a warehouse building once the casino opens.

The company received a conditional Category 1 slot-machine license in September from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. The $310 million total budget includes the $50 million license fee and purchase of the slot machines.

The gaming board approved licenses for five facilities at that time. They were the first licenses awarded under the Race Horse Development and Gaming Act of 2004. All are associated with horse-racing tracks. The state anticipates approval of slot-machine casinos will benefit the state by lowering property taxes, creating new jobs and reinvigorating the horse-racing industry.

The master plan for the site includes the possible addition of a hotel and conference center, retail shops, an entertainment center and expansion of the casino space to accommodate 5,000 slot machines.

Penn National owns and operates casinos, horse racing and off-track wagering facilities in 13 states. Its 16 casinos include more than 1,500 hotel rooms and 630,000 sq ft of gaming floor space, withabout 21,000 slot machines and morethan 425 table games. The Grantville racetrackopened in 1972 and presents livethoroughbred races and full-care simulcastraces.

Goal 2: The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia
E. PENNSYLVANIA TOP PROJECTS
COST: $165 MILLION

Long a name associated with luxury, Ritz-Carlton has expanded its reach from lodging facilities to home ownership. Soon The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton, Philadelphia will offer people year-round elegance, top amenities and upscale service.

L.F. Driscoll Co. of Bala Cynwyd, Pa., began building the $165 million project in May 2006 and was 15% complete one year later. A structural mat slab with minipiles and caissons support the 46- story condominium tower.

The first three above-grade floors employ structural steel transfer girders. A structural concrete flat plate is used through the remaining structure. The design calls for steel framing at the roof level.

A floor-to-ceiling glass curtain wall system, with metal panel segments on one elevation, clad the exterior. The project includes a fitness center, private club and storage facilities. It is scheduled for completion at the end of 2008.

Owners of Ritz residences typically can avail themselves of the services found at the adjacent hotel, including gourmet dining and concierge service.

Goal 3: Pennsylvania Turnpike Montgomery County
E. PENNSYLVANIA TOP PROJECTS
COST: $159 MILLION

Designed to ease Pennsylvania Turnpike congestion in one of Philadelphia’s busiest northwestern suburbs, this $159 million, 5-mi project will widen the road to six lanes between Valley Forge and Norristown in Montgomery County.

Allan A. Myers, a company of American Infrastructure of Worcester, Pa., began the work in May 2006 and expects to complete the job in November 2008. The job includes full reconstruction and widening of five bridges, rebuilding the Valley Forge interchange and adding a lane in each direction within the existing right of way.

Starting with just a 4-ft median, the design specifies widening the footprint to the outside with fill and mechanical stabilized earth walls.

The work takes place during four phases to limit the impact on traffic. During the first phase, traffic shifted to the shoulder while Myers rehabilitated the median and added concrete barriers. Phase two called for shifting the traffic against the median and building the new lane and shoulder to the outside, which should wrap up in October.

At that time traffic will move to the new lane and shoulder so workers can dig out and reconstruct the inside lanes. Finally, Myers will mill the entire wearing surface and repave it.

The project will require excavating 658,000 cu yd of dirt and consume 400,000 tons of aggregate, 200,000 tons of bituminous base, 57,000 tons of binder and 80,000 tons of wearing course. Allan A. Myers will build approximately 100,000 sq ft of MSE retaining walls and 90,000 sq ft of ground-mounted noise barriers.

Goal 4: Roberts Proton Therapy Center Philadelphia (tie)
E. PENNSYLVANIA TOP PROJECTS
COST: $140 MILLION

When complete in 2009, the $140 million Roberts Proton Therapy Center at the University of Pennsylvania Health System in Philadelphia will be one of the largest and most comprehensive proton therapy centers in the world and one of only six proton therapy centers in the United States.

Proton therapy integrates traditional radiation therapy with proton therapy to more accurately deliver a dose of radiation that will kill surface and deep-seated tumors while avoiding damage to surrounding healthy tissue.

Construction manager Driscoll/McKissack, a joint venture of L.F. Driscoll Co. of Bala Cynwyd, Pa., and McKissack & McKissack of Philadephia, began working on the $53 million construction-cost project in June 2006. The 75,000-sq-ft, primarily underground center will contain five concrete-walled treatment rooms, with four 90-ton gantries, rotational machines that allow the radiation oncologist to direct the therapeutic beam at the precise angle required for effective treatment.

The center will connect with the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine, the university health system’s new cancer center. The University of Pennsylvania estimates 3,000 patients, including several hundred children, will receive treatment at the proton therapy center annually.

Goal 4: Lancaster County Convention CenterLancaster (tie)
E. PENNSYLVANIA TOP PROJECTS
COST: $140 MILLION

Community leaders aim to leverage the area’s popularity as a tourist destination and let the new $140 million Lancaster County Convention Center and the Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square serve as a catalyst to revitalize the city’s downtown, while at the same time preserving some of its historic treasures.

Construction manager Reynolds Construction Management of Harrisburg, Pa., began working on the 412,079-sq-ft hotel and convention center in October. The building was coming out of the ground in May and will sit on 98 caissons of various diameters and depths.

The post-tension concrete, 19-story hotel tower will contain 300 rooms and public spaces. Bowstring trusses will create clear spaces in the convention center. An elevated walkway will connect an existing parking garage with the convention center.

The new structure wraps around several historic buildings. The preserved home and other structures owned by Thaddeus Stevens and his confidante Lydia Hamil-ton Smith, including a water cistern used to hide runaway slaves on the Underground Railroad, will be integrated into the entrance and lobby of the convention center. The new building also will wrap around a third historic site, the William Montgomery House.

Precast concrete will clad the hotel, with the convention center exterior a combination of split-face masonry and precast. Reynolds anticipates completion in November 2008.

Goal 1: Arlington County Water Pollution Control Plant - Phase 7B Arlington
VIRGINIA TOP PROJECTS
COST: $238 MILLION

Completion of a $238 million upgrade to the Arlington County Water Pollution Control Plant will contribute to the facility’s increased capacity to accommodate growth in the community and will allow the city to employ advanced processes that will nearly eliminate additional pollutants discharged into the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay.

Alberici Constructors of St. Louis, Mo., received a notice to proceed on contract 7B in September 2006. It has four years to add two aeration tanks, which employ bacteria to remove organic matter and nitrogen; three clarification tanks that enable solids to settle to the bottom; and an odor-control facility that scrubs the air before releasing it.

The scope of work also includes expanding a methanol facility, fencing the perimeter with 1.5 mi of expanded wire mesh, installing bypass equipment, enabling discharge of partially treated water during heavy rains and upgrading remote pump stations throughout the county. Work takes place at an existing plant in a residential and commercial neighborhood at a busy intersection. That facility must continue to function full time throughout construction.

The original plant was built in 1937 and has been upgraded several times. The plant currently processes 30 million gallons per day. Work presently under way will allow it to increase flow to 40 mgd by the year 2020. Two other contractors are completing different projects at the plant. All together, upgrades total $500 million.

The project remains in its early phases with Alberici completing sitework. It has crews excavating a site for the first aeration tank, removing the dirt and transferring it to a fill site destined to become a public park.

Alberici’s first milestone is set for March 26, 2009. At that time, the company must turn over an aeration tank and a clarifier. Final completion is scheduled for September 2010.

The plant dumps its effluent almost immediately into the Potomac River, which flows into the Chesapeake Bay. National interest in improving bay water quality has led to greater constraints placed on facilities discharging into the bay, which forced Arlington County to upgrade its system.

The county developed a master plan in 2001 that would address new regulations in water treatment, upgrade aging infrastructure and add capacity. The plan builds in redundancy of the biological processes and will decrease wet weather bypasses. Although the county has separate storm and sewer lines, the sewer system experiences an increase in flow during rainy weather because groundwater leaks into the pipes.

The plan also adds odor control, aesthetics and security to the facility.

The county was able to finance the project by borrowing low-interest rate loans from the Virginia’s state revolving loan fund. It also received a $93 million grant from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality Water Quality Improvement Fund. Ultimately customers will pay for the upgrades through higher rates.

Goal 2: Washington Dulles International Airport Fourth Runway Dulles
VIRGINIA TOP PROJECTS
COST: $188 MILLION

Aiming to increase airfield capacity and avoid airport delays, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority has embarked on a major expansion at Washington Dulles International Airport, adding a fourth runway and planning for a fifth.

Lane Construction of Meriden, Conn., will build the fourth runway. It received a $42 million grading contract and a $146 million paving contract. Work began in August. The airport expects to open the
runway by the end of 2008, with final completion scheduled for March 2009.

The grading package includes clearing more than six acres of land, avoiding disruption of wetlands and excavating 2.3 million cu yds of earth and rock. Crews will begin concrete paving in June 2007.

When completed, the 9,500-ft-long by 150-ft-wide runway and parallel taxiway will consume 280,000 cu yds of concrete. The airport’s authority also contracted with Lane to install the navigational aids and instrumentation used by pilots to guide planes using the runway.

Once completed, the runway will allow the airport to handle up to 50 % more flights per hour. It also will make it easier for planes to land in bad weather conditions.

The federal government pledged $200 million in Airport Improvement Funds from the Federal Aviation Administration to help build the fourth runway and associated taxiways, indicating the project would help reduce flight delays nationwide. Under a separate contract, Dulles is building a de-icing facility for the fourth runway and an airport rescue and firefighting station.

Goal 3: Arlington County Water Pollution Control Plant - Phase 7A Arlington
VIRGINIA TOP PROJECTS
COST: $131 MILLION

Upgrades at the Arlington County Water Pollution Control Plant aim to meet the needs of the rapidly growing Virginia community and meet strict environmental requirements.

Fru-Con Construction Corp.’s Eastern Regional Office in Woodbridge, Va., received a $131 million contract in October to construct two prestressed concrete equalization tanks, which will provide surge capacity for wastewater waiting to be treated, and a large, deep-bed denitrification filter facility, which will consume 22,000 cu yds of concrete.

The job also entails refurbishing a plant effluent water pump station, a postaeration system and multiple chemical feed facilities.

The contract calls for Fru-Con to oversee extensive electrical and instrumentation upgrades to new and existing process systems. A significant amount of this work requires installation of underground duct banks and computer-control systems that will automate operations.

All of the work takes place at an active water treatment plant with other upgrades being completed under a separate contract with a different contractor (see #1 Virginia project). Operations must continue uninterrupted during construction.

The plant’s location in a metropolitan area adds logistical challenges. Fru-Con has designated an entry gate and offsite parking lots, from which buses transport workers to and from the site. It has set up offsite warehouse space for materials.

Fru-Con anticipates completing its contract by December 2009.

Goal 4: South of Market Reston
VIRGINIA TOP PROJECTS
COST: $125 MILLION

Located in Reston Town Center’s urban core, the South of Market office complex marks the final development in phase two of the Reston, Va., mixed-use development.

Hitt Contracting of Fairfax, Va., broke ground in March 2006 on the $125 million, three-building project. Two 10-story office buildings and one six-story building will sit atop a common two-level, 400-car, below-grade parking garage. Retail will occupy the first floor.

A concrete foundation supports the structure. Above grade, the building employs post-tensioned concrete and mild steel-reinforced concrete. The exteriors combine a thin-brick architectural precast façade, punched and ribbon windows, and a curtain-wall system.

One week prior to starting precast production, HIGH Concrete’s Lebanon, Pa., plant was destroyed in a fire. That forced HIGH Concrete and developer Boston Properties of Washington, D.C, to resequence the project, shift production to a plant in Springboro, Ohio, and adjust ten- ant turnover dates reasonably within the original timeline.

The process affected every subcontractor on the job and exemplified how much can be achieved through teamwork. Hitt’s contract included construction of a 2,000-space, nine-level parking garage on a nearby site. It is built with structural concrete to support a seven-story, fourth office building. That contract has not been let.

At build-out, the South of Market development will include 700,000 sq ft of office space, 80,000 sq ft of retail space and 2,400 parking spaces. Completion is slated for March.

Goal 5: Vista on Courthouse Arlington
VIRGINIA TOP PROJECTS
COST: $88.5 MILLION

Donohoe Construction of Washington, D.C., is building the $88.5 million Abingdon Heights residential condominium complex on the site of a former motel in Arlington, Va. The project has been renamed the Vista on Courthouse.

Work began in August on the 507,735-sq-ft project, which began with demolition of two lodging buildings. An 11-story, 217- unit, post-tensioned concrete tower sits atop three levels of below-grade parking with a concrete spread-footer foundation.

Glass, brick, precast concrete and masonry will clad the exterior. Units range in size from 1,100 sq ft to 2,400 sq ft.

The project includes 24-stick-built townhouses and four duplex units and seven structural precast plank townhouses. The townhouses are built atop a onestory concrete parking structure.

Arlington County approved the 252-unit project in 2005, with a provision to include 14 affordable housing units, nine of which could be offsite. Exactly where the units will be located has not been finalized.

Arlington Condominium of Silver Spring, Md., expects to begin selling the units this fall. Completion is expected in September 2008.