Balfour Beatty Construction awarded design-build contract for George Mason University student housing complex
April 19, 2010
Balfour Beatty Construction has been awarded a $47.5 million contract to design and build a 216,700-square-foot student housing complex at George Mason University’s Fairfax Campus. The Northwest Housing VIIIA complex, which will feature 609 student beds in two buildings, helps George Mason further its strategy of creating an active 24/7 community at its Fairfax Campus to attract the best students, faculty and staff.
Design work on Northwest Housing VIIIA is underway, with construction beginning in April. The project’s contract completion date is June 2012.
Balfour Beatty is currently constructing The Mason Inn Conference Center and Hotel on George Mason’s Fairfax Campus. The Mason Inn will be completed by July 2010.
“We’re excited about this opportunity to partner with George Mason University on this next piece of their campus development,” said
David Laib, Balfour Beatty senior vice president overseeing both projects. “We will continue providing the university with the same superior service they have come to expect from Balfour Beatty.”
The Northwest Housing VIIIA buildings, of up to seven stories, will provide mostly four-bed suites for the students. These cast-in-place concrete structures will have durable facades of brick, metal panels and glass curtain wall, and standing-seam metal roofs. The project is being designed and will be built to LEED Silver sustainability standards. Balfour Beatty’s scope of work includes finishing the resulting quad area between the buildings with pavers, terraced lawns and bench seating. Additionally, Northwest Housing VIIIA features extensive underground utility relocations, including moving the campus’ main electrical and telecommunications feeder lines.
Building information modeling (BIM) is being heavily utilized on this project, with Balfour Beatty providing the university with an as-built BIM model at project completion.
Balfour Beatty’s team for Northwest Housing VIIIA includes: Gensler, architect; JCM Associates, mechanical/plumbing design-build contractor; J.E. Richards Electric, electrical design-build contractor; Encon Group, mechanical/electrical/plumbing engineer; ReStl Designers, structural engineer; Paciulli, Simmons & Associates, civil engineer and land surveyor; and LSG Landscape Architecture, landscape architect. Gensler, JCM Associates and J.E. Richards are also working with Balfour Beatty on The Mason Inn.
About Balfour Beatty Construction
Balfour Beatty Construction has been a leader in the U.S. commercial construction industry for 77 years, providing general contracting, at-risk construction management, design-build, preconstruction, public/private and turnkey services for clients nationwide. The company employs 2,100 professionals and was recently named among the Top 100 Best Companies To Work For® in the U.S. by Fortune Magazine. Balfour Beatty Construction is part of London-based Balfour Beatty plc, a global leader in professional services, construction services, support services, and infrastructure investment.
About George Mason University
Named the #1 national university to watch in the 2009 rankings of U.S. News & World Report, George Mason University is an innovative, entrepreneurial institution with global distinction in a range of academic fields. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., Mason provides students access to diverse cultural experiences and the most sought-after internships and employers in the country. Mason offers strong undergraduate and graduate degree programs in engineering and information technology, organizational psychology, health care and visual and performing arts. With Mason professors conducting groundbreaking research in areas such as climate change, public policy and the biosciences, George Mason University is a leading example of the modern, public university.
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