It鈥檚 been almost two years since 50度灰视频 got the good news that one of its largest employers, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, would remain in the city.
Not only that, but the federal intelligence agency in charge of collecting and interpreting mapping and satellite data , a giant investment for a part of town that could use an injection of people and capital.
The construction project will be a massive one, employing thousands of contractors and other building professionals. Deciding who will win that prize is the task now facing the federal agencies coordinating efforts to build the 97-acre campus.
Next month, the Kansas City District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees military construction projects in the region (the 50度灰视频 office handles civil construction), will issue a final request for proposals to the three construction joint ventures that it tapped as finalists to build the campus. The finalists, announced in September, will then have until July to submit detailed, technical proposals to the corps for the $700 million construction project.
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The finalists, joint ventures each made up of several companies, are:
- , based in the Washington area, and JE Dunn Construction, based in Kansas City. 50度灰视频 architecture firm HOK is the lead design firm on the team.
- , based in the Washington area. Engineering and construction firm Fluor, based in the Dallas area; San Francisco-based architecture firm Gensler; and Kansas City-based engineering firm Black & Veatch are also part of the team.
- . That team is made up of several other companies, including 50度灰视频-based Corrigan Company and Civil Design, also of 50度灰视频.
The corps selected the three based on their experience with similar projects and a more general submission the finalists and other teams submitted as part of the first phase of the contracting process. The two-phased contracting process is designed to increase competition, because requiring a more detailed proposal up-front might be too much of a risk and dissuade some firms from bidding.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very expensive for offerers to put in a technical proposal,鈥 said Dave Walsh, the corps鈥 contracting officer for the NGA West project.
By spring 2019, the corps plans to make a final decision on the contractor for the $1.75 billion NGA project. The construction contract itself is around $700 million, the corps said, with the remainder of the costs related to outfitting the campus with specialized NGA equipment and the city鈥檚 costs preparing the site for development.
Currently based out of the old 50度灰视频 Armory on the south riverfront near the Anheuser-Busch brewery, NGA鈥檚 roughly 3,100 employees 鈥 a number many expect to grow in the coming years 鈥 could move to the new facility at Jefferson and Cass avenues around 2024.
Before a contractor is chosen, the city of 50度灰视频 needs to finish preparing the site and hand it off to the U.S. Air Force, which will own the land. That should occur in November.
鈥淭hey check in with us routinely, and they鈥檙e on track with meeting that deadline,鈥 said Laurie Farmer, the NGA West project manager with the corps.
Otis Williams, head of the 50度灰视频 Development Corp., the city鈥檚 economic development arm leading the NGA site work, said his department is weeks away from completing nearly all of the remediation and utility relocation. Grading of the site should continue into the spring.
Two years ago, that had to be acquired, sometimes using eminent domain.
All the structures have been demolished except for one, the big Faultless Linen factory where laundry for huge institutions such as BJC and 50度灰视频 Hospital is cleaned. Faultless, along Jefferson Avenue, is building a new facility on the south riverfront near an existing building it has on South Broadway, a cost the city will reimburse.
In all, it will cost over $100 million preparing the NGA site, debt the city and state will repay with diverted earnings taxes from NGA workers. Already, the city says it spent $68 million acquiring the property to assemble the huge site.
After the November handoff, Williams said the city will shift its focus to improving area roads and promoting private development nearby. Momentum, he said, will start to build in what had long been one of the city鈥檚 weakest areas.
鈥淭his is a battleship that is slowly trying to make a turn,鈥 he said. 鈥淭here will be great results at the end of the day.鈥
The contractors
While the corps finalizes the RFP in consultation with the NGA, contractors are waiting to get the details they need to make a technical proposal for the project.
鈥淭his is the largest federal investment in the history of 50度灰视频 in terms of dollars,鈥 said Jeff Boyer, vice president of operations at McCarthy Building Cos., who is heading the firm鈥檚 NGA bid. 鈥淎 project like this doesn鈥檛 come along very often.鈥
The McCarthy HITT team is the only joint venture bidding for the project with a locally based lead. McCarthy was a contractor on other federal mega-projects in recent years, such as the New Orleans VA Medical Center and the in Manhattan, Kan., Boyer said. The firm has also worked on other big federal construction projects that he can鈥檛 mention for security reasons. Locally, McCarthy is working on the Arch grounds, the aquarium planned at Union Station and the Washington University construction on the eastern edge of its campus.
McCarthy鈥檚 connections to local contractors and construction trade unions 鈥減uts us in a real good position to really hit the ground running鈥 and ensure that the local labor force and the federal government鈥檚 minority and women labor goals are met, Boyer said.
The Mortenson-Alberici joint venture includes locally based contractor Alberici. Alberici is the construction company behind big-name local projects such as the BJC Washington University Medical Center Campus Renewal Project, the SSM Health 50度灰视频 University Hospital, the VA Jefferson Barracks Clinic and Monsanto鈥檚 huge lab and research campus expansion in Chesterfield.
NGA designs new facility to protect sensitive intelligence while allowing collaboration.听
The team said it had already held 10 events to connect with the local subcontractor community and gauge and promote their interest in the NGA project.
鈥淥btaining the specialized workforce for this project is a primary focus for us,鈥 the companies said in a statement. 鈥淢ortenson-Alberici will work closely with the U.S. Government to properly design and schedule all work activities to minimize large peaks in the onsite labor force. The goal is to build the onsite workforce in a steady, controlled manner.鈥
Representatives from the other joint venture, Clark Construction and JE Dunn Construction, did not respond to requests for comment.
Clark Construction already has a close relationship with the NGA, though. The Washington-area firm led the joint venture that built in the D.C. suburbs of Northern Virginia.