Loudoun County Developers Keep Projects Rolling

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA – Despite recent pressure to slow growth in Loudoun County, Va., developers are forging ahead with numerous large projects in the wealthy Washington, D.C., suburb. Buchanan Partners of Gaithersburg, Md., expects to break ground this summer on the first phase of its 400-acre Arcola Center mixed-use project near Dulles International Airport.

Designed to be built out over a ten- to twenty-year period, Arcola Center is planned for up to 2.1 million sq ft of office and commercial space, up to 1.1 million sq ft of retail space, and approximately 80 acres of town homes and multifamily housing. Two hotels are also planned for the site.

Loudoun has been a magnet for developers for years, recently ranking as the nation’s wealthiest county and the 8th fastest-growing county in the U.S., according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics.

However the county’s board of supervisors voted in December to restrict residential growth, particularly in the western two-thirds of the county. The new regulations change zoning from one house per three acres of land to one for every five to 15 acres.  The board at one point had argued to restrict zoning to one home for every 50 acres in some areas, but that plan was nixed by a Virginia Supreme Court ruling.

Russ Gestl, executive vice president of Buchanan Partners, said he was encouraged by the board’s approval of its Arcola plan in October, but he is concerned about initiatives that send a slow-growth message.

“Recently, they started talking about moratoriums,” he said. “That’s not news that business wants to hear. It tells them there’s an unstable political environment there.”

Neighboring Prince William County also raised a red flag about growth. In December, the county passed a one-year moratorium on new residential rezoning requests. The move was intended to send a message to state lawmakers who have failed to come through with necessary transportation funding to ease congestion in the growing county.

Bill Fairchild, president of R.W. Murray Co. of Manassas, Va., said that despite the threat, commercial development is expected to continue at a good pace in Prince William.

“We are still catching up with all of the rooftops that have been added in the region,” he said.

Buchanan will initially focus on the non-residential aspects of its Arcola project, starting with a 670,000 sq ft lifestyle retail center. The company is in discussions with L.F. Jennings of Falls Church, Va., to build the center with delivery in late 2008. Rounds Van Duzer of Falls Church is the designer. The retail center will be followed by an adjacent mixed-use town center designed by CMSS of Reston. The “main street” concept will combine first-floor boutique retail stores and restaurants with second-story office space. Buchanan’s partner company, Hubert Construction, will likely build a significant portion of the office and commercial space.

EYA of Bethesda, Md., formerly Eakin/Youngentob Associates, was selected by Buchanan to master-plan Arcola Center’s residential neighborhoods and eventually build a portion of the town homes.

Several other major developments are also in the works in Loudoun. Vienna, Va.-based Kettler, formerly KSI Services, is moving forward with development of The Village at Leesburg in Loudoun County. Kettler has partnered with Cypress Equities of Dallas, Texas, to complete the 150-acre $500 million project. The development will include a village center with retail and office space as well as condominiums, apartments and an active-adult community. Ground breaking is scheduled for spring 2007.

Centex Sells to Balfour Beatty for $362 million

FAIRFAX, VA – The commercial construction division of Centex Corporation could soon be taking its cues from across the Atlantic. The company announced that it has agreed to sell its commercial practice, Centex Construction, to United Kingdom-based engineering and construction group Balfour Beatty for $362 million.

Centex said it made the move to sharpen its focus on its core home building operations. The company sold off its Centex Home Equity Company in July 2006 and its U.K. building operations, Fairclough Homes, in September 2005.

"Centex Construction's already strong operations will benefit significantly by being part of a company focused entirely on the commercial construction sector," said Tim Eller, chairman and CEO of Centex Corporation.

Davis Lands Mega-Office Project

WASHINGTON, DC – James G. Davis Construction of Rockville, Md., is gearing up for the biggest project in its history. The company was selected as general contractor for the renovation of the 1.4 million-sq-ft Nassif Building, which is being renamed Constitution Center.

The building currently houses the U.S. Department of Transportation, but that agency is heading to its new headquarters at Southeast Federal Center this summer. Without a new tenant lined up to take over the space, the building’s owner, David Nassif Associates of Wellesley, Mass., will undertake the largest privately-funded office renovation in D.C. history. Construction is expected to begin in mid-2007 with delivery in 2010.

The plan calls for the 10-story building to be stripped down to its concrete structure. Crews will then rebuild everything from systems to facades, creating an essentially new Class-A building. The building, which was designed by SmithGroup of Washington, will be built to accommodate federal clients. The design calls for elements that meet LEED Silver certification standards and extensive security features, including a blast-resistant 300,000-sq-ft curtainwall and SKIFF/SIPRANET space.

The HVAC systems will be replaced with a chilled beam system, typically utilized in Europe, making it one of the few systems of its kind to be installed in the United States.  The mechanical and electrical penthouse will be replaced, 21 existing elevators will be modernized, and 10 new elevators will be added. 

The site also includes three levels of underground parking that can accommodate 1,500 cars and a plaza in the center of the property that will become an enclosed, one-acre landscaped park. 

Clark Reverses Course After Eli Lilly Cancellation

MANASSAS, VA – Crews at the site of Eli Lilly’s planned $325 million pharmaceutical plant in Manassas, Va., have shifted from construction to demolition. Eli Lilly announced in January that it would abandon the insulin-cartridge plant due to lack of product demand, prompting general contractor Clark Construction Group of Bethesda, Md., to shut down work.

Foundations and some beams were already in place for the 300,000-sq-ft plant located in the Innovation @ Prince William Technology Business Park. Eli Lilly has called for all work to be demolished so that the site can be resold as green space.

Completion was expected in 2009. The plant would have been the anchor tenant of the business park, employing an estimated 350 people. Eli Lilly had already cut back the size of the plant from its original 600,000-sq-ft design in 2005 before deciding to abandon it completely.

BP Solar Plans $70M Expansion

FREDERICK, MD – BP Solar has shed some light on plans for a $70 million expansion of its North American headquarters in Frederick, Md.  Plans call for the construction of 140,000 sq ft of new building space, allowing the company to nearly double the facility’s current casting and sizing capacity to 150 MW.  Plans include upgrading the interiors with sustainable design components. Warehousing and shipping facilities will also be relocated and integrated at the site.

Construction is slated to begin in the first half of 2007 and finish by the end of 2008, pending approval of local permits.

Initial engineering feasibility studies into the project have been completed and the company is working on detailed front-end engineering design work. The expansion will make BP Solar's Frederick facility the largest fully-integrated plant of its kind in North America.

Gilbane to Build $37 Million Forensic Lab

BALTIMORE, MD – Gilbane of Laurel, Md., has signed on as the construction manager at risk for a new $37 million forensic medical center at the University of Maryland’s BioPark near Baltimore. The Maryland Department of General Services selected Gilbane to build the six-story 120,000-sq-ft facility. Construction is scheduled to begin in summer 2008 with completion by early 2010. Gaudreau of Baltimore is the architect.

The new facility’s main facilities will include a medical examiner administration area, main autopsy area, special procedures autopsy area and laboratory area. The facility will be built to meet BSL-3 containment requirements.

Ayers Saint Gross, Olin to Design Pratt Street Makeover

BALTIMORE, MD – Downtown Baltimore’s popular Pratt Street area could get a facelift in the coming years under the guidance of a team led Baltimore-based Ayers Saint Gross and Olin Partnership of Philadelphia. The group was selected to redesign a 16-block area of Pratt Street by the Baltimore Development Corporation, the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore and the Baltimore City Departments of Transportation and Planning March 1.

The team’s concept envisions Pratt Street as a “world class Avenue of the Inner Harbor that is a celebration of all that is Baltimore,” lined with shops and restaurants, water features, civic and pedestrian spaces, with a landscaped median and on-street parking.  Sustainable environmental systems for landscaping and storm water will be included. An east-west trolley is envisioned between President Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. Bicycle lanes are also included.  Infill structures of one to three stories in height are proposed at several locations as pavilions or building additions. A central “video wall” is planned for a new Civic Plaza structure at the current McKeldin Plaza area.  New fountains would establish “gateways” at President Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard.

Project costs are undetermined at this time, but the redesign of Pratt Street will occur in phases with total completion anticipated over several years. BDC will negotiate Phase I with the Ayers Saint Gross/Olin Partnership team. It is expected that many improvements to Pratt Street will be able to be accomplished with private funds.

Rendell Fuels Alternative Power Production

HARRISBURG, PA – Pennsylvania’s power construction market could get a little jolt from Gov. Ed Rendell. The governor announced a plan in February that could make nearly $500 million available to support clean energy initiatives. The funding is part of the governor’s Energy Independence Strategy, which will draw funding for clean energy projects through added electric bill charges.

The governor’s clean energy strategy includes solar, advanced coal, ethanol and energy efficiency programs.

"Without this initiative, Pennsylvanians will need to build the equivalent of five large nuclear or coal-fired power plants at a cost of over $10 billion to meet our growing demand for electricity over the next 15 years," Rendell said.

Pennsylvania has been aggressively pushing alternative energy in recent years. The commonwealth is already a leader in the production of renewable fuels.  One of the largest ethanol plants in the eastern United States is planned for Clearfield County and approximately 340 million additional gallons of ethanol production are planned. The governor’s office estimates that companies in Pennsylvania are expected to produce 60 million gallons of biodiesel by the end of 2007. Other new plants being built are expected to produce an additional 170 million gallons within the next two years.

Argos Utilities Acquires Contracting Enterprises

BETHESDA, MD – Argos Utilities Corporation of Bethesda, Md., has expanded it offers in the utilities market, acquiring Roanoke, Va.-based Contracting Enterprises Inc.

CEI, which has been in business for over a half century, provides utility construction services under long-term agreements to electric and gas utilities throughout Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee including American Electric Power and Roanoke Gas Company. The entire CEI management team remain intact as part of the deal.

CEI adds a non-union work force to Agros Utilities’ transmission and distribution services. Agros also owns Roanoke-based Richardson-Wayland Electrical Company, which is a union shop.

Bovis Wins One Preserve Parkway

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The Washington D.C. office of Bovis Lend Lease was recently awarded the contract to provide general contracting services for One Preserve Parkway at The Preserve at Tower Oaks. One Preserve Parkway is a new seven-story, 189,220 sq. ft. office building in Rockville, Md.

Owned by Boston Properties, Inc., One Preserve Parkway will include a two-story above grade, cast-in-place parking garage.  Construction began in Dec., 2006 and is scheduled to complete in February, 2008.  The building was designed by the Washington office of Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum, PC. This is Bovis Lend Lease and Boston Properties ninth project together since 1985.

In addition to the work for Boston Properties, Bovis Lend Lease is currently providing construction services for two other projects in Rockville: Richard Montgomery High School and Midtown Bethesda North Condominiums.

Tishman Moves Office