The Build New York Awards

Special Honoree

William H. Lane, Incorporated

Winners

Bette & Cring, LLC

E.W. Howell Co., Inc.

Murnane Building Contractors, Inc.

Plaza Construction Corporation

Special Honoree (read this project's entry narrative here)
Renovation Project

Lourdes Hospital Flood Reconstruction
Binghamton, New York

Team Members
General Contractor
William H. Lane Incorporated (Johnson City)
William H. Lane, Chairman

Owner
Our Lady of Lourdes Memorial Hospital, Inc.
John D. O’Neil, President/CEO

Architects
Chianis & Anderson Architects
Clark Patterson Associates

Contributing Team Members
Belfor USA
Evans Mechanical
Matco Electric
John Kabat, Sr. Project Manager, William H. Lane Incorporated
Patrick Clarke, Project Superintendent, William H. Lane Incorporated


On June 28, 2006 the worst flood ever recorded in the history of Binghamton, New York devastated a community in 24 short hours. Damages estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars wreaked havoc in the region, prompting Governor Pataki to immediately declare a state of emergency for the greater Broome County area. 

One of the hardest hit victims was Our Lady of Lourdes Memorial Hospital, a 250-bed area landmark facility that is one of the Northeast’s leading cancer care research centers. Lourdes Hospital is a long-time client of William H. Lane Incorporated, and it was to Lane that the hospital turned in its time of need.

On the day before the storm, Lourdes President/CEO John O’Neil called to ask Lane to organize an emergency disaster response team. Record flooding was expected from the Susquehanna River, located less than 500 feet behind the hospital. Lane’s team built a 15’ x 1000’ berm, which held back the surface water as the flood hit the next day. However, everyone’s worst nightmare started to unfold as the tremendous pressure from the flooding river began to compromise storm drains and sewers. The river was expected to crest at about 19 feet, but it rose instead to 28 feet. 

Lane called on every able-bodied employee in the company, including officers, to report immediately to the scene to try to keep the water from the hospital’s power plant. Their efforts were in vain; the hospital’s power plant had to be shut down and the hospital was closed. All patients were evacuated, an unprecedented occurrence in the hospital’s 80-year history. 

Lane’s mission was now to get the Lourdes Hospital reopened as quickly as possible. Seven major departments of the hospital had been damaged. Their temporary relocation and the replacement of the main power supply would be Lane’s first priority. Key to the process was securing the services of Belfor USA, an award-winning property restoration company. Lane and its team worked around the clock, and the hospital was able to reopen, not months or weeks later, but only ten days later.

Planning the reconstruction and rebuilding of the damaged ground floor areas was also immediately started. Lane’s team spent the Fourth of July week recruiting the necessary subcontractors and securing labor and materials. Many Lane employees, subs and suppliers had personal devastation of their own to deal with. And many of the subs had other jobs ongoing and had their phones ringing off the hook to assist others in emergency situations. But Lane was able to put together a team that worked three shifts and seven-day weeks for the first few months to get the hospital back to normal operations. By September 1 the team had rebuilt 106,000 square feet, despite the challenges of drying out an area of this size and eliminating the mold and soot left from the devastation.

Lane and its team, in cooperation with the hospital and designers, were able to make a positive out of a very negative situation. The damaged hospital departments were greatly enhanced to not only meet the present needs and requests of department heads but also their future needs. Because of the mutual trust between the hospital and Lane, much of the work was done without prepared documents but rather with very detailed, site-specific meetings. Lane was able to complete the remodel within the financial restrictions of insurance and FEMA reimbursement allotments. 

When Lourdes Hospital’s call for help came into Lane’s offices, only one thing mattered: “Gather the troops and go help our friend.” This project portrays how a team of talented contractors can pull together to overcome surreal adversity to help a community get back on its feet. The Build New York Jury is pleased to recognize the William H. Lane Incorporated team as its 2007 Special Honoree. (Aerial photo by edaswad.com)



Winner  
New Project (read this project's entry narrative here)

The Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks –
The Wild Center
Tupper Lake, New York


Team Members
General Contractor
Bette & Cring, LLC (Watertown)

Owner
The Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks – 
The Wild Center

Architect
Wayne Striker – Hellmuth, Obatta & Kassabaum

Engineer
Robert Sillman Associates, PC

Construction Manager
Bovis Lend Lease LMB, Inc.

Contributing Team Members
Ralph Hathaway, Superintendent, Bette & Cring
Nick Matott, Project Manager, Bette & Cring
Mark Scott, Sr. Project Manager, Bette & Cring
Chris Tissot, Tissot Construction


The Wild Center in Tupper Lake, New York is a one-of-a-kind museum combining art, theater, interactive exhibits, live animals and plants to educate visitors about nature in the Adirondack Park and inspire them to become responsible and excited stewards of our environment, wherever they live. The 31-acre Wild Center hosts a three-part museum building, housing a large exhibit area with both live and interactive exhibits, a central hall bordered by a glacial wall and a two-acre pond, and a third wing for a gift shop, cafeteria with kitchen, theater and support offices.

Bette and Cring and its team met and conquered a number of challenges during the construction of the Wild Center. Tupper Lake is a small village in a remote part of the Adirondacks, so materials delivery and accessible labor required ingenuity. Instead of bringing in employees from outside the area, Bette & Cring opted to train local laborers for the specialized techniques the design challenges would require. And since a main goal of the project was to create a feeling of immersion in the deep forest, indigenous materials were located in the park itself.

The building’s irregular shape and many complex angles presented a constant challenge to the team. The walls for the Great Hall were designed and constructed in a nine-sided shape with a domed ceiling. This ceiling and the roof above it were supported with structural steel members. In order to conceal the structural steel, wooden log clusters were wrapped around each steel column. Coordinating the installation of the logs, which were 34 feet long and 12 to 14 inches in diameter, was difficult because installation could not take place until after the structural steel and roof were installed.

Nine birch trees, each about 20 feet tall, were installed in the completely finished Great Hall. The challenge to the team was protecting the many fragile branches as well as the building’s completed interior finishes. This required extensive planning and a small crane, which was used on the inside of the completed building.

Other challenges to the project included installation of the three-quarter-moon shaped theater and curved screen – one of only two of its kind in the country – and the odd-shaped offices, gift shop, kitchen and cafeteria housed within a larger square structure. Separate life support systems for each of the living exhibits, and the moving glacier base and its water systems also complicated the project.

And then there was the weather. Northern New York is famous for its extremes, and the mountains provided an early winter with freezing temperatures and deep snow. Snow removal was a continual challenge. Then came spring, with flash floods and mud. The building’s basement had to be kept open on one side to bring in equipment, and through that time severe weather conditions caused flash flooding and immeasurable mud to complicate everything. To maintain a dry environment, Bette & Cring had to facilitate emergency trenches and pumps to displace the water.

Today, the Wild Center beckons visitors to walk along its ponds and trails, meet face to face with fish, turtles, ducks and otters, and feel the mist of the clouds hugging the highest peaks of the Adirondacks. The Center is now realizing its dream of a vital Adirondack experience for many visitors in the future. 



Winner   
New Project (read this project's entry narrative here)

Center for Functional Nanomaterials at
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Upton, New York

Team Members
General Contractor
E.W. Howell Co., Inc. (Woodbury)

Owner
U.S. Department of Energy / Brookhaven Science Associates LLC

Architect and Engineer
HDR Architecture 

Contributing Team Members
Arsenio Minondo, Project Executive
Kevin McKenna, Project Manager
Harry Hansen, Project Superintendent



Brookhaven National Laboratory is one of ten national laboratories overseen and primarily funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. Brookhaven conducts research in the physical, biomedical and environmental sciences, as well as energy technologies and national security. 

The Center for Functional Nanomaterials is a new facility located within the core area of Brookhaven National Laboratory. The state-of-the-art, two-story building provides the support and services to broaden the user base for nanotechnology research around the world. As one of five of its kind recently built across the country by the Department of Energy, this facility will further the development and understanding of nanoscale materials and help the U.S. achieve energy independence. 

The ability to study and manipulate materials at the nanoscale level, on the order of billionths of a meter, holds such promise because nanomaterials have different chemical and physical properties than bulk materials. Understanding these properties will allow scientists to tailor materials for a number of uses such as in fuel cells, manufacturing processes, and electronic materials to improve solar energy conversion. 

From E.W. Howell’s initial review of the drawings and walkthrough of the site, it was clear that this would be a complex project that would require careful planning in order to meet the aggressive schedule. The complexity of the building’s mechanical systems and specialty labs, such as high accuracy temperature-controlled rooms and clean rooms, added to the challenges. The facility has been registered with the U.S. Green Building Council as a LEED Building. It meets all LEED requirements including state-of-the-art heating and ventilation equipment, roofing materials designed for energy conservation, and noise and vibration-sensitive concrete slabs.

Site demolition included removal of World War I and World War II-era foundations and underground utilities. Unforeseen asbestos added to the challenges for the Howell team during this phase of the project.

Due to the aggressive schedule, foundation work could not be delayed and had to begin in November and continue through the winter. The steel erection began in January at the north end of the building while concrete work was being completed at the south end. During inclement weather, E.W. Howell workers came in early and worked after hours to deal with the winter conditions.

The project included twelve large custom air handling units, ranging up to 10 feet wide by 60 feet long. As the project progressed it became apparent that the supplier of the units was not going to be able to build them in time. A delay would have been problematic not only to the HVAC schedule but also to the schedule for the building’s curtainwall. E.W. Howell overcame this challenge by communicating with the lab’s project leader, getting the necessary parties involved, and finding a new supplier.

The Howell team was able to identify steel conflicts with architectural elements early in the shop drawing process, thus avoiding delays and additional costs to the owner. The team also dealt with over $2 million in owner change orders, and still completed the building on schedule and within the overall budget.

Howell dedicated a full-time safety coordinator to this project. Safety challenges included a tight project schedule, requiring a large number of workers in a smaller-than-normal area. Weekly safety meetings were conducted, and Howell held periodic lunches for trades on the job as positive reinforcement for their exceptional safety record.

The success of the Center for Functional Nanomaterials project will inevitably impact future funding for large projects at Brookhaven National Laboratory. By exceeding requirements for quality and schedule, E.W. Howell and its team have helped build a research center that will promote important scientific research on Long Island, throughout the nation, and throughout the world. (Photos courtesy of Brookhaven National Laboratory)



Winner    
New Project

Plattsburgh International Airport
Passenger Terminal Building
Plattsburgh, New York

Team Members
General Contractor
Murnane Building Contractors, Inc. (Plattsburgh)

Owner
Clinton County 

Engineer
C & S Engineers, Inc.

Contributing Team Member
Arnold Williams, Project Superintendent



The Plattsburgh International Airport Passenger Terminal Building is much more than just a “pretty face.” The building represents hope for the future of Plattsburgh. Since the closing of the Plattsburgh Air Force Base in 1995, Plattsburgh and Clinton County have had to rebuild their economy. Plattsburgh has begun that process by taking advantage of its unique Northern New York location and the quality of facilities and flight line left behind by the Air Force. 

Murnane Building Contractors’ involvement in the Airport project began even before the contract was awarded, with three letters to the project engineer requesting clarifications. The ensuing addenda helped avoid cost overruns. Upon award of the project, many of Murnane’s value engineering ideas were accepted, at a substantial cost savings to the owner.

The project’s groundbreaking was exactly that – breaking of the existing 18”-thick concrete flight line. At the request of the owner, Murnane provided a jackhammer and compressor for a louder-than-usual groundbreaking ceremony. 

Working on an active flight line made the project especially challenging. High winds and the potential for lightning strikes were major concerns. Scaffolding needed additional bracing, and material handling required close monitoring for safety. Due to the existing grades of the flight line, the entire perimeter of the work area had to be sandbagged to keep water out during inclement weather.

During the course of the project Murnane was awarded three additional contracts for the Terminal Building. Despite the additional work, Murnane was able to complete the project according to the original schedule.

The showpiece of the passenger terminal building is the large window system on each side of the building facing north and south. The Murnane team met the challenge of complicated and exacting framing requirements. Due to the size and location of the north window, it actually had to be passed through the south window opening and through the entire building to set it into place. 

Although the building was not designed as a LEED project, the Murnane team recycled all scrap metal, which was considerable. The concrete flight line spoils were crushed and reused on other projects as fill material. 

The Passenger Terminal Building is a high-profile project, involving funding from local, state and federal sources. Such a project requires many, many tours be given to guest VIPs. The team constantly had to adjust, relocate or stop work in certain areas to accommodate the tours, and guests were always provided with hard hats and safety glasses.

Murnane awarded as many contracts as possible to local subcontractors and suppliers. These workers were stakeholders in a project with direct economic, social and cultural consequences for themselves and their families. Murnane was also able to overwhelming exceed a 3.1% Disadvantaged Business Goal, using a local DBE subcontractor.

Murnane Building Contractors is also a major contributor to the Take-Off Fund, established by the local Chamber of Commerce to generate the revenue needed to market regional air service. 

The planning for Plattsburgh’s future has begun with an aviation and business park on the former Air Base, and now a new Passenger Terminal Building completes the aviation park with passenger service. In order to take advantage of its location one hour south of Montreal, the Chamber of Commerce is touting the airport as “Montreal’s U.S. Airport.” Now, for the Plattsburgh International Airport, the sky truly is the limit!



Winner
New Project (read this project's entry narrative here)

Astoria Energy
Astoria, Queens, New York

Team Members
Construction Manager
Plaza Construction Corporation (New York City)

Owner
Astoria Energy LLC

Design Build Contractor
Shaw Stone & Webster

Contributing Team Members
Peter Scalamandre & Sons – Concrete, Site Work, UG Piping
Tully/Nab (JV) – Steel Turbine Building and Wind Wall
R. Baker & Sons – Demolition
Underpinning & Foundations Constructors, Inc. – Auger Cast Piles
Columbian TecTank – Fire Water and Demin Water Tanks
South Bay Air Systems – Turbine Exhaust Systems
Viking/Mohawk – Turbine Building and Wind Wall Cladding
Olympic Plumbing & Heating Services, Inc. – Sanitary and Waste Water Systems



New York City consumes as much energy as it generates – creating an uncertain situation that constrains the City’s economic growth – and has little margin for error to ensure electric system reliability. It was clear that the City desperately needs more power to sustain reliability, competitiveness and continued economic growth. Phase 1 of the new Astoria Energy Power Plant project was the first step in addressing the City’s energy demands and has helped to ease constraints on our current overloaded energy system. Upon completion of Phase 2, Astoria Energy will be New York City’s largest power plant constructed within the last 25 years, producing enough electrical power to supply over one million customers. 

Plaza Construction Corp. was commissioned by Shaw, Stone & Webster to manage the Architectural and Civil/Site Work for Phase 1. Plaza's work scope consisted of final de-gassing of an existing 50-million-gallon bulk fuel storage facility, auger cast piles, concrete foundations, underground utilities, steel buildings, water tanks, and exhaust systems.

Plaza’s most significant and unique challenge during the project was the team’s contribution to the coordination of the many activities necessary to put in place complex prefabricated systems during steel erection and cladding of the Turbine Building. There was a two-month delay in the beginning of the project. This compressed the building construction schedule and caused the installation of equipment and piping systems to occur at the same time. Daily coordination meetings – sometimes twice a day as deadlines neared – were essential for the immediate resolution of problems in the field. As a result, Phase 1 was completed in the spring of 2006 as originally planned.

Plaza’s innovative agreement with Shaw, Stone & Webster allowed for excellent cooperation among all subcontractors. Due to the immense size of the project, the agreement allowed Plaza’s team to work side by side with other contractors in a collaborative effort. Collaboration such as this is a rarity in the construction field and has proven to be a key factor in the success of this project.

The most significant Value Engineering concept on the project was the decision to prefabricate major systems, piping, and pipe-racks off site. Plaza’s team placed foundations at the same time major systems were being fabricated. Plaza played an important role in sequencing the work to accommodate the timely installation of these prefabricated systems, all of which arrived on site in a very short timeframe.

The soil conditions on the project presented another major challenge for the Plaza team. The existing soil was required to be used as controlled backfill. The soil was classified as a “silt and clay” mixture, which, when saturated, presents a significant schedule impact. In order to comply with the engineer’s specification for compaction and still maintain the project schedule, the soil was mixed with lime to reduce its moisture content so it could be placed and compacted in an acceptable manner. During the winter months, the team utilized a “ground thaw” system to address frozen ground. By implementing these techniques, backfilling operations continued during wet and cold months, which facilitated the project schedule without compromising quality.

The Astoria Energy project was designed and constructed to address the surrounding community’s concerns regarding noise pollution and environmental issues. With water on two sides of the 23-acre site, strict environmental compliance was essential.

The Astoria Energy project was challenging in terms of its difficulty to build, schedule, and complexity of coordination. The result is an enhancement in the quality of life for the New York City community. As Michael Bloomberg said, “Astoria Energy is delivering an important project that will enhance reliability, promote economic growth and address environmental issues.”