The general contractor Balfour Beatty has been working with the San Diego Unified School District for 13 years. Over the past five years alone, the firm has completed five projects for the District, with number six currently under construction.
On all improvement and construction projects, the District has a mandatory goal of 50% participation by emerging business enterprises, or EBEs. That goal includes 5% for disabled veteran business enterprises (DVBEs).
For the District’s recent $38 million project that modernized its Innovations Academy, a K-8 charter school with nearly 400 students, Balfour Beatty delivered more than 62,000 sf of educational space within a tight five-month schedule. The contractor awarded $5 million in contracts, nearly 13%, to local DVBE firms, a portion that more than doubled the District’s participation goal for DVBEs. “That was outstanding,” says Tim Berry, senior vice president and one of Balfour Beatty’s K-12 market leads in California, whom BD+C interviewed earlier this week.
In total, Balfour Beatty has awarded contracts to five San Diego-area DVBE firms—Audio Associates of San Diego, IO Environmental & Infrastructure, Penn Air Control, PN Supply, and Veterans Engineering Services—that have worked on 22 projects for the District.
A SKILLED LABOR POOL
At a time when the construction industry has struggled with shortages of skilled labor, tapping the veterans’ community for workers can fill gaps for firms like Balfour Beatty. These partnerships, the firm has stated, “bring a pool of talent that is rich in leadership and complex problem-solving skillsets.”
Berry notes that over the past two decades Balfour Beatty has done a lot of work for the federal government and the military. On such projects, the vast majority of the construction is typically performed by small-business enterprises. Over this period, Balfour Beatty itself has also hired lots of vets, and continues to have a proactive outreach and networking program, particularly in southern California where there’s a large military population.
Programs that encourage, or even mandate, the hiring of veteran-owned businesses “open the door for us,” says Mike Bilodeau, CEO of IO Environmental & Infrastructure, which he started in 2007. With four offices and 50 employees, the company has grown to where it is performing jobs nationally (it currently has projects underway in North Carolina, Utah, and at Fort Dix in New Jersey.)
The San Diego Unified School District is one of IO’s long-standing clients. Ever since the District moved its properties into lease-leaseback agreements, many of its building upgrades have been whole-school remodels. “It’s almost like a design-build situation,” says Bilodeau, who served in the Coast Guard, and was also an environmental specialist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
CONSISTENT CASHFLOW A MAJOR BENEFIT
The modernization of the Innovations Academy included 27 classrooms, the gym, exterior play area and parking facilities, according to ABBA Project Management.
For the Innovations Academy project, the scope of IO’s work consisted of landscaping, irrigation, and decomposed granite resurfacing. Dan Parker, IO’s operations manager (and a U.S. Air Force vet), lauds John Atherton, MEng, CCM, DBIA, LEED AP, Balfour Beatty’s project executive, for keeping the Innovations Academy job moving forward smoothly. (Berry notes that this project required modifying the existing building’s structural component with 30- to 50-ft-deep shoring.)
To achieve dynamic DVBE participation on a hard-bid project like this one, Balfour Beatty develops targeted bid packages during preconstruction. Oftentimes, DVBEs come in as second-tier trade partners, so it’s important for the contractor to establish clear participation goals for the entire supply chain.
As consistent cashflow is of critical importance to small businesses, Balfour Beatty makes a point of paying the DVBEs it hires on time and in full. It also works with these subs to expedite the hiring process. “It’s essential that the paperwork be filled out properly, especially when financing is an issue,” explains Berry.
Balfour Beatty’s involvement with DVBEs may be about giving back to the community, and providing equal opportunities to all subcontractor companies. But the firm’s motives aren’t entirely altruistic: Berry says these partnerships help the firm grow. And the presence of vets on the jobsite can lift up the entire team. “There’s no entitlement mentality with vets, no ‘I can’t.’ ”
Related Stories
Multifamily Housing | Dec 7, 2022
Canada’s largest net-zero carbon residential community to include affordable units
The newly unveiled design for Canada’s largest net-zero carbon residential community includes two towers that will create a new destination within Ottawa and form a striking gateway into LeBreton Flats. The development will be transit-oriented, mixed-income, mixed-use, and include unprecedented sustainability targets. Dream LeBreton is a partnership between real estate companies Dream Asset Management, Dream Impact, and local non-profit MultiFaith Housing Initiative.
Student Housing | Dec 7, 2022
Cornell University builds massive student housing complex to accommodate planned enrollment growth
In Ithaca, N.Y., Cornell University has completed its North Campus Residential Expansion (NCRE) project. Designed by ikon.5 architects, the 776,000-sf project provides 1,200 beds for first-year students and 800 beds for sophomore students. The NCRE project aimed to accommodate the university’s planned growth in student enrollment while meeting its green infrastructure standards. Cornell University plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035.
Office Buildings | Dec 6, 2022
‘Chicago’s healthiest office tower’ achieves LEED Gold, WELL Platinum, and WiredScore Platinum
Goettsch Partners (GP) recently completed 320 South Canal, billed as “Chicago’s healthiest office tower,” according to the architecture firm. Located across the street from Chicago Union Station and close to major expressways, the 51-story tower totals 1,740,000 sf. It includes a conference center, fitness center, restaurant, to-go market, branch bank, and a cocktail lounge in an adjacent structure, as well as parking for 324 cars/electric vehicles and 114 bicycles.
Geothermal Technology | Dec 6, 2022
Google spinoff uses pay-as-you-go business model to spur growth in geothermal systems
Dandelion Energy is turning to a pay-as-you-go plan similar to rooftop solar panel leasing to help property owners afford geothermal heat pump systems.
Contractors | Dec 6, 2022
Slow payments cost the construction industry $208 billion in 2022
The cost of floating payments for wages and invoices represents $208 billion in excess cost to the construction industry, a 53% increase from 2021, according to a survey by Rabbet, a provider of construction finance software.
University Buildings | Dec 5, 2022
Florida Polytechnic University unveils its Applied Research Center, furthering its mission to provide STEM education
In Lakeland, Fla., located between Orlando and Tampa, Florida Polytechnic University unveiled its new Applied Research Center (ARC). Designed by HOK and built by Skanska, the 90,000-sf academic building houses research and teaching laboratories, student design spaces, conference rooms, and faculty offices—furthering the school’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) mission.
Giants 400 | Dec 1, 2022
Top 100 Office Building Core+Shell Contractors and CM Firms for 2022
Turner Construction, AECOM, Clayco, and Gilbane top the ranking of the nation's largest office building core+shell contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Mass Timber | Dec 1, 2022
Cross laminated timber market forecast to more than triple by end of decade
Cross laminated timber (CLT) is gaining acceptance as an eco-friendly building material, a trend that will propel its growth through the end of the 2020s. The CLT market is projected to more than triple from $1.11 billion in 2021 to $3.72 billion by 2030, according to a report from Polaris Market Research.
Giants 400 | Dec 1, 2022
Top 40 Parking Structure Contractors + CM Firms for 2022
PCL Construction, Balfour Beatty, McCarthy Holdings, and Level 10 Construction top the ranking of the nation's largest parking structure contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Contractors | Nov 30, 2022
Construction industry’s death rate hasn’t improved in 10 years
Fatal accidents in the construction industry have not improved over the past decade, “raising important questions about the effectiveness of OSHA and what it would take to save more lives,” according to an analysis by Construction Dive.