Facilities Management Advisor’s “Under Construction” series highlights some of the latest, most interesting facility project announcements every month.
The A’s Vegas Stadium
Batter up! March marked the official start of spring and the 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) season. As baseball teams prepped themselves for the many games ahead, the Oakland Athletics revealed renderings of their planned $1.5 billion stadium in the A’s future home of Las Vegas. If all goes well with approvals, the A’s expect to open the new stadium before the 2028 MLB season.
Organization: The Athletics
Location: Las Vegas, Nev.
Type of project: New build
Size: 33,000-person capacity
Estimated cost: $1.5 billion
Design-build team: Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), HNTB, and a Mortenson-McCarthy joint venture
Status: Renderings unveiled March 5
Expected completion: Before 2028 MLB season
Interesting tidbit: Shaped by its location on the Las Vegas Strip and occupying nine acres of the 35-acre Tropicana site, the 33,000-person capacity ballpark will provide an outdoor feel with views of the city’s skyline. The roof’s five overlapping layers, whose design is inspired by traditional baseball pennants, will open to the north to allow for natural light and views up the Strip, while also limiting direct sunlight and heat from the south. The outfield is expected to feature the world’s largest cable-net glass window, facing the corner of Tropicana and Las Vegas Boulevards. The ballpark design also calls for an 18,000 square-foot jumbotron, which would make it the largest screen in the MLB.
Quote: A’s Managing Partner and Owner John Fisher said, “We hope to add to the dynamic atmosphere and liveliness of the Las Vegas Strip, creating a welcoming environment for all of Southern Nevada.”
More details available here.
Texas-Sized Healthcare Expansion
University Health, the only locally owned health system based in San Antonio, Texas, marked another milestone in its growth with the groundbreaking of the 42-acre University Health Retama Hospital campus. The project includes a modern five-story hospital with 166 beds and a medical office building. In anticipation of even more people moving to the area, the hospital design provides room for expansion to 268 beds.
Organization: University Health
Location: Selma, Texas
Type of project: New build
Size: 42 acres
Estimated cost: $450 million
Status: Ground broken Feb. 21
Expected completion: 2027
Interesting tidbit: The Retama project is the latest in a series of new construction for University Health that began in December with Vida, a multi-specialty healthcare center and the headquarters for the University Health Institute for Public Health. That was followed in January with a ceremony for the University Health Palo Alto Hospital, located adjacent to Vida on a 68-acre campus next door to Texas A&M San Antonio. This spring, construction is set to begin on University Health Wheatley, another public health and primary care facility.
Quote: Noting the creation of 500-600 jobs at Retama, University Health President and CEO George Hernández Jr. said, “I want to touch on the most important outcome of those facilities: the hundreds of healthcare workers who will bring high-quality, compassionate patient care to this community.”
More details available here.
High-Tech Facility for Technical College
The Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology, a private college founded in 1908, was partly funded by a bequest in Benjamin Franklin’s will. The Boston institution is now entering a new era after breaking ground on its Nubian Square campus featuring a 68,000 square-foot, all-electric education facility.
Organization: Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology
Location: Boston, Mass.
Type of project: New build
Size: 68,000 square-foot facility
Estimated cost: N/A
Design-build team: Studio G Architects, Studio ENÉE, Ground Inc., and Dellbrook One Way Joint Venture
Status: Ground broken March 12
Expected completion: Late 2025 or early 2026
Interesting tidbit: The campus and facility are being designed by all women-owned firms. According to the college, the facility has features that make the structure itself a teaching tool for the next generation of technical and trade careers. Interior design plans include visible building systems with exposed structure, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and sprinkler systems to support project-based learning curricula in sustainable building management. The rooftop will include outdoor demonstration labs with access to solar panels and roof-mounted wind turbines to serve as hands-on teaching tools for students studying renewable energy technology.
Quote: Turahn Dorsey, chair of the Franklin Cummings Tech Board of Trustees, said, “The building that will rise here will educate generations of entrepreneurs, technicians, and technologists who will shape the future of Greater Boston’s economy,”
More details available here.
West Point Stadium Renovation
The historic and prestigious U.S. Military Academy at West Point recently recruited Turner Construction to renovate Michie Stadium. The 38,000-seat facility, home to the Army Black Knights, will have its East Stands reconstructed and modernized.
Organization: United States Military Academy
Location: West Point, N.Y.
Type of project: Renovation
Size: 38,000-seat stadium
Estimated cost: $170 million
Design-build team: Turner Construction and Ewing Cole
Status: Turner contract announced March 14
Expected completion: Before 2026 football season
Interesting tidbit: The existing East Stands were built in 1962 and will be replaced with premium seating options that modern fans desire. The new East Stands will provide 360-degree sights of the field and the surrounding Hudson Valley. The seats will also be behind the Army cadets’ seating section, offering an exciting atmosphere. The renovations will be carried out in a process that permits the football and lacrosse teams to keep playing in the stadium while construction is underway.
Quote: “Designing for military installations comes with its complexities,” said Luigi Morfea, an exec at Turner Construction. “We are excited to begin work on this historic site and work with the Army and our partners to provide a special place for fans to take in the game and the Hudson Valley surroundings.”
More details available here.
Net-Zero Retrofit Pilot Project
The City of Brampton, Canada’s ninth most populated city, has teamed up with Johnson Controls on a major “Zero Carbon Retrofit” project at the Susan Fennell Sportsplex. The transformation of the 173,546 square-foot community complex will serve to inform and support the city’s long-term plan to revitalize and decarbonize municipal facilities.
Organizations: City of Brampton and Johnson Controls
Location: Brampton, Ontario
Type of project: Retrofit
Size: 173,546 square feet
Estimated cost: $25.7 million
Status: Announced March 20
Expected completion: Fall 2025
Interesting tidbit: The project includes HVAC upgrades and optimization, rooftop solar PV installation, a ground source heat loop, solar thermal pool heating, and smart building tech to provide ongoing energy monitoring, measurement, and reporting. It is expected to cut annual utility costs by about $195,000 and natural gas use by 99%, producing lifecycle cost savings to fund ongoing maintenance, among other benefits.
Quote: Julie Brandt, president of Building Solutions North America at Johnson Controls, said, “The City of Brampton’s innovative pilot program has the power to serve as a model for municipalities across Canada on their journey to net zero.”
More details available here.
Honorable Mentions
- Tennessee Titans Official Groundbreaking
- $20 Billion for Intel Chip Plants
- Coca-Cola Replacement Facility
- $1B for Greener Ports of Entry
Do you have a major project announcement you’d like considered for the “Under Construction” series? Please contact Editor Joe Bebon at [email protected].
The post Under Construction: Top Facility Projects of March 2024 appeared first on Facilities Management Advisor.
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