Balfour Beatty is one of the top commercial contractors in the southeast.

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What started in 2001 as a general contracting company led by a 12-person team has now grown into one of the top commercial contractors in the southeast. Balfour Beatty Construction ’s Southeast Division is a key player not only for the overall company, but also for the regional economy and community.

Regionally headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., the South-east Division was launched in 2001 to capitalize on the flourishing eastern region and grow Balfour Beatty’s presence in the marketplace. The division operates three offices in Raleigh, N.C., Charlotte and Atlanta.

Charlotte’s construction climate has been particularly lucrative this year. According to Charlotte Center City Partners, an organization that promotes economic development in the city, more than 50 projects worth approximately $4 billion were announced or begun in the area in the past two years.

“We have certainly benefitted from a good construction climate since 2001, but the thing that has helped us is a strong strategic focus on clients that have long-term value for us,” Southeast Division President Bill Blank says.  

Such clients include include the Wake County Schools, Duke Medical, Bank of America, Ritz Carlton, North Carolina Art Museum, Durham Intermodal and Public Works.

“We are expecting in commercial revenues to reach $480 million in 2008; that’s drastic growth. It’s about 130 percent growth in the past three years and I attribute that to a great organization. “Higher education and primary education are those markets that we will focus on in all three of our office locations,” he says. “Large commercial work and some selective healthcare work will be done too.” All contracts are negotiated between the firm and owner.

“We do see the economy having an effect on the industry that may impact the growth projectors that we have established, but serving a select group of clientele well, will allow us to sustain our level and grow,” Blank continues.

John Rankin, senior vice president of Balfour Beatty’s Raleigh office says the construction climate in the southeast is still one of the strongest in the nation, even though it is starting to feel the effects of a weakening economy in the private sector. “I think that we are dodging the real crux of the economy’s problems,” Rankin notes. “We are pretty diverse in our work.”

Complex Project, Capable Team
In 2005, the firm negotiated a contract with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to begin constructing a two-phase science complex. The $205 million complex will replace outdated buildings with state-of-the-art facilities, equipped with laboratories, classrooms, lecture halls and faculty and administrative space. The complex will house the chemistry, computer science, marine science, mathematics, physics and astronomy departments, as well as an institute for advanced materials and nanoscience and technology.

The university says that in 2005, it faced increased competition for faculty members from private universities. It reports that in 2005, of 32 external offers, it retained 21 faculty members, and lost 11 to other institutions. Part of keeping faculty put and attracting new employees is maintaining or building facilities that support their research.

In the next five years, UNC Chapel Hill will double its construction spending to $1.1 billion. Approximately 49 percent of those funds will support renovations and/or replacement of existing facilities; 17 percent will go toward renovating and upgrading utilities infrastructure and 34 percent will be spent on new construction.

“We are right in the heart of campus, surrounded by other classroom buildings and campus streets, so there has been a lot of emphasis on traffic flow and student and faculty protection,” Rankin explains. “There is very little space to stage the material, so we had both entrances with a traffic control person at all times to make sure we did not disrupt the flow of things.”
        
Timeless Design
Boston-based Wilson Architects worked with Balfour to bring the university’s vision to fruition. “One goal of the phased project was to improve the environment for students and faculty in the physical sciences with a cohesive multi-building strategy,” Principal Bill Wilson says. “Faculty were concerned about connectivity and wanted to consolidate departments that had grown into a quilt-like pattern over the years. We were able to link the departments together to allow sharing and interaction while creating one intellectual community.”

Upholding the historic integrity of the campus, while incorporating state-of-the-art laboratories was important to the schematic design.

“The architecture of the new science complex is derived from the buildings of the older quadrangle,” Principal Chris Martin explains. “Through the use of English Cross Bond brick walls and chimneys, sloped slate roofs, large muntin windows and stone and copper details, we were able to integrate thoroughly modern lab buildings into the historic UNC Chapel Hill campus.”

Unlike the traditional buildings on campus, Martin notes that science buildings must be designed to adapt to change. “Science buildings will undergo generations of use and should be designed to anticipate change,” Martin notes. “Laboratories are designed to be modular in layout, and generously sized in a robust manner. The mechanical/electrical/plumbing elements are critical to the overall success of a science building project.”