Culpepper Construction found ways to save Florida State University hundreds of thousands of dollars on the construction of its new Material Research Building.

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Drew Gilbert, project manager for Culpepper Construction?Co. Inc. , presents convincing evidence that the construction management delivery method offers valuable benefits for its clients.

Florida State University (FSU) and FSU’s Research Foundation selected Culpepper Construction as the construction manager for its new Material Research Building. During the project development and design process, Culpepper identified some value engineering items that could result in project savings on the $15 million project.

One of the largest savings of $250,000 occurred when FSU and Culpepper implemented a sales tax savings program that allowed the university to take advantage of its sales tax exemption status.

The program targets the major material purchases including equipment such as generators, cooling towers and air handlers. “These items are purchased directly by the owner, while the trade contractors maintain their responsibilities for receiving and installation,” Gilbert adds.

FSU and Culpepper also saved $239,000 through the construction management process of competitive bidding. The construction manager has the responsibility to provide the owner an ample number of qualified bidders in each division of the project.

This is achieved through various means, including widely advertising the project, contacting area trade contractors, prequalifying the trade contractors and writing clear and concise bid packages. “The combination of these construction management services typically proves very beneficial to the owner as it did in this case,”?Gilbert says.

Repeat Clients
Culpepper started construction on the Materials Research project in July 2007 and Gilbert expected completion of the building in October 2008. He says FSU and the Research Foundation are among Culpepper’s most loyal clients.

Throughout the company’s history, Culpepper has completed numerous projects for the university including new construction and historical renovations. This is its third research project for FSU’s Research Foundation.

Construction of this new building has proceeded smoothly, according to Gilbert. He says early on there were some concerns about the stability of the soil because the site is close to projects, and required extensive and costly remedies for poor soils.

“After the site was thoroughly and professionally investigated, the footprint of the building was strategically placed to avoid any of the concerns.

“Obviously, the owner is very glad that we have not run into any of those problems,”? Gilbert says. “We were told we wouldn’t, and we didn’t.”
 
Learning LEED
Although this project is Culpepper’s fourth LEED-certified building, Gilbert admits the company is still learning about the process. He says the most important key to achieving the LEED certification is having the LEED requirements thoroughly incorporated into the contract documents.

“When trade contractors understand clearly what’s expected of them, then they don’t feel the necessity to increase their bid numbers to cover the unknowns,”?Gilbert says.

The other aspect of LEED that is vital is capturing all the data that is required to achieve the credits. For example, “thorough records must be maintained regarding how much debris leaves our site and how much of this debris is taken to recycle centers verses general land fills,”?he says. “We were fortunate to have a local recycling center opened in our area shortly after we started the project.”

About Culpepper
Culpepper Construction was started by Jack Culpepper in 1932 and focused on jobs in the education and government markets. Culpepper incorporated the company in 1978 and it has continued to grow, recently celebrating its 75th anniversary a few years ago.

Today, its their capabilities include construction management projects, hard bid projects, negotiated projects, design/build projects and feasibility studies for their clients.

“At Culpepper Construction, we have consistently provided quality work to our project owners and partners,” the company says. “Consistency and reliability speak beyond the bricks and concrete.     

“We understand the importance of providing a quality work environment for our employees, subcontractors and vendors.

“We understand that our work performance and our staff are synonymous, which is why we are proud of the consistent level of integrity we have been able to provide with every job.”

College and university work has been one of the strongest sectors for Culpepper Construction.

“With many colleges and universities in the north Florida and south Georgia area, it was only natural that we were able to participate in work for higher education facilities,” the company says. “We are proud to have been able to contribute to these campuses.”

Along with FSU, Culpepper Con­struction has also performed work for Florida A&M?University and Valdosta State University in Georgia.