June 13 – 19, 2008 - In Atlanta Business Chronicle’s annual salute to the winners of the Build Georgia Awards, we profile the best among an unusually large pool of contest entries. Winners were selected by the Georgia Branch of Associated General Contractors of America, with judging being based on a Company’s size—as measured by gross construction revenue—as well as the project’s construction type and/or delivery method.  The delivery methods include Design/Bid/Build, Design/Build and Construction Management at Risk. The Awards are divided by 2007 gross construction revenue categories, with a separate category for specialty contractors.
 
The following New South Construction award profiles were written by Atlanta Business Chronicle contributing writer. 

Build Georgia Awards 2008 – Companies over $100 Million  

Dobbins ARB maintenance hangar undergoes ‘Extreme Makeover’

Dubbed “The Extreme Hangar Makeover” by the New South Construction Company Inc. team, the Maintenance Hangar Renovation at Dobbins Air Reserve Base was an 18-month project that involved the upgrade of a 60,000-square-foot aircraft hangar in Marietta.  “It required a substantial renovation of an occupied building more than 60 years old,” said Project Manager Rob Schulten.  “The building was constantly giving us new challenges to work with.”

This project also won first place in the renovation of a building in the Design/Build category for contractors with gross construction revenue of over $100 million by the Georgia Branch of Associated General Contractors of America Inc.

New South puts finishing touches on Wesleyan School completion

Over the past 12 years, New South Construction Company Inc. has completed numerous projects on the campus of Wesleyan School in Norcross.  Recently, the company put the finishing touches on the school’s “Complete the Campus” program with the construction of the Fine Arts and Administrative Complex.   The project—which included the construction of a new three-story Fine Arts Building, renovation of Marchman Gymnasium and the addition of a new Administration Complex—was completed Aug. 3.  The project also included the re-use of an existing building as part of the new Administration Building.

The project won first place in the new buildings Construction Management at Risk category for contractors with gross construction revenue of over $100 million by the Georgia Branch of Associated General Contractors of America Inc.

New Oconee Jail provides room for inmates

Built to replace an antiquated and over-capacity 25-year-old jail, the new Oconee County Jail was completed in an environment of roaming inmates and strict housekeeping requirements.  During construction, the $10 million site was shared with an active sheriff’s jail that allowed “trustees,” inmates with good behavior, to journey outside the jail walls to perform manual labor duties, such as taking out the trash or picking up debris around the facility. With a zero tolerance policy for unguarded materials that could be obtained and used as weapons by inmates, this project was more than a logistical challenge. 

New South Construction Company Inc. employees, although in close proximity to the inmates, were also not allowed to speak to them. “We worked on the existing site, which was limited and occupied, where county employees required site access 24 hours a day and had very little available space,” said Charles Parish, assistant project manager. Along with a new sheriff’s office, the complex also houses a 911 Dispatch and Emergency Operations Center.

This project won first place in the new buildings Construction Management at Risk category for contractors with gross construction revenue of over $100 million by the Georgia Branch of Associated General Contractors of America Inc.

Reconfigured Delta ticket lobby eases passenger flow

While operations continued at the world’s busiest airport, New South Construction Company Inc. successfully completed a reconfiguration of Delta Air Lines South Terminal Ticket Lobby, increasing the number of ticket counters available to passengers. Along with improvements to the kiosks and ticket counters, upgrades were also made to the offices, baggage conveyers and pneumatic tubes.  In order to relocate “back of the house” operations and introduce a new security checkpoint to the south terminal, New South added 20,000 square feet of new structure to the existing building.

For this, New South won first place in the interior build-out Construction Management at Risk category for contractors with gross construction revenue of over $100 million by the Georgia Branch of Associated General Contractors of America Inc.

Terminal Upgrades prove to be logistically challenging project

The Concourse Cosmetic Upgrades at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport were part of the airport’s $5.4 billion capital improvement program.  Undertaken by New South Construction Company Inc., the project included improvements to concourses A, B and C.  “One of the biggest challenges of the project was coordinating the logistics of material deliveries and material movement around the concourses,” said Project Manager John Kitchen.  Calling for the replacement of all visible surfaces, New South installed 250,000 square feet of quartz and granite tile, 30,000 square feet of carpet tile, 360 stainless steel column covers and new drywall on all wall surfaces.
 
This project takes first place in the renovation of buildings in the Design-Bid-Build category for contractors with gross construction revenue of over $100 million by the Georgia Branch of Associated General Contractors of America Inc.