“The Suites” at Spelman College Nearing Completion

By August 25, 2008 most of Spelman College’s students will have returned to campus for Fall classes. Many of them will be moving into their new student residence hall, “The Suites.” This very high quality and handsome new facility has 300 beds, mostly in single occupancy rooms within suites, a dining hall with a seating capacity of 175, several guest apartments for visiting faculty and trustees, as well as a structured underground parking garage which will accommodate 100 vehicles.

Brookwood Group has served as Spelman’s Program Manager for the project from pre-design planning through construction and furnishing. Under Brookwood’s guidance, the project has been designed for LEED™ certification. Upon certification it will be the first LEED™ certified building on the campus as well as the first LEED™ certified building on a Historically Black College or University campus.

Currently, the interior finishing of the project is going through the final “punch out” process starting on the eighth floor and working down. Furniture and interior signage installation has begun and the data and telephone installation, which will tie into the central Spelman system, is underway. Additionally, new land-shaping and landscaping will be completed early this fall, with drainage and irrigation systems now being installed.

The design and construction of the project has been carried out by the Bridging method of project delivery.(www.bridgingmethod.com)

The Owner's Design Consultant is Sizemore Group of Atlanta. The Contractor for the Bridging type design-build contract is New South Construction Company of Atlanta. The Contractor's AE is the architectural and engineering division of The Facility Group of Cobb County, Georgia.

Brookwood's program management team includes Bob Bunker as Project Director, Jeff Hendrick as Project Manager for interior design and furnishings, Tony Ghawi as fulltime on-site Construction Manager and Brookwood's CEO, George Heery serving as Principal-in-charge.

Poly Canyon Village Grand Opening

At the start of the Fall 2008 school year California Polytechnic State University students will find the first and largest phase of Cal Poly's exciting new Poly Canyon Village finished and furnished. This project includes the largest student housing complex undertaken by an American university to date in a single construction program.

Located in San Luis Obispo on the Central Coast of California between Los Angeles and San Francisco, the project sits at the base of picturesque Poly Canyon.

Much more than student housing, the first phase of the village consists of five 4 and 5 story apartment buildings, with 356 furnished units with 1543 student beds, nestled around a large piazza soon to be bustling with student activities. The total number of beds in the full project will be 2,676.

The village center will have food vendors and retail shops and will provide students outdoor recreation areas including a swimming pool as well as study rooms, a knowledge center, and a Post Office. On opposite sides of the village are two 950-car parking decks.

The $299 million campus expansion construction program also includes extensive roadway and utilities installations as well as new facilities for the College of Agriculture, being built on another site several miles away, replacing those facilities that were previously located on the Poly Canyon Village site.

Brookwood Group of Atlanta has provided full Program Management services for the project from the pre-design planning phase through construction. By employing the Bridging project delivery method the project experienced very cost effective original construction bids within the original budget. Further, to date the program has been completely free of claims between any of the parties. There have only been five contractor initiated change orders totaling less than $200,000. The full program is expected to be completed below the original budget.

Design began in August 2004 with McLarand Vasquez Emsiek & Partners, Inc., Architects as the Owner's Design Consultant (“Bridging Architect”). The Bridging type design-build construction contract was awarded to Clark Design/Build of California as a result of competitive proposals. Niles Bolton Associates is serving as the Contractor's Architect and Engineers.

Poly Canyon Village will be the first LEED™ certified project on the Cal Poly campus and will be the largest LEED™ certified project in the California State University system. LEED™ certification provides independent, third-party verification that a building project meets the highest green building and performance measures. Some of the specific items for which Poly Canyon Village will earn certification points include a new storm water system and a 30% water use reduction. The facilities have operable windows and natural ventilation and will recycle 75% of its construction waste. 10% of the total value of the materials in the project will be recycled with 20% of the materials having been manufactured regionally. The structures will use low emitting sealants, paint, carpet and composite wood products. 90% of the regularly occupied spaces will provide daylight and most of the 3,500 windows in the project will have views of the surrounding area. Care was taken in the project's planning to reduce of the number of buildings in the project as well as their footprints, while at the same time retaining the initial requirements of the program.

Brookwood Affiliate Company

The Board of Directors of Brookwood Group LLC have formed Wakefield Development Partners LLC, a new company that is separate from but affiliated with Brookwood. Wakefield has been created to provide turn-key contract development with a guaranteed maximum development cost to organizations particularly institutions of higher learning, which are financing or funding a construction program for which this method of development is desirous. Wakefield Development Partners’ approach is one of transparency and cost effectiveness to the benefit of the institution while producing high quality design and construction.  For more information, go to wakefielddevelopment.com.

The Blooming of Buckhead

Completion of Phase One of the Peachtree Boulevard transformation, carried out as result of the efforts of the Buckhead Community Improvement District, was celebrated in October with a ribbon cutting by Mayor Shirley Franklin and other community officials. The Peachtree Road transformation is the major enhancement of a section of Peachtree Road in Buckhead into a more livable, walkable, bikeable and drivable avenue.

In the past twenty years the population of the Atlanta metropolitan area has doubled and the resultant increase in vehicular traffic has created problem spots around the city, on roadways that were never intended or designed to accomodate this increase in volume. As the traffic around the city grew, so too grew the market for high-end, high rise, in-town, multi-family residences, especially along the Buckhead corridor of Peachtree Road. While the increased population density in Buckhead reduced traffic elsewhere, it meant a more constant flow of traffic along Peachtree during the day, and at peak hours the volume became overwhelming.

The idea of developing the street into a destination, not just a thoroughfare, was originally envisioned by Sam Friedman, Chairman of the Buckhead Coalition. The Buckhead Coalition is a group formed by former Mayor Sam Massell and is made up of property owners and others interested in improving the urban development of Buckhead and the well being of the area.

As a member of the Buckhead Coalition, architect George Heery, Brookwood’s CEO, contributed preliminary ideas in the form of a study and design concepts for transforming the Peachtree Road corridor into a handsome and more convenient boulevard.  This conceptual design, which was based on Sam Friedman's vision, covered the entire length of Peachtree within the greater Buckhead area, from the Peachtree Street overpass at I-85 at Brookwood Station running northward through the old original Buckhead area to the City Limits on the north.

Later a number of property owners who were associated with the Buckhead Coalition formed the Buckhead Community Improvement District with David Allman of Regent Partners as Chairman of the Board of BCID and with Scotty Green as BCID’s Executive Director.

Brookwood Group was subsequently retained by the Buckhead Community Improvement District to develop more details of a design for a portion of the Peachtree corridor from just south of the Peachtree-Piedmont intersection to a point north of Phipps Plaza.

Architect Laura Heery, then a member of the Brookwood management team, with her father, George and other members of the Brookwood firm, developed the original concept for the new Peachtree Boulevard. In the development of the concept Laura Heery and the Brookwood team worked closely with David Allman and Scotty Green, both of whom continue to provide guidance and leadership to the BCID and other developments of the Buckhead area.

In the mid 1990s, Brookwood Group, as both designer and development manager for the George Heery family, broke ground on the highest quality high-rise multi-family project built to date in Atlanta, The Wakefield.  The Wakefield is a luxury cooperative located on the Northwest corner of Peachtree Road and West Wesley Road, NW. At the time, Mr. Heery was told by many that the prices required for purchase of units in The Wakefield would not be achievable.  Yet over 60% of the building was pre-sold before ground was broken.  The building permit for The Wakefield was the first private sector high rise building permit issued within the City of Atlanta in over two years at the time it was issued.

It is readily evident today to those in the real estate development field that The Wakefield set in motion the raising of design and construction quality standards of mid to high rise multi-family housing projects. The Wakefield also sparked the acceptance in the Atlanta market of the idea that very high quality homes could be located in high rise structures with settings that allowed easier access to work, shopping, places of worship and community activities.

Shown below are "before and after" examples of two locations in Buckhead, both of which are from George Heery’s original study on redeveloping Peachtree Road from Brookwood Station all the way up to the northern City Limits. The most obvious difference in these early study images is the visual impact of moving power and communication cables to underground routes. Though not shown in these images, the median and the left turn sideslips were also a part of the original study’s proposal.

Bridging Method Website

Brookwood Group, of Atlanta has developed a free access informational website discussing the Bridging method of construction project delivery. The new site, BridgingMethod.com came online April 10, 2007 and will provide owners, other professional service providers, attorneys, and members of the construction industry full access to details of the Bridging method

Brookwood's Chairman, George Heery said that his firm had decided it was in everyone’s interest to know the proper method of carrying out projects by the Bridging method because many project managers were using the Bridging label without full access to the details of this most successful methodology. When used properly, the Bridging method provides great benefits to owners for all types and sizes of projects. “We have a vested interest in seeing the method correctly and successfully used whether it is for our projects or projects of others”, said Heery.

He went on to say, “We have developed the site to provide free access to technical and contractual information about the Bridging method. Many downloadable documents are available on the site at no charge."

According to Mr. Heery, an increasing number of owners are turning to Bridging or a variation thereof in order to reduce risks and costs in their construction programs “without any loss of control over design or construction quality.”

Morgantown Senior High Gets New HVAC By Air Delivery

Morgantown, West Virginia - Neighbors of Morgantown High School were recently surprised to see six large heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (“HVAC”) units lifted one by one and set into place by helicopter onto the roof of the school building. Typically a crane is used to set HVAC units, but occasionally a helicopter is used. The school is located in an urban setting with little working area around the buildings. Electrical wires and poles lining the narrow streets also prohibit the use of a crane due to safety concerns of electricity arching from the wires to the crane. The use of a helicopter is a more expensive undertaking than that of a traditional crane, but the time savings are enormous. After a one half hour safety training class and a site survey, it only took eighteen minutes to set the six units into place.

Brookwood Group has provided a series of program management and advisory services to the Monongalia County Board of Education at Morgantown, West Virginia since early 2005.

“Brookwood Group services have been extremely valuable overseeing and managing our building program. Project Manager, Randy Graft (of Brookwood), is a valuable asset monitoring the construction companies for the owner as they proceed throughout the building phases.”

Superintendent Frank Devono

Morgantown Senior High additions include a new media center, a distance learning lab, a lobby and administration offices. The existing auditorium, gymnasium and existing four story classroom wing will benefit from the installation of the new HVAC systems.

Also nearing completion are the renovations/additions to Clay-Battelle Middle/High School where contractors are busy finalizing the punch-list work. Their final payment should be released by the end of the April.

Brookwood is also providing program management services for the new 217,330 square foot University High School complex. It is one of the three remaining projects in a six-project school building program. The attractive interior and exterior masonry work is now 95% complete and is comprised of brick with limestone block accents. Completion of the $32 million facility, which will house approximately 1,500 students, is scheduled for Fall-2008.

Additionally, the University High School has a new stadium now under construction. This part of the project includes a new turf field with 4,000 seat capacity bleachers, a press box & public restrooms. The new stadium will be ready for the first football games of the season August 2008.