U.S. Army Legal Services Agency BRAC 132 project wins best lean construction award

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 12, 2011 – Suffolk Construction recently received the first-ever Best Lean Construction Award from the Associated General Contractors (AGC) in Washington, DC. Suffolk’s U.S. Army Legal Services Agency (USALSA) BRAC 132 project in Fort Belvoir, Virginia won the award based upon the project’s use of Lean Construction principles and how the use of Lean Construction enhanced the project. Specific examples included Productivity/Cost Savings, Waste-reduction, Safety, Quality, Workmanship and ultimately completing design and construction within 10 months of award.
The BRAC 132 facility is the new home for the USALSA, which is relocating from Arlington, Virginia. BRAC 132 is a multi-story, 97,300 square-foot Command Headquarters Building with a separate elevated parking garage. The project was delivered via design-build, with design partners, Perkins+Will, BCRA, Southland Industries, and M.C. Dean. The USALSA’s mission is to represent the Army, its agencies, and its officials in federal, state, and foreign courts. The new headquarters will support USALSA’s Litigation, Government Appellate, Defense Appellate, Contract and Fiscal Law, Environmental Law, and Regulatory Law and Intellectual Property divisions.
The Best Lean Construction Award was presented to Suffolk at the 11th Annual Washington Contractor Awards ceremony held at Arena Stage in Washington, DC on Monday, October 10, 2011. Each year, the Washington Contractor Awards honors distinct projects from the construction industry in the Washington, DC area. Entries are judged by a panel of owners and construction professionals working for companies which are not general contractor or subcontractor members of the AGC.

Commonwealth II is the first office building in Northern Virginia to achieve this top level of LEED certification, the fifth in the state of Virginia

FALLS CHURCH, VA, February 15, 2011 - Suffolk Construction Company’s recently completed Commonwealth II project has received LEED Platinum certification. Commonwealth II is a five-story, 162,000 square-foot office building and neighboring 262-space parking garage at Commonwealth Centre at Westfield’s, located in Chantilly, Virginia. The $24 million building was designed by Hickok Cole Architects for BPG Development Company, L.P.

The project team exceeded the original goal of LEED Silver to earn 45 points, and was subsequently awarded the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) CS 2.0 Platinum level certification. Upon earning Platinum certification, the highest recognition possible for energy and environmental design excellence, Commonwealth II is now recognized as the first office building in Northern Virginia to achieve this level of LEED certification, the fifth in the entire state of Virginia.

Based on the willingness of the client and the dedication of the project team, the following strategies helped to achieve LEED Platinum level certification:

“At Suffolk, we understand that sustainable building practices can have a positive effect on our natural environment, regional economy, and the health and productivity of building occupants,” stated Michael DiNapoli, Vice President and General Manager of Suffolk’s Mid-Atlantic Office in Falls Church, Virginia. “I am proud of the entire team’s efforts to exceed the project’s expectations for a sustainable LEED Platinum facility.”

Suffolk Construction employs over 200 LEED Accredited Professionals (APs) and was recently ranked #30 in the nation’s Top Green Contractors listing in ENR magazine. Over the past few years, Suffolk has delivered over 50 LEED projects including 5 LEED Platinum and 16 LEED Gold projects.

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For the past 24 years, the Leukemia Ball has reigned as Greater Washington, DC’s single largest, non-political black tie event and has raised more than $40 million since it began in 1988. Tony Giachinta and Megan Murphy from our Mid-Atlantic office serve on the Leukemia Ball Executive Committee benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. In addition to their continued service and Suffolk’s commitment to the cause, Suffolk also participated in a national effort internally to sell raffle tickets to raise additional funds for the Society. In just two days, the Suffolk team was able to raise close to $100,000!