Middletown, CT – How do you design and build a facility to meet the demands of our modern military? You take a page from their playbook: work hard, work together and keep your eyes focused on the mission. For the project’s design-build team – KBE Ventures, S E A Consultants, DiBlasi Associates, Architectural Engineers, Art Engineering, and the many local, union and non-union trade contractors – teamwork is precisely the prescription they are using to build the Armed Forces Reserve Center in Middletown.
The fast-tracked project calls for a 164,000sf training facility with administrative, educational, assembly, library, learning center, vault, weapons simulator, and physical fitness areas for four Army Reserve units and six Connecticut Army National Guard units.
The center will also include a 36,000sf vehicle maintenance shop, and a 4,000sf unheated storage facility. Set on a 42-acre park, the facility will also include parking areas, walkways, and access roads. Approximately 100 personnel are expected to use the campus. The facility is able to serve more than 850 Army Reservists and National Guardsmen, if needed.
KBE Ventures, a Joint Venture of KBE Building Corporation and DeRita Construction Company, is the design-builder and prime contractor for the center. Headquartered in Farmington, KBE Building Corporation is drawing on its numerous design-build successes over the last decade to manage this 19-month design and construction project.
Field construction began in April 2010 with extensive excavation of the hilly site, including some cuts as deep as 40 feet. The expertise of joint venture partner DeRita Construction, a Middletown-based site contractor, has been instrumental in managing this time-critical portion of the work.
Led by S E A Consultants, the design team has translated the myriad needs of the CT Army Reserve and National Guard into this striking new facility set on a steeply sloping site adjacent to Interstate-9l. Under the management of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers- Louisville District, the design incorporates the following unique features:
• Meets U.S. Green Building Council LEED Silver standards to reduce energy use by 30% and water consumption by 50% – with the potential to achieve LEED Gold.
• Renewable energy design includes photovoltaic panels and solar hot-water panels to reduce the facility’s carbon footprint
• Water conserving, low-impact design (LID) features including grass swales and disconnected paved areas to increase water infiltration
• The Training Center building will include a green roof to reduce heat island effect – the first in the nation-wide reserve program.
• Low-impact, state-of-the-art stormwater management system that exceeds federal requirements for water quality and quantity control
• Adherence to DoD’s stringent security criteria
• All design documents have been prepared with 3D Building Information Modeling (BIM) software, including clash detection to enhance coordination and accuracy
• Utilization of USACE’s “Dr Checks” quality assurance system throughout the fast-track design process and ProjNet design and construction information software.
The design/build team faced several challenges during the design phase, not the least of which was the fast-track schedule. For example, DiBlasi Associates, Structural Engineers, began structural design work in December 2009 and completed the documents in time for the bid issuance in early 2010. In addition to the extremely ambitious schedule, the structural design includes a number of special features that respond to Anti-Terrorism / Force-Protection measures and Progressive Collapse resistance.
Construction is forging ahead at a rapid pace, with completion planned for the second quarter of 2011.
The Design-Build Team for the Armed Forces Reserve Center:
KBE Ventures, A Joint Venture of KBE Building Corporation and DeRita Construction Corporation – Design/Builder, Prime Contractor, and Site Contractor:
S E A Consultants: Design Team Leader, Architect, Interior Designer, and Civil Engineer
DiBlasi Associates Structural Engineer
Architectural Engineers Inc. Mechanical Engineer
Art Engineering: Electrical Engineer
Brierly Associates: Geotechnical Engineer
The on-site construction team, led by KBE Ventures, currently includes more than two dozen local, union, and non-union trade contractors. Additional trade contractors will join the team as work progresses.