Dive Brief:
- Gilbane Building Co. has completed a $128 million project in New York City $10 million under budget and two years ahead of schedule, according to a Monday announcement from the city.
- Gilbane completed the Brownsville Multi-Service Center, a four-story, 60,000-square-foot building that will serve various community organizations in Brooklyn, per the announcement. The contractor worked with architecture firm Marvel as part of a design-build partnership.
- In addition, the structure was designed to meet New York City’s climate resilience standards, per the announcement. The all-electric building includes solar panels across three floors and is expected to meet or exceed LEED Gold certification.
Dive Insight:
Altogether, the structure features 10 office spaces, three combinable conference rooms, a commercial kitchen, a 1,600-square-foot outdoor community garden, green roofs and public artwork, per the announcement.
The design-build delivery method meant Providence, Rhode Island-based Gilbane collaborated with New York City-based Marvel and other team members earlier to match key decisions with the building schedule, Raquel Diaz, vice president and New York City business leader for Gilbane, told Construction Dive via email.
“The Brownsville Multi-Service Center shows the value design-build can bring to complex public projects,” Diaz said.
Jade Bailey, the assistant commissioner for alternative delivery at the city’s Department of Design & Construction, told Construction Dive that because the project featured a two-step procurement as part of that design-build process, the team was able get Gilbane up to speed and front load work that typically comes after an award.
In this case, Gilbane overlayed the demolition of the previous structure while the team worked on the new building’s design. That saved the team time and money, Bailey said.
“It’s another feather in the cap for design-build,” Bailey said.
The all-electric build also represents a culmination of the city’s clean construction efforts. Those include a mass timber studio and Executive Order 23, a 2022 order signed by former Mayor Eric Adams that orders the city’s construction agencies to use clean and sustainable construction practices.
