Baptist Medical Center Tower Rises Above Tricky Site
The team building the $108-million, 12-story J. Wayne and Delores Barr Weaver Tower at Baptist Medical Center in Jacksonville, Fla., had to overcome tricky underground issues, a cramped site and late design changes to get this health care facility up and running. Built in five phases over 32 months, the 338,000-sq-ft tower includes 156 patient rooms, surgery suites and a neuroscience institute for adults.
A key challenge lay in a site that was hemmed in by buildings on three sides. Avoiding an underground tunnel housing water and power lines that ran the length of the tight site was another. Instead of rerouting this existing infrastructure, contractors reinforced the tunnel with soil nails before installing the project's 88 caissons—which measured between 2 ft and 8 ft in diameter—around the underground structure.
A formed concrete structure comprises the tower's first two stories before transitioning to a steel structure for the remaining floors. Because the two systems could not be aligned, the team accommodated the shift by setting transfer beams at 45-degree angles. A $4-million scope change midway through construction added a new lobby, building entry points and concourses as well as high-end finishes—but no schedule extension. Even so, contractors completed construction on schedule, under budget and with zero lost-time accidents.
Award of Merit, Health Care:
J. Wayne and Delores Barr Weaver Tower at Baptist Medical Center, Jacksonville, Fla.
Key Players
Contractor Batson-Cook Co., Jacksonville
Owner Baptist Health, Jacksonville
Lead Designer Stanley Beaman & Sears, Atlanta
Structural Engineer Structural Engineers Group, Jacksonville
Civil Engineer King Engineering Associates, Jacksonville
MEP Engineer TLC Engineers, Jacksonville
