However, Larry Kramer, Harkins’ vice president of preconstruction, sees few opportunities in the near-term within the District and says he expects many of Harkins’ larger pursuits to be federal projects in the surrounding region. In May, the company was awarded a $69-million design-build contract for a 129-unit student headquarters at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va.

Grunley Construction was awarded a $35-million contract to complete renovations to the Mary E. Switzer Building in D.C. The job is one of several renovations funded through the ARRA.

This year, Clark Construction has seen all of its D.C.-area wins in the public sector, including the $51-million, 140,700-sq-ft Rockville Science Center for Montgomery College.

Kramer says that when the credit market improves, Harkins expects be in the mix in the D.C. market again.

“There’s a lot of stuff in the pipeline that is just waiting for financing,” he says. “We’re hoping that between mid-2010 and 2011, we could see a swell of [private] development that will take some people by surprise.”

WDG Architecture of Washington is also keeping its short-term focus on public jobs with hopes for a private market rebound on the horizon. The company has traditionally landed 90% of its work in the commercial and multifamily sectors.

However, it has seen some of its closest clients struggle recently, including D.C.-based Opus East, which filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in June. WDG designed Opus East’s $180-million, 1015 Half Street, SE, project, which broke ground last year.

This year, the firm finds itself seeking design-build jobs for public clients, including upcoming federal stimulus package projects, says Eric Liebmann, managing principal and director of design at WDG. The firm is part of the design-build team led by Clark Construction of Bethesda, Md., selected in February to deliver the $80-million Oakland Hall Dormitory at the University of Maryland’s College Park campus outside D.C.

Meanwhile, Liebmann says WDG is also keeping a hand in the private market. “We’re seeing a lot of people push things through the entitlement process,” he says. “Some people have an optimistic view and are getting things ready to go, but they are trying to keep their investments minimal for now.”

Big Shift The area’s largest contractor, Clark Construction, isn’t immune from the changing market. The company broke ground on four of the five largest projects in the District last year, including the $600-million Constitution Square and the $101-million Arena Stage projects, which are being developed by private owners.

This year, the company has seen all of its local wins in the public sector, including the $51-million, 140,700-sq-ft Rockville Science Center for Montgomery College and the BRAC 133 project at Mark Center in Alexandria for the U.S. Department of Defense.

Clark and many of its competitors have also been eyeing some of the larger projects set to let through funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The U.S. General Services Administration has more than $1 billion in stimulus funding earmarked for local projects, including $450 million for the new U.S. Department of Homeland Security headquarters planned at the St. Elizabeth’s Hospital campus in D.C.

Several federal buildings in D.C. will also undergo modernization to make them more energy efficient, including $225.6 million for phases two and three of the Dept. of Commerce Herbert Hoover Building; $161.3 million for the GSA Headquarters; and $128.8 million for the Lafayette Building.