Retooling to Survive and Thrive
Austin Jones, who handles business development for Marcobay, adds that his firm has experience in school construction and in working in North Carolina. It is the first time Marcobay has joint ventured with another firm, but Jones hopes to pursue more work with Suffolk.
Suffolk also is building a team that can bid on design-build-finance projects. The team would lease the municipal buildings and schools back to the community.
Staying Busy Suffolk has begun cultivating a health-care portfolio. It performed several small projects for Jupiter Medical Center in Jupiter, Fla., which led to additional work.
“We are building our reputation,” Kirby says. “If we can get our foot in the door, we will work hard to make sure we win a client.”
Suffolk is working on the $40-million, 185,000-sq-ft Fifth and Alton retail center in Miami Beach for Berkowitz Development Group of Coconut Grove, Fla.
“I’m impressed with the quality of Suffolk’s personnel,” says Jeff Berkowitz, company founder.
Although K-12 school construction has slowed, due to funding and decreasing student counts, it remains a strong market for Suffolk. The company recently secured the $15-million James Stephens International Academy project for the School District of Lee County, on Florida’s west coast. Suffolk also is building the $23-million, 105,000-sq-ft, LEED-registered Plumosa Elementary School Modernization for the School District of Palm Beach County, scheduled for completion in 2010.
Suffolk continues work on the $325-million, 2.3 million-sq-ft Met 2 in Miami. The company broke ground in fall 2007. The 47-story, 750,000-sq-ft office tower and 43-story, 357-room Marriott Marquis Hotel sit on an 18-story, 833,000-sq-ft podium and parking deck with space for 1,500 cars. Crews are using Vela Systems punch-list field software on Met 2 to identify problem areas and automatically create work and punch lists for subcontractors.
Harnessing Technology Suffolk has increased its use of building information modeling (BIM) and is training additional personnel how to employ the software and build more efficiently.
“A lot of the hospital work, science and tech projects, and federal work look for it, and even in some cases require BIM,” Kirby says. “We’ve used it most for conflict resolution to date, but we are ramping it up in other areas. We’re flushing out issues prior to finalizing the contract amount, so once we put a shovel in the ground, there are fewer changes to deal with.”
Suffolk used BIM while building Torrey Pines, bringing the job in five months early and under budget.
Looking Ahead Suffolk continues to hire and supports staff with in-house training programs through its Red & Blue University. Novices participate in a two-year Career Start course in which Suffolk trains them in how it conducts business before sending them to a jobsite.
“It has made a big difference in how we are able to deliver our projects,” Kirby says. “We’ve got a good crew of young talent ready to help us fulfill the market when it comes back.”
Useful Source:
Suffolk Construction Co. http://www.suffolkconstruction.com
Met 2 http://www.metropolitanmiami.com/home.html
Fifth and Alton http://www.berkowitzdevelopment.com/southbeach.htm
