Skanska provided preconstruction and construction management at-risk services for this $164-million campus for UNC Hospitals on a greenfield site in Hillsborough, N.C. After first preparing the 40-acre site and constructing a three-story, 60,000-sq-ft physician’s office building, 14,000-sq-ft central energy plant and surface parking lot, contractors went about building the 241,574-sq-ft patient tower and diagnostic and treatment building. The buildings include 50 acute care beds, an 18-bed intensive care unit, six operating rooms, two procedure rooms and an emergency department. Support space contains radiology, laboratories, a pharmacy and helicopter pads.

The project was procured under a phased guaranteed maximum price (GMP) approach with the goal of accelerating construction. Due to each of the project’s four phases being bid separately, and with differing contractors for similar scopes of work—including four electrical, mechanical and plumbing subcontractors and three fire protection subcontractors—contractors and designers were challenged to deliver seamless scopes of work from one phase to another.

Another challenge came from UNC Hospitals’ goal of achieving a 20% participation by minority contractors. The contractors achieved a 20.5% minority rate, due partly to separating bid packages into smaller components.