Nature, Nurture Factor in Best Project 2018 Wins

‘The contractor clearly exceeded expectations in the craftsmanship of the new floor and finishes that blend well with the historic and relocated elements,’ one judge said about the Best Projects award in the interior/tenant improvement category— the 1501 Broadway-Lobby Repositioning.

*PHOTO COURTESY OF SHAWMUT DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION*

ENR New York’s Best Projects competition honored a wide range of work across the New York and New Jersey region. Some projects were focused on the natural environment, like the Irish Hunger Memorial renovation and the Hackley School’s Walter C. Johnson Center for Health & Wellness. Others, such as the Portageville Bridge replacement and the Niagara Falls State Park rehabilitation, brought history into the present. And as always, the active health care and higher education sectors were well represented.

Judges selected 27 projects for awards, with 15 named Best Projects and 12 selected for awards of merit. Among the entries, one—the Goethals Bridge Replacement—stood out above the rest, with judges selecting it as a Best Projects winner in the highways/bridges category, as the winner of the Excellence in Safety award and as Project of the Year, the region’s top honor.

A few categories had so many impressive entries that judges awarded multiple honors. Two tied as Best Projects in the residential/hospitality sector: Davis Barracks at the U.S. Military Academy and the 520 W. 28 St. building in Manhattan. And in the higher education/research category, awards of merit went to The Bloomberg Center; Rutgers University-Camden Nursing and Science Building; and the University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

The panel of industry jurists considered safety, innovation, quality of design and construction challenges in making their decisions. The judges, in alphabetical order, were:

Stuart Binstock, president and CEO of CFMA (Construction Financial Management Association)
Judy Cooper, founder of Judy D. Cooper Communications
Fletcher Griffis, New York University professor of construction engineering and management and director of NYS Resiliency Institute for Storms and Emergencies
John Kolaya, president of Kolaya Associates LLC and executive adviser to Yonkers Contracting Co.
Ibrahim Odeh, director of research at Columbia University and founding director of Global Leaders in Construction Management
Howard Sackel, senior vice president and regional manager of PACO Technologies

Jurists for the Excellence in Safety category were: