ENR Southeast announces that it has named PCL as its "Contractor of the Year." An article profiling the firm and its accomplishments will be featured in the upcoming July issue of the magazine. 

PCL was designated as this year's "Contractor of the Year" after an internal selection process that included ENR editors from across the country. First, ENR Southeast reviewed the recent accomplishments of numerous Southeast contractors, including their respective revenue information submitted for this year's Top Contractors ranking - also to be featured in the July issue.

We then short-listed the nominees to a small group, assembled a portfolio of accomplishments for each, and ENR editors from across the country voted.

The selection of PCL was based on the company's recent notable projects, as well as the fact that the contractor actually reported increased Southeast revenue for the upcoming Top Contractors ranking -- a rarity among firms this year. In past years, a year-over-year increase in revenue might not have meant that much. But with the current downturn still continuing in the Southeast, a financial upturn is significant.

That boost in regional revenue is due in part to some rather interesting projects that the company has been able to land and complete recently. For starters, there was Universal Orlando's Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which opened in 2010 to breathless reviews and, of course, unparalleled throngs of "muggles" and wannabe wizards. While PCL's involvement in the project was largely kept under wraps during construction, it won the "Project of the Year" award from the Central Florida chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors.

It was also a significant addition to the constructor's lengthy theme-park portfolio. Shortly thereafter, PCL landed the design-build contract to build Legoland Florida for Merlin Entertainments Group of England -- another major coup, considering the depressed conditions in the region.

PCL's civil division is also involved in some interesting projects. The company is working as part of a joint venture with Archer Western Contractors, and PBS&J (now WS Atkins), on a $389.5-million design-build-finance contract for the Interstate 4/Crosstown Connector project. The JV team financed approximately $290 million of the project's cost, with the additional $100 million coming from stimulus funds.

Lastly, PCL's Orlando office recently won a tightly contested contract to serve as the construction manager of the city of Orlando's Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts project. The $383-million contract had been languishing due to a shortfall of funding. PCL was hired, in part, to keep project expenses under control, find further cost savings and otherwise provide strong oversight. The general contractor for the project is Balfour Beatty Construction, Orlando.

There's more to PCL's story, of course, and we'll have that for you in our July issue.

For now, what do you think of this selection? Perhaps you've worked with PCL before -- or even competed against them. What are your opinions of their work and people?

Finally, don't forget to follow us on Twitter @SEConstruction, and also @ENRNews.