On August 1, ENR Southeast unveiled the winners of its 2024 Regional Best Projects competition, a selection of projects that exemplify the best in project management, design, craftsmanship and construction across Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Puerto Rico.
Now it’s time to announce the winners of ENR Southeast’s Excellence in Safety and Excellence in Sustainability contests, a set of four projects that highlight commitment, innovation and execution of sustainability and safety programs that stand out as the best in the Southeast.
Our judges for the Sustainability Contest were Cy Reichert, senior environmental project manager, VRX Inc. and Jacqui Hart, sustainability director, Goodwyn Mills Cawood.
Safety contest judges were David Dickson, director of health, safety and environment, Dewberry and Steve Sawyer, safety operations director, Brasfield & Gorrie.
Judges abstained from scoring projects in which they had any conflicts of interest.
All but two of these projects also won awards in the main contest, so be sure to check out the full list of winners here, and be sure to catch the October edition of ENR Southeast, where we’ll announce which project is Project of the Year, and where we’ll profile all the winners in greater detail.
Along with our Best Projects winners, ENR Southeast will honor these winners in Orlando Oct. 29 at our annual Regional Best Projects event, along with firms of the year and the ENR Southeast Legacy Award winner, where we’ll also honor ENR Southeast’s Owner of the Year, Design Firm of the Year, Contractor of the Year, Specialty Contractor of the Year, and Legacy Award winner. To register or learn more about the event, click here.
Congratulations to our winners and finalists!
Best Project, Excellence in Sustainability
Central Energy Plant – Sitework and Infrastructure for Wake Tech East Campus, located in Wendell, N.C.
Submitted by Skanska USA Building Inc.
Skanska’s work on this project kicked off Wake Tech’s new technology and workforce-focused campus, powered by the new Central Energy Plant that features geothermal and solar capacity. The first building on the new campus, the plant was constructed with sustainable materials and features nearly 300 500-ft-deep geothermal wells and 56 miles of piping. It uses one-third less energy and emits half as much carbon as traditional boiler/chiller set ups, while 306 high-efficiency solar panels produce enough electricity to power 15 homes.
Award of Merit, Excellence in Sustainability
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens – Living Energy Access Facility (LEAF), located in Sarasota, Fla.
Submitted by Willis A. Smith Construction Inc.
Designed around an 80-ft tree, the Living Energy Access Facility (LEAF) at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota was constructed to be among the most sustainable of its type on the planet. It’s pursuing a Living Building Challenge recognition, a certification that surpasses requirements for LEED certifications, and was designed to be hurricane resistant, constructed with post-tensioned concrete on shallow foundations and stone columns. It’s powered by a 50,000-sq-ft solar array capable of powering the building and offsetting 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually, while stormwater from the entire campus is filtered into a 140,000-gallon vault before being circulated through bioswales and deposited in a nearby bayou.
Excellence in Safety and Project of the Year Finalist
Midtown Union, located in Atlanta
Submitted by Brasfield & Gorrie
The project team was able to successfully navigate a complex site in urban Atlanta to safely deliver this mixed-use high rise with glass curtain walls. Juggling the constant operation of four tower cranes working simultaneously with mobile crawlers within a single city block meant meticulous coordination and attention to detail, as well as innovation. The project was completed with a 0.51 OSHA Recordable Incident Rate and zero lost time accidents over more than 386,000 worker-hours. The project team used cutting-edge technology and innovative sustainability features in the construction of the project, which includes an office tower, residential building and hotel.
Award of Merit, Excellence in Safety
Brightline Florida Higher-Speed Rail, located in Orlando
Submitted by Herzog Contracting
The 129-mile track connecting West Palm Beach in South Florida to Cocoa and then to Orlando International Airport was completed in just 46 months, with all work conducted inside a century-old right-of-way. This second mainline track will carry trains at speeds up to 125 miles per hour, and its construction required crews to move 400,000 cu yds of earth, laying more than 400,000 ties and placing 456,000 ft of continuous welded rail. Through more than 4.7 million worker hours, the project recorded an OSHA Recordable Incident Rate of 1.12 and a lost time accident rate of 0.21.
Project of the Year Finalists:
United Therapeutics cGMP Warehouse, located in Durham, N.C.
Submitted by DPR Construction
Much more than a simple warehouse, this state-of-the-art production facility for United Therapeutics is the company’s second net-zero building on its campus in Durham's Research Triangle Park. With 500-ft-deep geothermal wells that harness core earth temperatures to regulate building systems, as well as rooftop solar and on-site, battery-backed microgrid, the project achieved LEED Gold, LEED Zero Carbon and Energy Star Certifications.
Brightline Florida – East West Connector, located in Orlando, Fla.
Submitted by HNTB Corp.
Brightline’s ambitious East-West connector project navigated the congested Orlando International Airport for a seamless alignment of new rail tracks with 10 curves, 20 grade separations and 15 vertical grade changes in just three miles. A groundbreaking design rerouted the rail underneath Interstate 95, saving $25 million and six months on the project, which became the first in North America to construct perpendicular box jack tunnel segments off the alignment, then jack them into place under a highway system carrying live traffic.
