Helping Hands Bybee Lake Hope Center opened its first phase as a shelter serving up to 150 men, women, and families affected by homelessness and COVID-19 in fall of 2020. The center offers a safe environment to support reentry to the community.
Repurposing an Abandoned Campus for a Vibrant Community Asset
Planning for the facility include programs designed to address issues related to mental health, addiction, and abuse-related trauma. Included in that effort is providing volunteer opportunities, life skills training like credit maintenance, construction and cooking classes, a program to give back by building tiny houses, self-sustaining fruit and vegetable gardens, and even employment opportunities with neighboring businesses like Columbia Sportswear. A second phase of the project offers nearly 200 more people a place to live, including three meals per day via a fully staffed commercial kitchen, where they can receive the comprehensive support to work through the issues of homelessness using programs to provide life skills for successful re-entry back into our communities. Otak owner’s representative and architecture teams serves partnered with Helping Hands Re-Entry Outreach program for over two years to repurpose this abandoned campus in North Portland as a vibrant community asset.
As COVID-19 swept across the globe in 2020, nearly every sector of the US economy was impacted, including the construction industry, which faced supply chain issues, labor shortages, and rising material costs. Now, in the latter half of 2021, as the world is fluctuating between a receding pandemic and variant surges, there is a lingering sense of uncertainty. While the construction industry as a whole is in a strong position (nearly back to pre-pandemic levels), rising costs are a reality project owners and contractors are facing.
At Otak, one of our roles as engineers, architects, planners, and project managers is to help our clients navigate and mitigate the unpredictability of cost variations. This requires accurately projecting the future cost and availability of specific materials and using a collaborative approach and design process that considers all the variables and factors impacting a project’s Total Installed Cost, many of which need to be identified before entering the design phase.
Pre-Design Risk Management
Kevin Dooley, Otak Senior Project Engineer, stresses the importance of gathering accurate data for a project prior to beginning the design. He specifically cites the need for accurate survey and geotechnical data as being critical, stating, “we don’t want to do a design based on an aerial photograph, only to later discover the soil at the project site is not optimal, and the top two feet need to be removed. That’s a significant cost to have to absorb. When we uncover unforeseen site conditions in the early conceptual design stage, we can plan accordingly and eliminate costly surprises.”
Much of the preliminary work that aids in risk management also yields better project outcomes. Kevin explains that Otak’s teams “put in more time in the beginning because we’re doing a lot of research and groundwork that is foundational to good design.” This research includes the aforementioned site analysis, as well as reviewing historical local data relative to materials and construction costs, inflation trends, and current market conditions. “There is a large body of statistical and historical data we can tap into, as well as Otak’s own extensive database of project information,” Matt Marshall, Otak Regional Business Development Manager, says. He adds that “we can apply that data and weigh the options with our clients before deciding which direction to go.”
Despite rising costs in general, Scott Belonger, Otak Senior Project Engineer, points out the need to “verify actual costs and not assume that everything is going up. The commonly held perception may be that prices are up by fifty percent for a specific material, but in reality, we may find the price hasn’t really changed.” Knowing upfront the reality of costs, and communicating those costs to clients, allows teams to effectively proceed with designs and for clients to predictably budget for capital projects. It may take more time upfront, but ultimately, this due diligence saves time and costs in the end.
Integrated Design Approach
Otak’s integrated multidisciplinary approach allows for a full range of expertise and alternate perspectives in project design and helps ensure multiple factors and contingencies have been considered. Collaborating with a team of colleagues, sub-consultants, and partners aids in this process. As Kevin Timmins, Otak Vice President and Water Resource Engineer, says, “it makes us more aware of all the different parts of a given project. It deepens our understanding, not just with the work that each of us does, but also makes it easier to anticipate potential problems and costs.”
Strong relationships with contractors and sub-consultant partners also help project managers paint an accurate picture of total projected costs. “We’ve worked with some sub-consultants enough times now that we know what to expect their services to cost under different situations,” Kevin says. “Having that understanding, we can help our clients build a more reliable project budget.”
Budget Management
Helping clients navigate and manage project costs goes beyond accurately predicting expenditures—it also identifies how a project can be completed within their budget. As Scott explains, “there are a couple of ways we can do this. We can scale back the project or identify ways we can phase in work to reduce the immediate scope, but efficiently add to it in the future.” This requires working collaboratively with clients to ensure they are fully aware of their options and that priority objectives are met for any given project.
Another approach is working with clients to find additional funding sources, which sometimes involves looking at other slated projects in a given area and planning projects in conjunction.
At the end of the day, effectively managing costs, budgets, and removing unpredictability boil down to accurate data, collaboration, and open communication. As Scott and Kevin Timmins both state, “it comes down to us working with the owner to find the best solutions based on a complete cost picture and maintaining regular communication throughout the design process.”
St. Helens, Oregon, is a growing community of over 13,000 people located 30 miles north of Portland. After years as an industrial hub, two wood product industries closed, leaving behind acres of brownfields abutting the Columbia River. The City of St. Helens (City) and its residents recognized the opportunity to reimagine the waterfront as a multi-use community asset and an RFQ was issued in late 2020 to begin the transformation with two projects: the South 1st and Strand Streets Road and Utility Enhancements and the St. Helens Riverwalk projects, both of which Otak will be working on.
The Otak team is leading the South 1st and Strand Street project and is a sub-consultant to Mayer/Reed for the Riverwalk project. As developers eye the riverfront location and offer visions for its future, the City and the Mayer/Reed-Otak team intend to address the transportation and infrastructure gap by connecting
Improved infrastructure and roadway connectivity will help guide future development of St. Helen’s riverfront.
the Columbia River Highway (OR 30) to the Riverfront District, as well as better connect pedestrians and bicyclists to existing roadways, trails, and the waterfront. The work will provide numerous road and utility enhancements and multimodal connections. Public water extensions and looping, sanitary sewer and storm drainage, and the relocation of the existing sanitary sewer lift station are all critical components that will help attract developers as the area begins to transition from industrial to mixed-use.
Running parallel with this project is the design and engineering of the St. Helens Riverwalk Project, which will include the design and construction of a boardwalk, overlook, and multi-use paths to maximize pedestrian connections. Mayer/Reed is leading this project overall, but Otak is managing the design for the replacement of an existing stage area with an amphitheater that can host community concerts and events and serve as a gathering area.
Representing Otak on both of these projects is Project Manager, Keith Buisman, and Project Coordinator, Mandy Flett. Otak has a single team working on both projects in tandem and the ability to coordinate a team in-house that has the wide array of skills and experience needed for the project was instrumental in being selected for this work. Every discipline in Otak is being tapped from planners to surveyors, architects to engineers. Revitalizing this riverfront aligns perfectly with Otak’s mission to create communities where people can live, work, and play.
“Planners came in first and provided an idea of what could be done with the parcels and how to lay them out for future development,” Mandy says.
The utility and roadway design and the design for gateways and pedestrian facilities are underway and expected to be completed this coming fall. Construction management will then follow and is tentatively scheduled to wrap up in 2023.
“Our work is to create a sense of ‘there’ in a town that has so much potential. We want to make it a destination for those who live there and also for visitors. When you enter the City, the river draws you in and we want to take advantage of that,” Mandy comments.
The new, public building is redefining the way the city engages with its residents. Otak CPM is serving as the owner’s representative for the new, two-story office building that includes below-grade secured parking for police facilities and police and 9-1-1 operations.
The new City Hall will provide the community with a seismically safe, modern, energy efficient, and better functioning essential building that is designed to LEED Gold standards. Otak CPM worked with Mackenzie as the architect for this project and utilized the CM/GC construction delivery method.
When a historic fire season raged through Oregon in the fall of 2020, no one could have imagined the forest fires would raze entire communities to the ground. Particularly hard hit were the small towns and rural communities like those in the Santiam Pass and along the McKenzie River east of Eugene. Rebuilding will take considerable effort and time.
Otak has a long history of working with rural school districts managing bond programs and capital improvement projects and has developed relationships with school principals and super- intendants (often one and the same in smaller districts). So, when the McKenzie School District (MSD), which serves 220 K-12 students, was caught in the fires, it struck home for Stephen Wasserberger, Senior Project Manager at DAY CPM, an Otak Division.
“Just driving through there is mind-boggling, absolutely mind-boggling,” Stephen stated when describing a recent visit to the area. “And then as you start to get to the areas where the residences are burned and all the buildings are gone, it’s just heartbreaking.”
Destruction Outside the Scope of School Bond
The MSD was already seeking approval of a 15 million dollar bond when the forest fires came through, leveling many homes, businesses, and community centers. The McKenzie High School lost the grandstand to the football field, a storage building, and a concession stand—structures outside the scope of the bond, which means any replacement funds are going to come from insurance money, FEMA, and state emergency grant money. With an understanding of replacement values and insurance, Stephen knew it was going to be a struggle to replace the structures, let alone fully fund new structures with updated designs and materials to match current building codes and standards.
The site of the grandstand before fire engulfed it.
“This is when I knew we could help. We could help the district get things off the ground and if we did this work pro-bono, we could save the district considerable costs, and really make a difference,” Stephen stated. “This is a community that’s been completely traumatized. They lost about four hundred homes. Teachers lost their homes. Obviously, students and families lost their homes. So stepping in to help was about doing the right thing, supporting a community, and supporting people who are in a really bad spot.” This goes to the heart of what Otak is about and the work the firm does transforming communities, so it was no surprise that Stephen was able to garner support for a pro bono project from his team and the rest of Otak.
Reconstruction: Otak and Contractors Stepping up to Help
For the past two months, Stephen has been acting as Owner’s Rep for MSD on the reconstruction project, working with district leaders guiding them through the whole design and construction document process, as well as cost projections and funding, and securing contractor bids through an RFP process. Stephen has also taken the time to dive into various aspects of proposed designs, working with Soderstrom Architects and contractors to keep costs down while delivering new structures that will best serve the district and the community. Many of the contractors involved in the project had personal ties to the community and they were eager to be involved. Soderstrom, who has also provided pro bono work on the architectural plans for the grandstands, had already been working with MSD to provide facilities assessments for the bond.
The next step is garnering all of the necessary permits to begin construction. Although Lane County has waived permit fees, the process still takes time. Completion of the new grandstand, storage shed, and concessions stand—all of which will be constructed of non-combustible materials—is projected for the fall of 2022. For a small community like McKenzie, that day cannot come soon enough. “They want their grandstands back,” Stephen expressed. “Sports is a galvanizer and Friday night football is part of the community. It brings people together and in a time where, you know, things aren’t so great, it’s a positive thing. Giving the kids and the families a chance to get out, to just do something fun—every community deserves that.”
We will chronicle this journey as work progresses along with feedback from the community. Stay tuned for the next installment.
Sometimes a great hire, one who stands to be a key in the remaking of an organization, comes from the least likely of places. This was the case for Jon Nyone, Otak’s International Market Sector Leader who was watching his younger sister’s soccer game when he happened to meet Joshua Dodson, Senior Project Manager at DAY CPM. That meeting started an internship that rolled into seven-plus years of work beginning with DAY CPM and then eventually OTAK, and on to where Jon is today, ready to advance into the technology revolution of sorts for Otak’s international work.
Jon credits his rise in career to Otak’s willingness and encouragement for him to take the lead on some large, high-profile projects. As an intern, he was involved with the Collaborative Life Sciences Building on Portland’s waterfront where he worked with owners from OHSU, OSU, and Portland State to manage, primarily, the vast portfolio of medical equipment. Four years after the start of the Portland building, work was complete and Jon was no longer just an intern. He said learning how to navigate the sometimes tricky politics of such a public building was critical and provided him lifelong skills to tap into.
He jokes that Otak management asked “what else can we dump on Jon,” but he recognizes the diverse experience he’s had right from the start of his career. The list of projects he was able to work on in a short period of time directly contributed to being able to grow quickly.
While Jon was not looking for an international career, he had studied and presented on the framework of the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) construction method and that happened to be what Otak was looking to introduce in a proposal for a project in Korea. “I had studied and presented on it and had lived it on a few different projects I worked on so I had lots of hands-on education, but who would have known, five years later, I’d be traveling to Korea to present on it,” Jon said.
Jon took three week-long trips to Korea where he learned the challenges of working within a different culture on medical research and pharmaceutical development center. The purpose was to incorporate and help the team apply IPD principles into the processes of their projects. It was a huge learning experience, particularly as most of the team had no familiarity with IPD. My boss had a deep trust in me, but it was nerve-wracking, to say the least. What it takes to put one of these together is a huge effort. You can’t underestimate the difficulty of something like that,” he said.
With some new experience under his belt, Jon is now tackling the next new thing that he says has the potential to bring great growth for Otak on the international front. “We’re on the verge of some exciting developments in the technology sector,” he said. Jon and his team are working on the unification of the global strategy with Otak’s partner firms to enter into the mission-critical market on some large-scale, global projects. He demurred on offering any more information as the planning process is proceeding.
“Jon never shies away from a challenge and in fact seems innately drawn towards projects defined by their complexity. It makes him a keen match for leading our International practice and advancing projects with global impact. He’s a pacesetter that keeps the rest of us sharp with an ability to drive collaboration and engineer best practices for others to not only follow, but also build and continually develop on,” said Sarah Oaks, Operation Manager for DAY CPM.
Over his years at DAY CPM and now Otak, Jon says he’s developed a good history of how the company has operated, what works and what doesn’t. He feels he’s been able to help the organization bridge some legacy conditions and translate those into tangible strategic shifts to help position Otak for sustainability and future growth. But overall, he credits his success to the teams he works with. “I have a deep appreciation for the team dynamic and putting the whole before the individual, but not losing sight of the uniqueness we each bring to the table. It’s a blessing to work with so many people much smarter than me.” His knack for getting along with others and his flexible and adaptable approach fit the mold for future international project success.
Change is part of any company, but it’s the plans and actions taken in anticipation of a transition that differentiates those that thrive on the new from those that just can’t adapt. As DAY CPM joined forces with Otak and becomes a part of the Otak brand, Mike Day is a central component of ushering in a bright and successful future.
With a long history of experience in project management, from his days as a construction contractor to his roles as project manager and on to being the founder of DAY CPM, Mike brings a lot to the table. But it’s not just the skills he’s picked up along the way, it is also his philosophy of how team dynamics make or break a project, that has made him a critical part of Otak’s strategic plan.
Mike set his views on teamwork based on an experience from his work as a general contractor when he was part of a team for an OSU College of Forestry project. The architects, contractors, and the school worked closely together throughout the complex project and delivered on time and under budget with a high level of trust from the client. Mike recalls that the team came together at the project’s completion to celebrate and people were crying happy tears. It was that camaraderie—how they connected both personally and professionally—that he credits with the project’s success and ultimately realized he wanted to have as an outcome on every future project.
Mike is able to make that happen as he has transitioned from his position as president into the role of consultant to support the ongoing legacy of both DAY CPM and Otak. In this capacity, he has stepped up to lead the oversight of the Multnomah County Library bond project that was won by Otak in the first quarter of 2021. “I was attracted to this project because it filled a need for the underserved communities who will benefit from the education, learning centers, career development, and all the services that a library provides,” he said.
DAY CPM has worked as PM/CM on several bond programs over the last few years, including a variety of K-12 renovations and new construction. This experience has built their teams’ skill and confidence in undertaking bond projects that are such a critical piece to communities and put the company in a prime position to win the library project. It was decided that Mike would be best suited to take on the job of point person, to be the liaison to the county and the library, because the role fits well with his experience and background.
Multnomah County set forth program principles for its capital bond that frame the community’s desired outcomes including equity, accessibility, community resilience, and partnership, topped by a design that is flexible, innovative, and inspirational. These principles were found from a long-visioning process to ensure the community gets what it wants and needs.
To achieve these goals, Mike will stick to what he knows works best—empowering the team. He champions an open and safe work environment where people share ideas and know they are heard. To this end, Mike has introduced to the project an Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) process which is based on the idea of building high functioning teams through a foundation of trust, transparency, and teamwork. In IPD, teams are encouraged to debate ideas but commit to final decisions and then hold each other accountable to the plan of action. For Mike, the ultimate goal is to achieve results that will help clients realize their visions and dreams—ideally on time and under budget.
“Projects generally fail when there’s a communication breakdown. Having a truly integrated team has been a core driver for me. It is what we built into our culture and what we will continue to create,” he said.
The newly constructed City Hall and public building in Lake Oswego, OR is redefining the way the city engages with its residents. With transparency and a welcoming public interface acting as the guiding principles behind the building’s design, Lake Oswego is following a growing trend among municipalities across the US and abroad.1 A trend that embraces the concept of multi-purpose public buildings, and city halls in particular, as community hubs where the public can more easily engage with elected officials and have better access to municipal services.
At the same time, Lake Oswego’s new public building is an example of Northwest regional style, engineering, and technology meeting the urgent need for improved public and employee health safety, energy efficiency, communications, and streamlined operations.
Providing Cost-effective solutions.
Lake Oswego’s previous City Hall, public services, and the police/911 dispatch center were housed in an outdated building constructed in 1987 with synthetic stucco. The building was deteriorating due to water intrusion issues and the ongoing maintenance costs were rising. The public interface was less than ideal with labyrinthian design and little open community space. Technology and equipment upgrades for the 911 call center were also needed. Renovating the existing building could have solved some of the issues, but in the long run, would have missed the greater opportunity to reduce operating costs, better serve the public, and offer more opportunities for community engagement.
When DAY CPM, a division of Otak, was hired by the City of Lake Oswego as Owner’s Representative, the options being considered at the time were to renovate the existing building or construct two new buildings to house the police department in one, and City Hall in another. Otak’s team, under the leadership of David Lintz, Senior Project Manager, took a collaborative approach working closely with city staff and leadership, as well as Mackenzie Architects and general contractor Howard S Wright. The team also solicited public input. After considering multiple scenarios and the cost-benefits of each, and weighing these against the city’s broader vision of creating a true community center, the third option emerged.
Rather than demolish the existing City Hall and police department building, a new energy-efficient building, that represented a Northwest regional style with modern amenities, would be constructed on the site immediately adjacent to the existing building. In addition to being the most cost-effective solution, leaving the existing structure intact during the construction of the new building allowed City Hall to remain open and the various departments, includingfinance, courts, planning, building, engineering, the city attorney’s office, public affairs, IT, and the city manager’s office, as well as the police/911 operations, to continue uninterrupted.
The new City Hall will open in March after all new furniture has been delivered, allowing city employees to enjoy a smooth transition into a fully operational new space with minimal disruption. Once the existing building has been vacated, it will be demolished, making way for a public plaza and additional public parking, which will be completed later this year in August. The new civic plaza will further establish Lake Oswego’s City Hall as a true community hub.
Improving health safety and energy efficiencies.
Health safety was a top priority from the start and the arrival of the pandemic in 2020 only served to heighten the sense of urgency. The new building’s design includes advanced air filtration throughout providing better air quality for building occupants and visiting public. Energy efficiency has also been greatly improved through the building’s engineering design, technology, and materials used, as well as the installation of solar panels and systems that will reduce operating costs.
Stepping into the future.
The new building may be a bold step into the future, but it is also steeped in practical solutions. The city has effectively reimagined City Hall into a multi-purpose building with an inviting public interface that also includes public common areas and a home for the city’s Arts Council and Booktique. The open gallery design, a break from traditional government building design, is welcoming to the public who now have greater access to the various departments and the people who serve the community. There are public-facing conference rooms and a large community room that can easily be partitioned off to accommodate court proceedings, or council chambers. Gender-neutral bathrooms have replaced traditional bathrooms, remaining in step with current societal norms.
The building design also takes advantage of the different elevations of the site. City Hall and the various city offices are accessible from the street level on A Avenue side of the building, while the Police Department, which sits on the lower level, is accessible from 4th Street on the opposite side of the building.
In the end, Lake Oswego’s new City Hall provides a much improved public interface, increased government transparency, and opportunities for greater community engagement. It is a welcoming space for citizens, elected officials, and public servants to come together in new ways to better serve the interests of the community as a whole.
True leaders do not reach the pinnacle of success by stepping on the backs of others, but rather by recognizing the contributions of those that surround and support them. Projects, particularly in design and construction, are completed through the skills and talents of teams. Sarah Oaks, operations manager for DAY CPM, not only recognizes this herself but works tirelessly to make sure others see that success comes from the efforts of many.
While she may seem the perfect fit for her role as operations manager, Sarah did not arrive here directly. “I graduated at the peak of the recession with a degree in architecture, jobs were hard to find,” she said. Driven by her positive experience doing community service while in college, she started to look at AmeriCorps and discovered an opportunity through that organization with Portland Public Schools. She initially worked on sustainability research and bond planning efforts but was soon able to get a taste of project management work when Marysville K-8 suffered a fire and required a partial rebuild. While her architecture education was more focused on design, and the outward appearance of buildings, she found project management offered more opportunities to creatively influence the what and why behind them and advocate for the end-user. Being able to work on projects that were cornerstones of the community and impacted so many families also resonated deeply with Sarah and ignited a passion for stakeholder engagement and communications.
With that experience under her belt, Sarah joined DAY CPM as a project manager. For one of her first projects, Sarah was a leading member of the team that worked on the Tigard-Tualatin school bond that passed in 2016. In that role she worked with District leadership, coordinated project teams, developed standards for consistent project execution, and led the creation of the stakeholder engagement plan. She credits her success in this role in large part to strong alignment with the client’s needs up front and establishing trust with them through proactive communication, strong representation of their interests, and consistent delivery. Sarah was also challenged by her first leadership role managing a large project management team. “It was a steep learning curve navigating how to respond to the needs of each person and balance my own responsibilities at the same time. I appreciate the patience and grace my team extended to me–that experience was formative and taught me a lot,” she said.
Last spring, Sarah met with Henry Alaman, senior vice president, who joined the company around the same time she returned from maternity leave. “He made an effort to talk to everyone about key priorities they wanted to see him focus on and narrowed in on three that were most critical for staff. In that first conversation, we found a lot of common themes and potential focus areas but one near and dear to my heart was that we lacked a formal mentorship program,” she said.
As the company was rapidly growing it had become more challenging to see who was doing what, what was being accomplished, and who needed help. Over the past year, a concerted effort was made to build a mentorship program by identifying mentors, determining the structure, and convincing staff of the benefits to them personally and to the company. The mentorship program officially launched in November 2020. “It’s been incredible to give more visibility to what people are doing on their projects and find out what else they want to learn. We’re able to provide recognition for folks who were flying under the radar,” she said.
With her great strides both internally and externally for DAY CPM, Sarah was promoted to operations manager. She was honored by the promotion and recognizes that she is in a somewhat unique position. “Right now, there are not a lot of other women at my level in the construction industry. It’s very important that it’s not just me occupying this space and taking it for granted. I want to make sure I don’t stay up here alone.” With that in mind, Sarah has committed to helping implement the company’s equity and inclusion plan, and works hard to give visibility and opportunity to all employees, and ensuring title, salaries, and opportunities are distributed in a fair and equitable manner. She’s pleased with the willingness of DAY CPM to self-examine where they succeed and where there’s room for growth in creating a workplace that is truly inclusive.
Sarah’s work has not gone unnoticed. This past fall she was recognized by the Daily Journal of Commerce (DJC) as a 2020 Phenom under their Phenoms & Icons Award. While honored to receive the award, she’s quick to point out that she did not rise to where she is without a lot of support.
The Tigard-Tualatin School District passed a $291M bond in the fall of 2016 and turned to DAY CPM to oversee the bond program, putting together the teams that would lead the extensive effort needed to rebuild, renovate and construct schools for the 12,700 students in the district.
Joshua Dodson was tapped for Bond Program Oversight and is assisted by a bond Program Manager Debbie Pearson and a team of DAY CPM project managers, as is needed due to the long-term schedule of the bond. Work began in 2016 and is scheduled to be fully complete by the fall of 2023.
The overall project includes rebuilding three of the district’s oldest schools—Templeton ES, Twality MS, and the oldest portions of Tigard HS. In addition, classrooms are being added to Tigard and Tualatin HS and Durham Education Center, particularly to add areas for STEM curriculums. A new elementary school, Art Rutkin ES is being constructed, overall safety and security of the schools is being enhanced, and scheduled facility repairs are being completed such as new roofs and HVAC upgrades. Finally, new technology, textbooks, and a digital curriculum are being purchased to ensure the schools meet current and future technological demands.
Joshua said a highlight of the work at Tigard High School, and an example of the flexible spaces that schools are embracing, is the creation of learning steps, both inside and outside, that mimic auditorium or theater seats and can hold about 500 students to sit or stand for events or for lunch, or just to do homework or socialize. “It’s a really large space. On one end of it, you can get from the ground floor up to the second story and students are looking out towards the wide-open space that holds the cafeteria. The space can be used for so many different things.” Joshua said.
DAY CPM worked with three major design firms, Bassetti Architects, Bora Architects, and IBI Group for the major builds and smaller design firms DECA Architecture and Oh Planning + Design, for more of the renovation work. Construction firms Triplett Wellman Construction, and P&C Construction have been responsible for most of the construction put in place. Small works construction firms Inline Commercial Construction, Fortis Construction, Benchmark Contracting, and Portland Road and Driveway Company round out the list of const
ruction partners.
With such a large group of partners, communication is essential which is where Joshua’s leadership comes in. He has more than 22 years of experience working on K12 bond programs, and particularly bond management. In his role overseeing the bond work, he makes sure the teams are functioning well and that the clients are happy with the work. “I make sure we are managing well to set the bond up for success. I was boots on the ground for many years on school projects so I’m able to assess and see quickly where adjustments need to be made and I can provide advice and support for the teams,” he said.
To date, $252M of work has been delivered on time and on budget with the new build of Rutkin Elementary School slated to be the final piece of the bond project.
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