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And then there were three: Skanska, Lend Lease and Gilbane to compete for Javits redevelopment
The companies were finalists in competitions for RFPs
State officials have selected the three construction teams that can compete for a chance to redevelop the Jacob K. Javits Center.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday announced that Gilbane Building Company, a design-build team led by Skanska, and another headed by Lend Lease and Turner Construction, were chosen to bid on the $1 billion-plus project. The project includes expanding the existing facility by 1.2 million square feet and building a roof terrace for outdoor events. The companies will submit their design and construction proposals by Oct. 31 and a winner will be selected by early 2017.
In April, a division of the Empire State Development Corporation — the New York Convention Center Development Corporation — issued a request for qualifications for the project, seeking developers capable of design-build, a contracting method that establishes a fixed price and timeline, and therefore shifts much of the project’s risk to the construction team. This is the first time that ESD gets to use design-build, since the state extended the authority to the agency in April.
Skanska’s team includes architecture firm HOK and engineering firm STV, a spokesperson told The Real Deal. HOK is also working with Skanska on another major design-build project, the redevelopment of LaGuardia Airport. The Real Deal profiled Skanska in June and its experience with design-build.
Gilbane has also worked extensively with the state, on projects including the Onondaga Lakeview Amphitheater, redevelopment of the New York State Fair in Syracuse and work on various SUNY buildings. The company has also recently been the target of protests over its use of union and non-union labor at Macklowe Property’s One Wall Street condo conversion. The governor has made clear that he is a major proponent of union labor, and the request for qualifications for the Javits Center required a project labor agreement.
Much of Lend Lease’s work in New York has been on private projects, but the company did work on the renovation of Delta’s Terminal 4 at John F. Kennedy Airport in 2013. Turner helped build the original Madison Square Garden and later led the facility’s renovation. A spokesman for Lend Lease declined to comment.
Another construction giant, Tishman Construction, was barred from bidding on the project since it’s already serving as project manager on the site and has worked on the site for the better part of a decade.