Grunley, Shalom Baranes tapped for next phase of DHS consolidation

The General Services Administration has picked a team to build the next phase of the Department of Homeland Security's ambitious consolidation at St. Elizabeths, a $4.5 billion project in Southeast D.C. plagued by congressional funding issues but considered critical by some lawmakers for national security.

The GSA said Tuesday it has awarded a $139 million design-build contract to Grunley Construction Co. and Shalom Baranes Associates to renovate the historic Center Building at St. E's, the second major project there after the Coast Guard's headquarters was completed last year.

The renovation of the 270,000-square-foot Center Building, which will house the Office of the Secretary of Homeland Security, is slated for completion in 2017. Already-approved appropriations from the federal government's fiscal 2014 budget will fund the project.

Rockville-based Grunley, long known as a go-to general contractor for the federal government, was picked from a short list that included Clark Construction Group, Hensel Phelps Construction Co., and a joint venture between Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. and Walsh Construction Co. D.C.-based Shalom Baranes is one of the region's most well known architects.

The award comes a day after the GSA cancelled a presolicitation for construction management services on the project. The agency had separately sought bids for a design-build contract, one where the architect and contractor work closely as construction progresses, and opted to go that route instead of construction management.

In announcing the selection, GSA Administrator Dan Tangherlini said the project is both critical to helping DHS protect the nation and efficient since it will allow the agency to consolidate at St. E's from multiple leased spaces throughout the D.C. region.

"Placing DHS offices on this campus will not only ensure that the agency has the space it needs to do its job effectively, it will also allow them to reinvest valuable taxpayer dollars into its mission," Tangherlini said in a statement.

The GSA and DHS are continuing to work with lawmakers to pay for the remaining phases of the consolidation.

Source: Washington Business Journal