Higher ed officials grapple with knotty problems, but construction moves ahead [2014 Giants 300 Report]

University stakeholders face complicated cap-ex stressors, from chronic to impending.

An analysis of Dun & Bradstreet stats by consultant Paul Abramson indicates that some $11 billion was spent on higher ed construction last year—up a billion from 2012, with nearly 70% comprising new buildings (http://bit.ly/1qhMzaw). 

As examined in BD+C’s in-depth May report, university stakeholders face complicated cap-ex stressors, from chronic (lender stinginess, deferred maintenance) to impending (President Obama’s pledge to start rating colleges on value delivered, consumer pushback on ever-rising costs).

Creative approaches to financing, design, and delivery are top-of-mind. Paula Stamp, Business Development Manager in the Los Angeles office of PCL Construction, says clients are exploring CM at risk, design-build, and design risk. Margie Simmons, VP and Education Sector Leader at Stantec, adds: “Higher debt levels will encourage institutions to seek off-balance-sheet financing solutions and P3s.”

Teri Jones, VP at Sundt Construction, sees a similar pattern, plus emphasis on revenue-generating buildings like dorms and recreation centers.

Facility trends observed by Stamp include housing construction by community colleges (serving a growing international-student population) and better use of indoor and outdoor circulation and common space. John Baxter, Education Sector Leader at EYP, says clients are asking for features that enhance an interactive “corridor culture” in dorms.

Michael Medici, AIA, NCARB, Learning Practice Leader and Senior VP at SmithGroupJJR, mentions growing demand for facilities that support interprofessional health sciences education and project-based, career-oriented learning. Also gaining traction: office zones that mimic private-sector workplaces, with less assigned space and more team zones.

Perkins+Will higher ed designers Jeff Ziebarth, Jeff Stebar, and John Long are also seeing this pattern; Long says younger faculty and administrators have been a lot more receptive than veterans.

Top University Sector Architecture Firms 

Rank	Company	2013 Higher Ed Revenue
1	CannonDesign	$76,000,000
2	Perkins+will	45,582,532
3	Stantec	42,368,888
4	EYP Architecture & Engineering	39,000,000
5	Gensler	29,492,000
6	SmithGroupJJR	27,088,190
7	Clark Nexsen	21,732,694
8	Skidmore, Owings & Merrill	20,933,579
9	Page	19,771,000
10	ZGF Architects	19,397,489
11	Wilson Architects	18,500,000
12	Ennead Architects	18,086,505
13	Flad Architects	16,260,000
14	SHW Group	15,991,000
15	Shepley Bulfinch	15,595,000
16	Harley Ellis Devereaux	15,120,000
17	Moseley Architects	15,016,516
18	Lord Aeck Sargent	13,533,882
19	HMC Architects	13,440,933
20	NBBJ	13,242,000
21	HKS	12,847,559
22	Ballinger	12,113,215
23	Beyer Blinder Belle	11,627,926
24	DLR Group	11,100,000
25	LS3P	10,532,964
26	Morris Architects	10,000,000
27	Solomon Cordwell Buenz	10,000,000
28	Davis Brody Bond	9,835,655
29	FGM Architects	9,821,820
30	LPA	9,561,760
31	Perkins Eastman	9,300,000
32	Moody Nolan	9,104,965
33	CO Architects	8,912,400
34	EwingCole	7,430,000
35	Heery International	7,186,274
36	Hastings+Chivetta Architects	6,378,602
37	Westlake Reed Leskosky	6,325,000
38	FXFOWLE Architects	6,200,000
39	Mithun	6,158,000
40	Goodwyn Mills & Cawood	6,127,329
41	HOK	5,876,913
42	BSA LifeStructures	5,789,413
43	NTD Architecture	5,586,000
44	LMN Architects	5,549,900
45	Ratio Architects	5,537,316
46	Leo A Daly	5,395,356
47	Bergmann Associates	5,304,175
48	Little	5,249,190
49	Hammel, Green and Abrahamson	4,836,088
50	Legat Architects	4,685,600
51	GBBN Architects	4,560,000
52	Carrier Johnson + Culture	4,060,468
53	Parkhill, Smith & Cooper	4,026,000
54	Cooper Carry	3,961,244
55	CTA Architects Engineers	3,737,320
56	Cambridge Seven Associates	3,473,000
57	PGAL	3,260,300
58	BLDD Architects	3,000,000
59	IBI Group ▪ Gruzen Samton	3,000,000
60	Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates	2,974,000
61	Slaterpaull Architects	2,879,532
62	Hord Coplan Macht	2,843,072
63	OZ Architecture	2,825,000
64	Kirksey	2,822,225
65	Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio	2,801,380
66	WDG Architecture	2,757,000
67	RS&H	2,450,000
68	SchenkelShultz Architecture	2,386,000
69	Payette	2,282,352
70	Corgan	2,202,280
71	Integrus Architecture	2,191,762
72	BLTa	2,175,000
73	H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture	2,141,323
74	WHR Architects	1,958,367
75	Baskervill	1,853,208
76	Ashley McGraw Architects	1,836,510
77	KZF Design	1,698,300
78	Eppstein Uhen Architects	1,691,787
79	VOA Associates	1,628,847
80	GWWO	1,623,501
81	Wight & Company	1,586,000
82	Hoffmann Architects	1,548,000
83	Symmes Maini & McKee Associates	1,530,000
84	PBK	1,500,000
85	NAC|Architecture	1,424,431
86	LaBella Associates	1,310,186
87	Niles Bolton Associates	1,263,210
88	Nelson	1,213,987
89	Fentress Architects	1,120,400
90	Urban Design Group	1,100,000
91	Environetics	1,087,370
92	NORR	1,052,484
93	Becker Morgan Group	1,037,159
94	Albert Kahn Associates	904,065
95	RTKL Associates	849,000
96	Good Fulton & Farrell	815,800
97	Goettsch Partners	810,000
98	BBS Architects	800,240
99	Commonwealth Architects	775,074
100	Francis Cauffman	707,774
101	RNL	690,000
102	RBB Architects	657,149
103	RSP Architects	620,000
104	Gresham, Smith and Partners	567,000
105	Fanning/Howey Associates	541,000
106	Rosser International	539,460
107	Harvard Jolly Architecture	530,103
108	DesignGroup	457,970
109	Hnedak Bobo Group	353,000
110	JRS Architect	295,000
111	Emersion Design	273,766
112	Ware Malcomb	240,000
113	H+L Architecture	236,252
114	Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates	226,716
115	Sherlock, Smith & Adams	219,000

Top University Sector Engineering Firms 

Rank	Company	2013 Higher Ed Revenue
1	AECOM Technology Corp.	$76,410,000
2	Jacobs	35,150,000
3	URS Corp.	29,434,668
4	Vanderweil Engineers	26,614,500
5	Burns & McDonnell	24,152,332
6	Affiliated Engineers	22,469,000
7	Parsons Brinckerhoff	20,057,993
8	STV	18,416,000
9	Arup	14,561,909
10	KJWW Engineering Consultants	13,071,767
11	BR+A Consulting Engineers	10,120,000
12	WSP Group	9,120,000
13	Simpson Gumpertz & Heger	9,070,000
14	Thornton Tomasetti	7,942,631
15	M-E Engineers	7,243,000
16	P2S Engineering	7,170,208
17	Shive-Hattery	6,612,598
18	Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates	6,550,000
19	Dewberry	6,331,593
20	Environmental Systems Design	6,144,227
21	RMF Engineering	5,400,000
22	AKF Group	5,261,000
23	Glumac	4,922,565
24	M/E Engineering	4,699,367
25	TTG	4,600,100
26	Newcomb & Boyd	4,505,166
27	RDK Engineers	4,490,000
28	Heapy Engineering	4,426,631
29	KCI Technologies	4,400,000
30	Interface Engineering	4,351,590
31	Joseph R. Loring & Associates	4,100,000
32	I. C. Thomasson Associates	3,500,000
33	Spectrum Engineers	3,347,542
34	Highland Associates	3,200,000
35	KPFF Consulting Engineers	3,125,000
36	Syska Hennessy Group	3,072,512
37	Ross & Baruzzini	3,043,445
38	H.F. Lenz	2,878,115
39	Rist-Frost-Shumway Engineering	2,850,000
40	Sparling	2,553,080
41	Smith Seckman Reid	2,519,005
42	Martin/Martin	2,263,812
43	Karpinski Engineering	2,170,197
44	Aon Fire Protection Engineering Corp.	2,000,000
45	Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber	2,000,000
46	SSOE Group	1,912,012
47	Henderson Engineers	1,838,909
48	TLC Engineering for Architecture	1,806,782
49	Zak Companies	1,706,697
50	Bridgers & Paxton Consulting Engineers	1,686,953
51	CJL Engineering	1,657,350
52	Graef	1,584,321
53	Primera Engineers	1,456,000
54	CCRD Partners	1,388,000
55	Brinjac Engineering	1,303,855
56	Paulus, Sokolowski and Sartor	1,200,000
57	Wallace Engineering	1,133,000
58	Stanley Consultants	1,090,529
59	Leidos	1,040,000
60	Walter P Moore and Associates	1,005,161
61	Allen & Shariff	1,000,000
62	Dunham Associates	950,000
63	Bala Consulting Engineers	926,000
64	Degenkolb Engineers	855,093
65	OLA Consulting Engineers	840,000
66	Mazzetti	774,981
67	DeSimone Consulting Engineers	474,096
68	KLH Engineers	468,745
69	ThermalTech Engineering	460,000
70	French & Parrello Associates	300,690
71	GHT Limited	260,000
72	Wick Fisher White	223,276
73	CTLGroup	220,000
74	Davis, Bowen & Friedel	204,422
75	Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon	200,000
76	Magnusson Klemencic Associates	166,730
77	Coffman Engineers	116,263

Top University Sector Construction Firms 

Rank	Company	2013 Higher Ed Revenue
1	Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., The	$818,698,552
2	Turner Construction	774,984,000
3	Gilbane	475,524,757
4	Skanska USA	371,024,162
5	PCL Construction	368,990,947
6	Clark Group	312,942,079
7	Shawmut Design and Construction	265,610,000
8	Barton Malow	264,908,516
9	Structure Tone	229,539,000
10	Consigli Construction	227,995,719
11	Mortenson Construction	220,320,000
12	McCarthy Holdings	203,600,000
13	Sundt Construction	185,867,366
14	Holder Construction	176,219,000
15	Messer Construction	172,997,147
16	Balfour Beatty US	171,519,250
17	JE Dunn Construction	164,791,311
18	LeChase Construction Services	164,000,000
19	Walbridge	163,500,000
20	Power Construction	159,000,000
21	Beck Group, The	157,055,739
22	Suffolk Construction	149,745,824
23	Tutor Perini Corp.	145,671,900
24	DPR Construction	140,724,634
25	W. M. Jordan Company	130,566,823
26	C.W. Driver	127,735,000
27	Flintco	113,500,000
28	Walsh Group, The	111,960,180
29	Boldt Company, The	107,802,444
30	Brasfield & Gorrie	107,242,213
31	Juneau Construction	97,432,186
32	Manhattan Construction	89,176,000
33	Rodgers Builders	88,744,572
34	McGough	82,000,000
35	Summit Contracting Group	80,286,141
36	Choate Construction	77,541,745
37	Pepper Construction	72,000,000
38	Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction	66,219,000
39	Bernards	66,000,000
40	Hensel Phelps	65,670,000
41	O'Neil Industries/W.E. O'Neil	65,552,134
42	Kraus-Anderson Construction	64,000,000
43	Hunt Construction Group	64,000,000
44	B. L. Harbert International	63,854,476
45	Lend Lease	56,720,000
46	CORE Construction Group	55,821,501
47	Fortis Construction	53,628,000
48	Layton Construction	52,600,000
49	Paric Corp.	50,000,000
50	New South Construction	47,702,000
51	Hill & Wilkinson	46,288,000
52	Austin Commercial	44,335,793
53	Yates Companies, The	42,800,000
54	Bette Companies, The	38,929,000
55	Hoffman Construction	37,000,000
56	Coakley & Williams Construction	32,064,969
57	Adolfson & Peterson Construction	30,713,572
58	URS Corp.	29,434,668
59	James G. Davis Construction	27,506,326
60	Weitz Company, The	26,478,980
61	Bomel Construction	24,949,344
62	Linbeck Group	24,410,000
63	LPCiminelli	23,426,935
64	IMC Construction	22,086,310
65	Hill International	22,000,000
66	HITT Contracting	20,900,000
67	E.W. Howell	20,566,000
68	Parsons Brinckerhoff	20,057,993
69	STV	18,416,000
70	Stalco Construction	17,780,000
71	Haselden Construction	17,425,677
72	Kitchell Corp.	13,043,551
73	Hoar Construction	12,920,000
74	Batson-Cook	12,513,549
75	Absher Construction	12,280,813
76	S. M. Wilson & Co.	10,863,488
77	James McHugh Construction	10,538,534
78	Robins & Morton	8,714,264
79	Clune Construction	8,635,947
80	Haskell	8,294,931
81	Alberici Constructors	7,380,631
82	Heery International	7,186,274
83	Wight & Company	4,935,000
84	Gray Construction	3,880,000
85	Ryan Companies US	3,715,948
86	KBE Building Corp.	2,694,826
87	Leopardo Companies	1,907,266
88	Douglas Company, The	1,507,502
89	JLL	1,375,045
90	Astorino	1,222,033
91	Allen & Shariff	1,000,000

Source: BDC Network