by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
There isn’t an “Open for Business” on the front door, but the eight-foot chain link fence has been taken down and a finish line that once seemed light years away is just a few short weeks off.
On Sept. 20, the new United States Courthouse at Jacksonville will be what the construction manager — Beers Skanska — calls “substantially complete.” By then, there will be little left to do beyond several systems checks, a final once over and a few exterior finishing touches.
“The tenants will start to move in the last week of October and it will probably be the end of November before everyone is in,” said Brian Murray, a senior project manager for Beers. Murray explained that many factors have to be taken into consideration when scheduling move in dates for the judges, including court schedules and security.
“We’ll do a few systems checks including the fire alarm, a couple of mechanical systems are still being tested and the emergency generator will be tested,” he said.
At this point, several floors are completely done and will soon be turned over to the General Services Administration, the owner of the building. Murray said floors three-10 are done; two, 13 and 14 are “so close it’s not funny,” and one and 11 are about 90 percent complete. Of the entire building, the atrium entrance is the least complete, but Murray said that’s standard procedure in a project this size.
Once complete, the new federal courthouse will occupy 400,000 square feet and come with a price tag of $80 million. Most impressive, though, may not only be that it will be delivered to the day on time, but the entire three-year project has been done virtually glitch-free.
“From a federal courthouse standpoint, this has been unbelievable smooth. I better knock on wood,” said Murray, contributing the fluidity of the project to several factors. “There are so many agencies involved and things have been really clicking. In part, that’s due to everyone’s cooperation and attitude. For us, it’s also been the same team from GSA and the architects as the last courthouse [the federal building in Knoxville]. And, the tenants have been great to work with and really on the ball.”
Murray said one exterior element did catch his construction company by surprise.
“We have encountered some extraordinary, unforeseen things underground; stuff no one would have known about without digging,” said Murray. “We found an old brick road — the original brick road — with concrete on top that and asphalt on top of the concrete. It’s right by our trailer on Julia Street. It’s kind of neat, but not from a construction standpoint.”
Of all the items left to finish, the atrium area will be the most urgent. Because Beers is using a particular quarry for the granite flooring in the atrium, supply has been an issue.
“All the flooring is in and most of it’s finished. But we had a glitch with the stone. It comes from a specific quarry in the Midwest and it’s kind of complicated,” said Murray. “Basically, the quarry can only handle so much demand and they can’t keep up with the schedule at the atrium.”
Because the building is so close to completion, external security is now in place. Murray said the guards patrolling the grounds today are being paid by Beers. As of Oct. 1, the federal government will take over the security of the courthouse.
Murray said Beers will remain on site until each tenant is in the building and satisfied with their space and amenities.
“We envision pulling our trailers out at the end of October or the beginning of November,” said Murray. “We’re here to ensure everything goes smoothly. We have no obligation to help anyone move. But if there’s something like an electrical problem, we want to be able to react immediately. It’s important to us that everyone gets moved in on time and can get to work.”