Army Corps to issue final RFP for $1.7B St. Louis NGA HQ

Dive Brief:

Almost two years after the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) decided to build its new $1.7 billion western headquarters in its current home of St. Louis, Missouri, the Kansas City District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is preparing to issue a final request for proposals (RFP) to three joint venture teams for the $700 million design and construction contract, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
One of the groups competing for the project is being led by Clark Construction, another by McCarthy Building Companies and HITT Contracting, and the last by Alberici Constructors and Mortenson Construction. All teams, which have already turned in general information and have experience with these types of projects, must have their complete technical proposals submitted by July.
The Corps expects to pick a winning team by spring 2019. The new site is set to be handed over to the owner, the U.S. Air Force, in November, with the NGA's existing 3,100 employees slated to make the move to the new building in 2024.

Dive Insight:

In April 2016, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that one of the drivers behind the NGA's decision to stay in St. Louis was that the new headquarters' urban environment would be a draw for future employees, particularly millennials who desire a walkable live-work-play environment.

If the NGA is set on attracting millennial workers, its headquarters also likely will reflect that demographic's preferences for a certain style of interiors.

John Dempsey, principal of commercial development company CA Ventures' CA Office division, told Construction Dive last year that millennials like community-style elements included in office design. According to Dempsey, the group prefers features that promote communication rather than silo off workers from one another. This, he said, makes it easier for employees to get answers from one another and collaborate without having to seek out a certain person across multiple floors or spaces.

Many companies offer quiet work areas, but Dempsey said there are fewer individual workstations in many office designs to adjust for an increasing number of people working remotely or for those who are primarily on the road.

Companies limited on space, said Christian Giordano, president of New York City-based architecture firm Mancini Duffy, can also appeal to younger workers by offering perks like flex time, letting them bring their pets to work and providing free food and beverages.