NY Gov. accelerates construction schedule for $1B Javits Center expansion

Dive Brief:

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced that construction on the much-anticipated $1 billion Jacob K. Javits Center expansion could begin as early as this year, according to The Real Deal.
Cuomo said contractors can go ahead with their submittals for the three-story, 1.2-million-square foot renovation, and his administration will select the winner sometime in the fourth quarter of this year.
Three contractor teams were invited to submit bids: Skanska USA, Gilbane Building Company and the joint venture of Turner Construction-Lendlease. The Real Deal reported that Tishman Construction was excluded from the bidding process as the company already is working as a project manager on the development.

Dive Insight:

The project timetable has been compressed, as the original bid deadline was Oct. 31, and contractor-selection has been moved from its early-2017 date. All of the construction companies currently in the running were selected, in part, based on their experience with the design-build delivery method, which the state's development company, the Empire State Development Corporation, will utilize for the first time on the Javits Center project.

The design-build delivery method has become increasingly popular in the construction community. Just last week, Building Design + Construction reported that half of all U.S. states have enacted legislation to allow design-build to be used on public projects. Proponents maintain that the method allows for collaboration by all stakeholders from the outset of a project, improving communication to the point that the need for change orders during the course of a job is greatly reduced.

The Javits Center is just one of a few New York projects authorized to use design-build, although Cuomo and some state officials have pressed for more latitude in being able to utilize the delivery method. In March, Cuomo touted the benefits of design-build, particularly on large projects. Advocates have said that being able to use design-build on the Tappan Zee bridge project has enabled construction to move along at a faster clip, but at that time, city officials expressed their hesitancy to make the leap to increase the use of the delivery method.