In the survey, Walbridge also ranked No. 41 among the Top 100 Contractors by New Contracts ($1,393,000,000) and No. 22 among the Top 50 Contractors in Domestic General Building/Manufacturing Revenue ($1,074,700,000).

Read ‘The ENR Top 400 Contractors’ story >

The Amana/Walbridge Joint Venture (AWJV) is constructing the new 43,500-square-meter Ghayathi Community Hospital in the western region of Abu Dhabi, UAE, which is a large, remote section of desert containing only a few major settlements. Development in the area has intensified in the last year and the population is expected to double in the next two decades. Underserved by older healthcare facilities, the region has an acute need for additional hospitals with modern technology.

Ghayathi Community Hospital will serve as a major hub in the region’s expanding healthcare network. It will feature 50 patient beds, two operating rooms, an emergency department, dialysis unit and imaging center, as well as support services for all departments. The hospital will also include a public health section to provide preventative and wellness healthcare services. Twenty separate structures will be constructed for the project, which consists of the three-story hospital, four three-story apartment buildings for staff and visitors, a mosque, mortuary, two substation buildings, two water/fire service tank-and-pump buildings, a main energy plant, workshop building, gas and diesel fuel storage facilities, four guardhouses, a helipad, soccer field, tennis court, basketball court and children’s play area.

Because no permanent facilities to house and feed the AWJV staff exist in the immediate vicinity, the project team elected to build itself temporary office and living facilities near the jobsite. To accomplish the measure, the AWJV team used precast concrete buildings – both cost effective and reusable – to construct its living and dining areas. Two three-story and three two-story buildings to house the project team were produced and installed within 60 days. Doing has elevated efficiency and eliminated extensive daily traveling for project team members and staff.

Read more about the project >

Rendering of Ghayathi Community Hospital.

Project Details

Owner: Abu Dhabi Health Services Company
Market: International – Healthcare
Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Service: General Contracting
Size: 468,230 square feet (43,500 square meters)
Design Partner: Burt Hill Architects

For the $52.5 million Fort Bliss project, Walbridge and Baker design-built three TEMFs, which are relatively identical in size and boast a dozen maintenance bays each. In addition to construction of the new TEMFs, Walbridge also laid roads, installed lighting and signage, and built support facilities. More than 1 million square feet of hardstand was placed during construction. All three TEMFs were built to meet LEED® Silver certification.

Project Details

Owner: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Market: Government – Federal
Location: Fort Bliss, Texas
Service: Design-Build
Size: 105,810 square feet
Design Partner: Baker, Inc.

Rakolta has worked for Walbridge since 2007 and has experience in sales and field operations. Prior to joining the company, he worked for The Athena Group in New York. He received his bachelor’s degree in building construction management from Purdue University and a master’s degree in real estate finance and investment from New York University.

Rakolta will represent business in Michigan on the Talent Investment Board and fills a vacancy created by the resignation of a former member.

Appointees serve terms at the pleasure of the governor and their appointments are not subject to the advice and consent of the state Senate.

Read more about the governor’s Talent Board appointments >

Hausmann has contributed to numerous industry and civic causes, including serving as Chairman of the Associated General Contractors of Michigan in 2007.

Learn more about our affiliations >

LEED® Gold is the second-highest certification for sustainable building offered through the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Program.

The Walbridge Joint Venture (WJV) – made up of Walbridge, Fanning Howey and Braisford & Dunlavey – served as program manager on the DPS Capital Improvement Program, which brought the district 18 new or renovated schools and numerous district-wide projects. Through dozens of design-build contracts, the WJV successfully completed the program in a federally-stipulated three-year timeframe. In total, the WJV over saw work on more than 270 project sites for the program.

The DPS Capital Improvement Program brought DPS:

• Eight new schools;
• Nine school renovations;
• Nine complete school demolitions;
• Seven building additions;
• Eight complete roof replacements;
• Four large mechanical, electrical and plumbing upgrade projects;
• District-wide security and IT-related projects, including a new DPS Police Headquarters and command center, and view scans at 22 schools;
• And 40 stabilization projects district-wide.

MLK earned LEED® points for site selection, brownfield redevelopment, construction pollution prevention, various alternative transportation features, measures for reduced light pollution and heat-island effect, and joint use of facilities. MLK is the third school built as part of the DPS Capital Improvement Program to achieve a LEED® certification. Samuel Gompers PreK-8 School achieved LEED® Silver in November 2012 and Amelia Earhart PreK-8 School achieved LEED® Silver in February 2013.

Learn more about the DPS Capital Improvement Program >

The 19-story Whitney Building, located at the gateway to Detroit’s downtown business district, opened to a bustling city in 1915 as a retail and professional services building. It closed in 2000 and remained vacant until now.

Roxbury Group, LLC recently contracted with Walbridge, headquartered down the street from the Whitney Building, to manage construction of its redevelopment. Renovations will bring retail space and an Aloft hotel to the first nine floors, apartments to the top nine floors, and historic preservation to various portions of the building; including the restoration of ornate interior and extensive finishes. Walbridge plans to save and use original marble floors, corridors and walls; elevator fronts, some existing windows and most of the existing doors in the renovation effort. Rooms that make up the hotel and residences inside the Whitney Building will be all new construction beyond the corridor walls, featuring new mechanical and electrical infrastructure. Learn more about the project >

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder addresses the crowd during a March 28 construction kickoff event at the Whitney.

Dozens of business leaders, media professionals and local politicians gathered for the March 28 kickoff event, which took place inside the Whitney’s stunning four-story, atrium-covered lobby. The lobby will be renovated as a focal point of the redeveloped building to serve hotel guests and Whitney residents.

“This is a cool day in Detroit,” said Snyder as he expressed appreciation for the redevelopment. “Congratulations to Walbridge group for having a great project they’re going to make happen here.”

Snyder called the redevelopment of the Whitney Building an example of prospect for the city. When it’s completed, he said, it will be something to show off.

“We want to show it’s not just about jobs, it’s about place-making,” he continued. “This is an opportunity for the future. This is an opportunity for the whole city.”

He referenced the Whitney Building as being one of several historic structures in Detroit identified for redevelopment to promote economic growth. “So that’s what we’re going to do,” he said, “watch this place come back.”

Support for the Whitney Building redevelopment comes from a combination of historic, brownfield and new market tax credits, as well as funding from the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, Invest Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan Historic Preservation Network and the Michigan Strategic Fund, which put $8 million toward the $82 million project. Bank of America is helping finance the renovation.

See photos from the March 28 construction kickoff event >

The historic Whitney Building opened to the public as a retail and professional services building in 1915 and closed in 2000. Reconstruction of the 19-story high-rise is set to begin this month.

The redevelopment will bring retail space and an Aloft hotel to the first nine floors of the Whitney Building, apartments to the top nine floors, and historic preservation to various areas throughout the building. Walbridge plans to save and use original marble floors, corridors and walls, elevator fronts, some existing windows and most of the existing doors in the renovation effort. Rooms that make up the hotel and residences inside the Whitney Building will be all new construction beyond the corridor walls, featuring new mechanical and electrical infrastructure.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder admires the atrium-covered lobby inside the Whitney Building during a March 28 construction kickoff event.

The first floor of the redeveloped Whitney Building will feature a lobby area – adorned by an original four-story glass atrium – for the hotel and residences. It will provide access to spaces that will be prepped for future retailers and a night spot. The second floor will consist of ballrooms and additional spaces for tenants. Construction on the third through ninth floors will bring 136 boutique hotel rooms. Floors 10 through 18 will hold more than 100 residential apartments, including ADA-certified units. Top floor construction entails shelling out and prepping space for future development. The basement will house mechanical and electrical rooms, laundry facilities, areas for maintenance personnel and storage space. Kraemer Design Group is the project architect.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is scheduled to attend an invite-only construction kickoff event at the Whitney Building March 28.

Walbridge is also serving as construction manager on Roxbury Group’s redevelopment of the historic Globe Building at Milliken State Park on Detroit’s east riverfront.

See the Whitney Building project profile >