Beshears Construction and Nabholz Construction will serve as co-project managers for the 100,000-square-foot osteopathic medical school in Fort Smith.
Together the two Arkansas-based firms will oversee what is initially being estimated as a project in the $20 million to $25 million range. Preliminary construction estimates are being worked up by the two companies now and dirt work at Chaffee Crossing is scheduled to begin within the next two weeks, said Kyle Parker, chief executive officer and president of the Arkansas Colleges of Health Education.
Parker announced the partnership, showed architectural renderings and video, and unveiled additional financial commitments for the project during a presentation at a breakfast event hosted by the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce. Construction on the three-story medical school is slated to begin in early 2015. More than $100 million in capital is now available.
Firms combining forces to secure larger projects is becoming more frequent in the industry, though Beshears Construction has not operated under this sort of arrangement in the past. Beshears President and co-founder Eddy Beshears did say that representatives from his company and Nabholz had in the past discussed the possibility of working together, but their talks became more substantive when the osteopathic medical school began seeking bids.
"Neither one of us standing alone would have gotten the project, but you put us together with all the experience and it's a good fit for them and us," Beshears said. "It's a partnership you're starting to see more and more of because combined you're a lot stronger and can put together a team that is more attractive to the owners. We knew this was our best shot. We've always had a good relationship with Nabholz. We trust them. They trust us."
The two firms have completed a combined total of $1.5 billion in education or health care projects over the past five years. Beshears has a strong history with education construction and Nabholz has been recognized nationally for its health-care-related projects, including a Top 30 national ranking of contracting firms by Modern Healthcare.
Additionally, Parker and the committee charged with reviewing bids were moved by a combined 96 years of experience between the two firms. Proximity to Fort Smith was also a plus. Beshears has been working in the region since 1984 and Nabholz, headquartered in Conway, established an office in Fort Smith more than 20 years ago.
Nabholz has a history of working with other contractors on projects, including Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville.
"For us, it's relatively common," Nabholz Construction Services President Greg Fogle said. "It's not something you do every month, but once or twice a year we'll partner with somebody when it seems to make sense.
"We have a strong medical and higher ed resume, they have a very long-standing workforce in the River Valley. It's a great opportunity."
Parker said he and members of the school's building committee were surprised to see the combined bid. What they offered in combined experience and reputation made the Beshears-Nabholz effort a serious contender.
"We were shocked. Shocked," Parker said. "We had some really great people, the big boys of contracting, interested. They presented together, offered the lines of demarcation. So there won't be any conflict or ego problem. It's pretty remarkable."
Parker said capital commitments for the project now top $100 million, including access to $25 million in low-interest financing options. Parker announced the financing options, a $200,000 commitment from the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce and a $1.2 million federal grant from the Economic Development Administration during his presentation Friday.
Fort Smith Chamber President Tim Allen said the $200,000 commitment was one of the two largest in the organization's history. The funds must be used for infrastructure and construction-related costs and there are certain benchmarks that must be met for the school to get the full gift.
"There's never a magic formula on our participation. This is the kind of project that comes around once in a lifetime," Allen said. "We're in as much as we can be."
Mercy Health System in Fort Smith has donated unused office space and utilities to house medical school staff until the facility is available, Parker said. Eventually the school will employ as many as 100, but currently there are five people working through the accreditation process. Once the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) grants approval for the proposed school to proceed, facility construction can begin.
More than $30 million in funding has been set aside for the building and other costs to "ensure COCA knows we're dead serious," Parker said. Once opened the school has plans to enroll up to 150 students per class.
Originally the facility was announced as a 60,000-square-foot project. It has grown to 100,000 square feet because of a variety of factors, including plans to add a physician's assistant program.
Business on 09/06/2014