Fitness Center Update

I recently conducted a site visit to the P-714 Fitness Center currently under construction at Marine Corps Air Station, New River in Jacksonville, NC.  This project is an approximately 46,000 sq ft building consisting of exercise space, a basketball court with climbing wall, multipurpose space, a six-lane 50 meter pool, and administration space for the Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS) group that manages all of the exercise and leisure facilities on the Air Station.

This project is unique due to it being a pilot project for NAVFAC in using the “Early Contractor Involvement” procurement method, which pairs the Design Team with a General Contractor to review the plans throughout the design period for constructability issues and budget.  That contractor can then be awarded the construction contract at the end of the design phase, which was the case here.  This design method gives the entire team a better understanding of the project, in hopes of minimizing construction issues once the drawings are releases to the contractor.

The project used BIM to coordinate the work of all disciplines and it is scheduled to achieve LEED Gold due to many sustainable features including a PV array, water reuse for irrigation and an energy efficient mechanical system.

The project is moving along nicely and is expected to be completed in mid – summer.

– Tee Ellis