The East Campus Building 2 project team is proud to announce that the project has been recognized by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) with the Marvin M. Black Partnering Excellence Award. The project was nominated in the $20M and above category.
The award, part of the Build America Awards program, is named after AGC’s past president, Marvin M. Black, and presented annually to construction projects that demonstrate excellence and achieve success by implementing the principles of partnering.
Located in Fort Meade, Maryland, Clark provided design-build services for the new construction of an 846,114 square-foot, seven-story operations facility with a below-grade basement utility plant. The facility includes command centers, open operations floors and office areas, analyst collaboration areas, and multi-purpose conference facilities, as well as a 20,000-square-foot dining facility, 5,500-square-foot fitness center, and retail spaces. The project also included the design-build delivery of a nine-level, 1.1 million-square-foot cast-in-place concrete parking structure, and the expansion and upgrade of an existing generator plant. The project was constructed for the National Security Agency (NSA) and project delivery was managed by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) Baltimore District East Campus Integrated Program Office.
A Framework for Success: “One Team, One Mission”
Clark proposed a “One Team” concept as a key element of the technical approach and risk management plan for the project and worked with leaders from Carta Advisors to create a partnering program with USACE and NSA upon contract award in 2016.
During the partnering kick-off meeting, Carta’s team brought together 60 stakeholders from USACE, NSA, Clark Construction, HOK, and major trade contractors, to develop shared goals for the project.
The team developed and signed a formal partnering charter that contained an overall project mission: to develop a “showcase piece” for the East Campus that helps to strengthen the security of the United States. The mission was accompanied by six guiding principles – putting the mission first, safety, operational readiness/schedule, quality, teamwork, and team experience.
Navigating Complexities Throughout Project Delivery
During construction, the project’s 100+ trade contractors worked in partnership to deliver the mission-critical facility, resolving issues collaboratively with the help of specialized teams to meet USACE’s and NSA’s exacting specifications for the highly technical facility. Throughout the project, stakeholders evaluated the effectiveness of the partnering process and made adjustments to continually strengthen team collaboration for the project’s benefit.
While the schedule for the project was aggressive, Clark successfully worked with USACE and NSA to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic to keep the project on track, turning over the parking structure and several roadway intersection improvements early to support NSA’s mission and help facilitate campus operations. The team collaboratively developed a detailed joint occupancy turnover plan for the remaining portions of the project designed to meet NSA’s needs for the fit-out of the spaces.
“Congratulations to all stakeholders involved in the project,” said Jay Grauberger, senior advisor at Carta. “Maintaining alignment as ‘One Team’ is a critical ingredient in project success and requires a sustained commitment from all parties. In addition to the massive achievement in delivering an extraordinary project, the positive team experience itself is an outcome to be celebrated.”
“This project showcases partnering at its finest,” said Matt Boren, chief of military construction for the National Security Agency. “Collaboration and communication among stakeholders and the team’s commitment to a ‘mission first’ mindset resulted in a facility of exceptional quality that will play a vital role in protecting our national security for decades to come.”
About Clark Construction Group
Clark Construction Group is one of the largest building and infrastructure companies in the United States.
Our portfolio spans every major building market, from public to private, corporate to cultural, education to entertainment, and the infrastructure connecting it all – power, transportation, water, and roadways. Since 1906, we’ve been delighting and delivering value to our clients and project partners, providing diverse opportunities for our team, and strengthening the communities where we live.
With offices strategically located across the country, we pride ourselves on being a local builder with national reach. To learn more, visit www.clarkconstruction.com.
About Carta Advisors
Carta Advisors is an advisory firm dedicated to creating certainty in the successful delivery of large capital projects and creating extraordinary team experiences. Combining the experience of a 117-year-old asset delivery company with the expertise of industry leaders in project delivery and conflict resolution, Carta provides Stakeholder Alignment, Building Solutions, and Risk Assessment services. Please visit www.cartaadvisors.com to learn more.
