Forrester Construction. Keep Building.

September 1, 2010 -The American Society of Hematology (ASH) – 2021 L Street Headquarters has received a LEED Platinum Certification by the US Green Building Council (USGBC). The Owner’s Representative is AtSite and the Architect is RTKL.

This project involved an interior build-out for ASH. The American Society of Hematology purchased the 2021 L Street building to serve as their new headquarters. The building consists of 10 floors above grade and two levels of underground parking.

Forrester built out the top five floors for the new ASH headquarters and replaced the entire HVAC system for the building. An open communicating stair with glass handrails was constructed to connect the sixth through the ninth floors. The 10th floor contains large conference / meeting rooms with operable partitions to provide maximum flexibility.

The project also included the construction of a new cafeteria and fitness center for use by the tenants. The first floor was occupied by retail tenants throughout the construction, so operation of existing mechanical, electrical, and other building systems had to be maintained for this area.

Developed by USGBC, LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.

June 22, 2010 – Forrester Construction Company has been awarded the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command (NARMC) Headquarters and Dental Clinic in Fort Belvoir, VA. This approximately $25 Million project will include the construction of a new building for the NARMC Headquarters and a new Dental Clinic located adjacent to NARMC.

Construction of the new NARMC Headquarters will include the administrative building, standby generator, and building information systems. Supporting facilities will include electric service; water, sewer, and gas; paving, walks, curbs, and gutters; storm drainage; site improvements; antiterrorism measures; access for individuals with disabilities; information systems; and an intrusion detection system (IDS) and connection to a Utilities Monitoring & Control System (UMCS).

The new Dental Clinic will replace the existing 27 Dental Treatment Room (DTR) facility and will provide dental care to troops at Fort Belvoir. Supporting facilities will include utilities, streets, parking, exterior lighting, site improvements, antiterrorism measures, and information systems.

The Owner is the US Army Corps of Engineers – Baltimore District and the Architect is HDR Architecture of Alexandria, VA. Construction is scheduled to begin in July, 2010 with a completion date of September, 2011

This approximately $11 Million Design Build Project will involve the energy retrofit of the General Services Administration’s (GSA’s) highest energy consuming building in its Region 3 portfolio. Renovations include the installation of a 300 well geothermal system, 255kw rooftop photovoltaic solar array, and chiller replacement for the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms) Facility in Martinsburg, WV.

The geothermal system will be a ground source heat pump system that will provide heating and cooling to the building and the photovoltaic solar array will be a crystalline panel system on the roof and in the parking lot of the facility that will reduce the amount of energy consumed by the building. In addition, the building’s chillers will be replaced and adjustments will be made to the HVAC system in the building to increase energy efficiency. The goal of this project is to reduce energy consumption in GSA’s highest energy consuming facility and provide a model demonstrating that these systems and solutions can be cost effectively applied to reduce energy consumption in virtually any existing building.

The Owner is GSA, the Architect is Oudens Knoop Knoop & Sachs of Chevy Chase, MD, and the MEP Engineer is Henry Adams of Baltimore, MD. Construction is scheduled to begin in September, 2010 and finish by March, 2012.

A concise summary of the survey results which details Architectural Activity Index movement across the Washington, DC Commercial Real Estate market can be accessed by clicking the icon below.

January 19, 2010 – Forrester wins $25 Million Seal / Sea Lion Life Support Facility and Site Renewal at the National Zoo in Washington, DC. This project will involve the demolition of the existing seal / sea lion complex and construction of a new facility. The existing 30,000 SF facility was built in 1978, and includes individual exhibit pools for seals and sea lions, separate holding pools for both species, and a large structure housing the life support systems, maintenance, storage, and support operations. Age and technology advances have left the seal and sea lion life support systems and the associated facilities in need of major revitalization, so that current USDA and AZA standards for the care of marine mammals may be met.

The project will include tree protection, protection of adjacent live-animal exhibits, an addition to and modification of the existing life support system building, new life support equipment, replacement of two exhibit pools and four holding pools, construction of a new amphitheater and under water viewing area, upgrade of utilities in Beaver Valley, a small food service cafe, faux rockwork shorelines replicating the North Pacific coast, visitor and animal barrier systems, landscaping, site retaining walls, accessible pathways, and other site work. The zoo will remain open throughout the project.

The Owner is the Smithsonian National Zoological Park and the Architect is Quinn Evans of Washington, DC. Construction began in November of 2009 and is scheduled to finish in November of 2011.