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SoundBuild, Inc. hosts University Construction: Protecting the Bottom Line

NEW YORK, N.Y. — SoundBuild, Inc. and John E. Osborn P.C. recently hosted an executive briefing,“University Construction: Protecting the Bottom Line,” that was well attended by representatives of local and regional colleges and universities. SoundBuild, Inc. is a construction consulting firm providing comprehensive project planning, management and advisory services to private and public sector building owners, including educational institutions. The law firm of John E. Osborn P.C. concentrates in the representation of colleges, universities and other large property owners on construction contract and environmental troubleshooting and litigation.

The program featured presentations by major universities as well as by the co-hosts:

Anthony Pacheco, vice resident and chief of staff for the office of the E.V.P./Treasurer,St. John’s University, discussed capital planning and allocation. He explained that there are four competing constituencies in setting capital priorities: academic, student life, athletics and administration. At St. John’s, demands for funding are ranked, choices are made and long and shortterm goals are set by a centralized committee;

John Rutigliano, P.E., director of planning & construction, N.Y.U., then spoke about capital project design and construction. He described the challenges of building in an urban center, including tight site logistics and staging, addressing community concerns and controlling construction costs. In order to meet space requirements, NYU must choose among the following: demolish and rebuild, adaptive re-use, building purchase or leasing of space;

• Tips on program and project management were presented by Peter Mannello, R.A., of SoundBuild, Inc. “In our experience, early construction planning is the critical ingredient and should start during the master planning phase. When we plan a university construction project, we begin setting up project controls for quality, cost and schedule at the same time that the building program is being developed. The time for the most valuable ‘value engineering’ is at the very inception of the project. Through a process of strategic planning, management and corrective action, universities can ensure that the building program has the leadership, staffing and comprehensive implementation required for a successful project completion,” Mannello said.

Concluding the seminar, cohost John Osborn of John E. Osborn P.C. discussed the strategic legal issues involved in university construction. He observed, “Very often our law firm is called in for the first time on a construction or renovation project when a problem arises in mid-project. We would prefer to be involved from project inception to set up the basic framework for carrying out the project. Our client can benefit from proactive legal advice from the very beginning.” He stressed that, “at the outset, it is important that the design and construction contracts be carefully tailored to the specific construction project to best protect the college or university”. Osborn also discussed alternative dispute resolution methods and the benefits of non-binding mediation.

The panelists concluded that, to achieve successful project completion, the critical ingredients are effective planning, the right project delivery method, the appropriate project team, and strategic legal advice including drafting of design and construction contracts, troubleshooting during the project, and favorably resolving claims after project closeout.