Mortenson Awarded Its Largest Project to Date Under New Corps of Engineers “Umbrella” Contracts

Minneapolis, MN - Mortenson finished 2008 with a bang with award of the $139 million IBCT Company Operations Facilities project at Ft. Bliss, TX.  This is the Federal Contracting Group’s largest single project to date, and one of the company’s largest design-build projects. 

The project consists of twelve separate Company Operations Facility (COF) buildings, totaling 718,000 sf, to support two Infantry Brigade Combat Teams (IBCT’s). These buildings will provide operational support space for more than 7,000 soldiers.

COF’s are similar to industrial park office/warehouse buildings in the private sector. The buildings range from 46,000 to 75,000 sf.  Each includes a 15,000 sf single story administrative module providing office space for four to six companies.  The remainder of each building consists of “readiness modules”, which are essentially warehouse space including arms vaults, secure storage areas, lockers for individual soldiers’ gear, and mezzanines for platoon sergeant offices.  The scope of work also includes canopy structures to provide “covered hardstands” at each building, totaling approximately 120,000 sf.

The building pads will be prepared under a separate site development contract and provided to us in six phases, from May 2009 through January 2010.  Contract durations for each building vary from 13 to14 months following availability of the corresponding pad. Completion dates for the first three buildings are June 2010, and March 2011 for the final two.

Our design partner is Black & Veatch. The Mortenson / Black & Veatch team recently completed four similar COF buildings at Ft. Riley, Kansas.

Ft Bliss Current and Future Development

Ft. Bliss is located just outside of El Paso, TX, on the Texas / New Mexico border. Since 2006, the base has been undergoing a massive $4.1 billion expansion program to provide facilities for six new brigade combat teams and an aviation brigade, as well as re-positioning of the 1st Armored Division, which will bring over 25,000 additional soldiers to the base.

This project is part of the program to provide complete complexes for two Infantry Brigade Combat Teams (IBCT’s).   Other facilities for the IBCT’s include barracks, tactical equipment maintenance facilities (TEMF’s), headquarters buildings, dining facilities and other support buildings. 

MATOC Awards

As an important part of Mortenson’s plan to position for the “right work” over the next several years, the Federal Contracting Group emphasized acquisition of several key Multiple Award Task Order (USACE MATOC’s) and Multiple Award Construction Contracts (NAVFAC MACC’s). We were awarded seven of these umbrella contracts in the last half of 2008. 

Combined, these represent opportunities on a limited competition basis for more than $2.7 billion of work over the next few years. In particular, the Corps of Engineers plans to award $1.9 billion in individual project “task orders” under our five new MATOC’s. These contracts cover Brigade / Battalion Headquarters, UEPH & WIT Barracks, and Company Operations Facilities throughout the western U.S.  Mortenson was awarded each of these umbrella contracts on the basis of past performance, customer satisfaction, and expertise on specific project types.