McCarthy and Clayton State Break Ground on New Science Building

Governor attends groundbreaking ceremony

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal was on hand yesterday to celebrate the groundbreaking of Clayton State University’s $19.8 million Science Building along with university officials, students and the construction team at McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. (www.mccarthy.com). The highly anticipated project was initially slated to begin construction in 2010, but state budget cuts required a redesign to accommodate a $10 million reduction to the original plans, and funding for the project did not occur until 2013.

“We were awarded this project in 2010; after almost four years and $10 million in revisions, we are so proud that this day is finally here,” said Kevin Kuntz, McCarthy’s Southeast Division President. “Despite the early setbacks with the state budget cuts, Clayton State will have the facility it desperately needs without compromising any critical features. This project proves that with great teamwork and collaboration, anything is possible.”

Architect S/L/A/M Collaborative, Inc., of Atlanta worked closely with McCarthy to effectively redesign the original plans and meet the state’s new project budget.

Corlis Cummings, vice president of business and operations at CSU, leads the project and called the team “problem solvers (who) have clearly contributed to the success of the design of the project.” She added, “They have worked tirelessly to redesign the project due to changing assumptions. They are responsive, understand our needs and provide solid construction experience and expertise as well as professionalism.”

The University’s new state-of-the-art Science Building houses 65,000 square feet of classroom, office and support space as well as teaching and research labs, with plans to build out a vivarium and greenhouse as future funding allows. The three-story building located directly behind the current lab annex building seeks the state’s Georgia Peach Green Building Rating System certification for energy efficiency and sustainability (http://www.dca.state.ga.us/). A Peach Rating is awarded for the construction of any state-owned facility and requires water-use reduction methods, the use of Georgia-based materials and resources, and energy modeling and life cycle cost analysis to optimize energy performance, improve environmental quality, and reduce the burden on the state’s water supply.

“Clayton State’s student population has almost doubled since 2001 and providing science course and lab space for our core curriculum has been a challenge,” said Dr. Thomas J. Hynes, president of Clayton State University. “We are ecstatic to have this project underway and to know our future students seeking opportunities in health sciences or STEM disciplines will have the very best facility possible in which to pursue their education and research.”

Completion is anticipated for June 2015.

 About McCarthy

McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is the nation’s 7th largest education builder, 2nd largest healthcare construction manager, and 11th largest domestic general contractor (Engineering News-Record, May 2013). With nearly 150 years of experience, McCarthy is one of the nation’s oldest, privately held construction firms. Committed to the construction of high performance buildings, the company provides general contracting, construction management, and design-build services for education, laboratory, biotechnical, healthcare, parking structure, entertainment, commercial, retail, civil and industrial facilities. In addition to Atlanta, McCarthy has offices in Newport Beach, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Diego, Kansas City, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Dallas, Albuquerque, Houston, Collinsville, Ill., and St. Louis. McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned.

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