Capital Project Strategies, LLC

The public and private sector facilities market is quite diverse, and includes such projects as correctional facilities, commercial office buildings, telecommunications centers, hospitals, manufacturing plants and multifamily housing. We have broad experience in working on these types of projects, both in the United States and abroad. As with our much of our other capital project experience, we provide “front-end” services on facility projects – such as procurement and contracting advice and contract drafting. We also provide strategic advice during project administration. A sampling of our experience is set forth below.

Our procurement, contracting and contract drafting experience on public and private sector facilities is substantial – with our consultants having worked on some cutting-edge projects and providing far more than simple contract drafting services.

One of the areas in which we excel is helping owners determine the most appropriate project delivery system for a particular project. To accomplish this, we generally work with the owner in a collaborative, interactive environment to determine the owner’s goals for the project, and then help them evaluate the owner’s characteristics that would impact project delivery. Examples of this service include:

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Headquarters. Mr. Loulakis was charged with helping the IMF determine the delivery system for its headquarters in Washington, D.C. In performing this service, he facilitated several meetings with key members of the IMF facilities staff and brought in contractors, designers and developers from around the country to describe the attributes of design-bid-build, construction management and design-build processes and what made the most sense for the IMF’s needs. The assignment culminated in a report that gave a recommended approach and the logic behind the approach.

Washington Mutual Bank (WAMU), Enterprise Data Center. WAMU, headquartered in Seattle, engaged Mr. Loulakis to review its design and construction program and to recommend the most effective project delivery approach for its latest major project – a new enterprise data center to be located in the southwest region of the United States. The work started with comprehensive interviews of members of WAMU’s project and executive team to gain an in-depth understanding of project goals, challenges and other factors driving project delivery. Feedback from these interviews led to a recommendation as to the best delivery system. The assignment also included an evaluation of how to procure the design and construction teams and whether WAMU’s objectives could best be met with fixed price or reimbursable/GMP contracting processes. The analysis was ultimately presented in a comprehensive report to WAMU’s senior management.

Transbay Transit Center Project. Capital Project Strategies was retained to assist the owner of this San Francisco project in determining the best delivery approach for Phase 1 of the project, which entails the construction of a transit center building and an above-grade bus terminal. As with the other projects mentioned above, interactive meetings were held with the project team, and a report was prepared by Capital Project Strategies that outlines the justification for the contracting approach. This report will be used for presentation to the owner’s board of directors and the Federal Transit Administration.

Several other assignments undertaken by consultants with Capital Project Strategies have involved project delivery ratification and analysis, with similar interactive approaches being taken.

We have substantial experience in helping public owners with their procurement and contracting documents on design-build facility projects. Our services in this area are frequently performed under a subconsultant agreement with the agency’s program manager or lead design firm. We are called upon to supplement the expertise of the agency, and to assist (or directly draft) the procurement and contracting documents for the project.

An example is the work provided by Mr. Loulakis in his representation of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) in its national design-build initiative. FBOP decided to change its project delivery approach from design-bid-build to design-build after the Clinger-Cohen Act was passed in 1996. Mr. Loulakis was part of the team assisting FBOP in implementing this change. He provided a variety of front-end services, including: (a) risk identification, assessment and allocation advice; (b) development of overall design-build procurement, contracting and execution strategies; and (c) drafting of template RFQs, RFPs and design-build contracts. One of the most challenging aspects of this assignment was to assist this federal agency in modifying standard form government design and construction forms originally developed under FAR Parts 15 and 36 to make these forms compatible with design-build.

Mr. Loulakis was also part of the team that helped the Washington State Department of Corrections provide front-end services associated with the procurement and contracting of a $100 million design-build project located at the state penitentiary in Walla Walla, Washington. This was one of the first design-build projects undertaken by any Washington State agency under Washington’s design-build legislation (RCW 39.10.051) and the first design-build project of any type undertaken by the DOC. His services included working with DOC, the Washington Attorney General’s Office and technical consultants to: (a) develop the design-build strategies for procuring, contracting and executing the project; (b) draft the RFQ, RFP and design-build contract; and (c) assist in the negotiation of the design-build contract. He also worked with the client to develop appropriate selection criteria at both the shortlist and final proposal stages of the procurement.

Capital Project Strategies also assisted the Commonwealth of Virginia and its program manager on Western State Hospital Replacement. This project will be designed and constructed under Virginia’s Public-Private Equity Act. Capital Project Strategies has assisted in the drafting of the Comprehensive Agreement, Design-Build Contract and reviewed the overall procurement documents for the project.

Relative to private sector facility projects, we generally use the AIA family of forms as our starting point for contracting. We have significant experience in working for owners and developers of hospitals, commercial office buildings and multifamily residential projects, with our experience spanning from design professional contracts, lump sum forms of contracting to cost-plus with GMP contracting. Our consultants also regularly advise private sector and institutional owners – including the World Bank, InterAmerican Development Bank, Miller Brewing Company and Hanson Industries – about modernizing their standard form contracts to reflect current contracting principles.

Preparation and Negotiation of Contracts for Contractors, Design-Builders and Designers

In addition to our work for owners, we also have substantial experience in representing contractors, design-builders, designers and others in their contracting requirements on public and private sector buildings. We have drafted families of contract documents for several national and international general contractors and design-builders, and have also assisted them with project-specific contracts. An example is the work that Capital Project Strategies has been doing for Urbanizadora de Bajio (UBSA), a design-build firm located in Irapuato, Mexico. UBSA has entered into a relationship with an investment fund sponsored by Prudential Insurance, whereby UBSA will be the developer of macro-residential lots in various states in Mexico. We have been assisting UBSA in conceptualizing the arrangement, as well as negotiating and drafting partnership and design-build agreements.

We also have a broad range of experience in assisting owners, contractors, designers and others in assessing and defending claims and disputed change orders. If the dispute moves to a more formal setting, we will help the team create effective “litigation” or “arbitration” strategies and give our clients unfiltered, “peer review” assessments of where they stand. Some of our representative experiences include:

National Institutes of Health. Representation of Baker Concrete Construction (the concrete super-structure contractor) for the Clinical Research Center at the NIH Main Campus, one of the largest and most sophisticated medical construction projects in the U.S. Claims included loss of productivity and delays.

Department of Defense Design-Build Projects. Representation of Gray Construction (the design-builder) on a series of design-build projects for the Army Corps of Engineers, Navy and Air Force. The disputes involved issues over changes, delays, and performance obligations.

We also have substantial experience in conflicts between general contractors and subcontractors, as well as those involving designers and owners. A more complete listing can be furnished upon request.