Florida School Work Reaching Hurricane Level

By William J. Angelo.

	Murguido

Florida is about to experience the frenetic activity of the perfect school construction storm. Last year, the legislature added two amendments to the state constitution that reduce class size and promote early childcare learning. Coupled with the state’s explosive growth, the swell of work is expected to lift design-build opportunities.

In the 20 school districts stretching from Disney World south, the school market is estimated to be about $12 billion over the next 60 months, says Jose L. Murguido, vice president and leader of the education group at Miami-based Zyscovich Inc., a 90-architect design firm. Broward County alone has a $1.3-billion school construction program, Orange County $3.3 billion, Palm Beach County $1 billion and Miami-Dade County $1.1 billion. On Florida’s west coast, there also is tremendous growth in Collier, Sarasota and Manatee counties.

Miami-Dade this year has awarded about six new school construction contracts and dozens of contracts for renovations and major additions. "Since July 1, we’ve awarded $105 million and we expect to do another $100 million by June 30, 2004," says Larry B. Freeland, Miami-Dade supervisor for capitol improvement projects.

But the design-build options vary by county. Under Florida law, a design criteria professional is used on design-build contracts to provide owner-approved abbreviated bidding documents. In Miami-Dade County, these can include schematic design, design criteria, material guidelines and education specifications. The DCP is selected through competitive negotiations and is precluded from bidding on the final product. The design criteria then are sent to four to six shortlisted design-build teams. "There are no drawings, which is unique to Miami-Dade County," says Murguido. Bids contain a firm fixed price. After the contract award, the design-builder will submit a number of formal designs during the design evolution and the DCP police them to ensure criteria compliance. "The process is solely price driven," says Murguido. "That is the main difference with Southern Florida design-build."

In nearby Broward County, bid submissions are evaluated on about 10 criteria, including renderings and elevations "so the owner knows the price and flavor of the layout," Murguido says. In Broward, about 30% of work is design-build, usually new schools on greenfield sites. Miami-Dade uses design-build for new schools and major remodelings. The remodeling jobs are particularly challenging for DCPs and design-builders. "With rehabs, there are more variables with greater risk to builders and the process," says Murguido. "There are many unforeseen conditions which place builders in a compromised position. If they bid aggressively, they put themselves at risk. If conservative, they could be underbid, so price-driven selection is a little clumsy."

Murguido has plenty of experience in the southern Florida market, completing 15 design-build projects and serving as DCP on three more. His firm currently is DCP on a $6.5-million addition to an existing elementary school in Miami-Dade that will be up for bid by year’s end. And it is design-build architect on a $37-million high school in Broward, set to open next August. Zyscovich was selected in September 2002 and broke ground by January 2003 on the high school site clearing and foundation package. Murguido prefers to be a design-builder over DCP because "it is a more linear process where urgency is the order of the day and approval is quicker than normal," he says. "It is the most cost-effective way for us to work–a velocity-dependent process–the shorter a duration a project is in the office, the higher the profit."

Murguido says that some counties have problems with design-build and believe there is a premium paid for the delivery system. "Design-build is a panacea for districts until they run into problems. Then they look at other systems," he explains. "Palm Beach went though that transition. They were exclusively design-build and now they are trending towards construction management." He says that design-build "is strongly preferred in Miami-Dade, and Broward was using the traditional design-bid-build method, but is now reassessing delivery systems." He claims that design-build will always have a place, especially on fast-track projects on greenfield sites.

Freeland agrees. "Compared to CM-at-risk, design-build will give us a quicker turnaround and a lower price," he says. "Local contractors seem to have an affinity for the process."

For Carlos A. Hevia, Miami-Dade executive director of capitol improvement projects, design-build teams work better than CM and result in less fingerpointing. "We like a single source of responsibility," he says. "There are fewer claims and faster delivery."