Balfour Beatty, McCarthy Awarded $351 Million Texas Contract

FORT HOOD — A joint venture of Balfour Beatty Construction and McCarthy Building Co., both with offices in Dallas, was awarded a $503 million fixed-price contract from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build a 944,000-square-foot hospital to replace the 45-year-old Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood.
 
Designed by international architectural firm HKS Architects and Wingler & Sharp, Architects & Planners, Inc. of Wichita Falls, Texas, the hospital will include outpatient clinics, a logistics buildings, ambulance garage, and central utility plant. Construction using Building Information Modeling is expected to begin spring of 2011 on the project, and finish up May 2014.
 
Approximately $351 million from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will fund the new hospital. The current Darnall Army Medical Center has a shortage of operating rooms, according to news reports, and the Army believes the existing facility does not meet the behavioral health needs of its soldiers.
 
“Our team aims to create a world-class hospital environment that embodies the highest traditions of the Army, evokes the pride of Fort Hood, promotes evidence-based design, and is an environmentally sensitive place for healing and learning,” says Leon Blondin, division president for Balfour Beatty.
 
Architects have designed the replacement hospital to achieve LEED Gold. Read more about the project at http://www.balfourbeattymccarthy.com.