User’s Guide: Find a Federal Stimulus Design and Construction Project for Your Firm, Updated
The latest in who has the money and where it’s going
by Zach Mortice
Associate Editor
Summary: The first stories of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) coming to the aid of architecture firms are starting to trickle in, and it’s hoped that this stream can become a rising tide that lifts increasingly more firms out of the current design and construction market trough. There’s good reason to believe it will. Although some of the funding is being designated for “shovel ready” projects, which may preclude design services, the ARRA is structured to release most of the money applicable to design and construction projects (which the AIA estimates to be $130 billion in total) later in its lifecycle. In 2009, only 12 percent of stimulus package funding will go towards transportation, energy, the environment, and community development projects. In 2012, as the focus of the ARRA shifts to long-term infrastructure development, 63 percent of expenditures will be dedicated to these kinds of initiatives. In line with the AIA Rebuild and Renew government advocacy plan, much of this funding will be applied directly to the built environment as new construction projects, renovations, repairs, and sustainability upgrades. Agency by agency, budget by budget, and (when possible) project by project, this updated guide focuses on money being spent directly by federal agencies and less on cash that must first be filtered through state and local agencies.
Department of Health and Human Services
The National Institutes of Health is receiving $500 million worth of ARRA funding to be used for repair, construction, and improvement projects on its own campuses. There are five primary projects. Just over half of this money ($266 million) will be dedicated to the John Edward Porter Neuroscience Research Center in Bethesda, Md., which will consolidate the work of 10 divisions within NIH and contain most of the neuroscience research at the agency. A $7 million renovation will convert the Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Mont., from mechanical space that is no longer used to laboratories providing critical additional space for National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) research program. Three other projects will be $227 million worth of build-outs and renovations.
Recovery.gov Program Plan
The department’s Indian Health Services agency is spending $227 million on health facilities construction, $100 million on maintenance and repairs, and $68 million for sanitation facilities construction. Two new major IHS health centers will be funded by the ARRA. These are the Eagle Butte Health Center in Eagle Butte, S. Dak., and the Norton Sound Regional Hospital in Nome, Alaska. Sanitation facility projects will be take place in 24 states, providing potable water, wastewater disposal, and solid waste systems to American Indian and Alaska Native communities. A complete list of ARRA-funded projects for the IHS is available on the HIS.gov site. These funds will be distributed via FedBizOpps.
National Science Foundation
The NSF will be spending $400 million on research facilities as part of its Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction Account. This includes funding for the $146 million Advanced Solar Technology Telescope in Maui, Hawaii. Funds will be distributed via FedBizOpps.
Recovery.gov Program Plan
Department of Defense
In addition to their original $6.1 billion worth of ARRA funding, the Department of Defense is receiving an additional $835 million of ARRA money that will fund facility improvement projects. All of these new projects will take place at Army and Army National Guard facilities in 37 states and the District of Columbia. An additional $346 million will be spent on projects that make the military more energy-independent. In total, the military will spend $4 billion on facility renovations and modernizations and $2 billion on construction projects. An updated complete list of projects is available on DefenseLink.mil. These projects will be contracted out using FedBizOpps.
Recovery.gov Program Plan for military construction
Recovery.gov Program Plan for facility restorations and modernizations
Department of the Interior
The National Park Service is receiving $750 million in ARRA funding for 800 separate projects. This amount will pay for new construction and renovations of NPS properties and deferred maintenance costs. In many cases, sustainable design features and alternative energy sources will be installed. For example, in Boston, green roofs will be installed on historic Bunker Hill buildings, and solar water heaters will be installed at Everglades campgrounds in Florida. A complete list of projects is available on DOI.gov. These funds will be distributed via FedBizOpps.
Recovery.gov Program Plan
The DOI’s Bureau of Land Management has $41.5 million of ARRA money allocated for new construction projects and $76 million allocated to deferred maintenance projects that address visitor and employee health and safety needs, energy efficiency, and the sustainability of BLM facilities. A complete list of ARRA-funded projects is also available on DOI.gov. The BLM uses FedBizOpps for contracting opportunities, and potential contractors can consult this document for advice on how to work with the agency.
Recovery.gov Program Plan
Congress has given a total of about $227 million to the U.S Fish and Wildlife Services for the construction or repair of over 650 facilities across the nation. Of this amount, $57.5 million will be devoted to new construction buildings at field units of the National Wildlife Refuge System, and $43.4 million will be used for major renovations and deferred maintenance. Visitor buildings, maintenance facilities, and fish rearing facilities will all be the focus of this construction and renovation funding. Eleven headquarters offices and visitor centers will be built, all of them in accordance with sustainable design principles. Visitor center examples include the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina and the Mammoth Spring National Fish Hatchery in Arkansas. The agency will also use $8.4 million worth of ARRA to install alternative energy systems upgrades in its buildings, including energy-generating micro turbines at the Jordan River National Fish Hatchery in Michigan and photovoltaic panels at the Neosho National Fish Hatchery in Missouri. A list of all Fish and Wildlife Services projects is available on DOI.gov. These funds will be distributed via FedBizOpps.
Recovery.gov Program Plan
The Bureau of Reclamation is receiving $13.5 million for the construction of a sustainable office building in Boulder Canyon, Nev., that will meet GSA standards for energy efficiency. Most of the bureau’s $1 billion of ARRA funding will go towards meeting water infrastructure needs and ecosystem restoration. A complete list of projects is available on DOI.gov.
Recovery.gov Program Plan
The U.S. Geologic Survey will spend $17.8 million on construction projects at its research facilities . This money includes the Patuxent Wildlife Refuge Research Center in Patuxent, Md; the Columbia Environmental Research Center in Columbia, Mo.; and the Upper Midwest Environmental Services Center in LaCrosse, Wisc.
Five hundred million dollars of the DOI’s total $3 billion will be spent on Native American communities through the Indian Affairs department. Of this amount, $134.6 million will be used to replace deteriorated school buildings on tribal lands, and $143.1 million will be used to renovate and repair Native American Schools. An additional $19 million has been allocated for the Indian Affairs Housing Improvement Program, which will fund construction of new homes for Native American families. These funds will be distributed via FedBizOpps.
Recovery.gov Program Plan
United States Department of Agriculture
In addition to the $176 million the USDA is getting for agricultural research service facilities, the agency is also getting $24 million to renovate its own facilities and offices, including its Washington, DC headquarters. This money will be distributed using FedBizOpps.
Recovery.gov Program Plan
Department of Transportation
The Federal Transit Administration has released its list of ARRA funding for capital investments in transit systems by state and metropolitan area, totaling $8.4 billion. This money will be distributed via FedBizOpps and Grants.gov.
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