A joint venture team consisting of Turner Construction Company (Turner) and JE Dunn Construction has secured a contract for the $1.2 billion redevelopment and expansion of the Austin Convention Centre in Texas.
The project will be delivered under the Construction Manager at Risk (CM at Risk), an early contractor involvement contracting approach in which the Contractor is involved in the project in the early stages of design development and typically has risk-sharing mechanisms embedded.
The JV will collaborate with LMN Architects and Page Southerland Page (LMN/Page), the design team selected by the Austin City Council, to provide comprehensive design and architectural engineering services for the redevelopment and expansion of the Austin Convention Center.
Austin Convention Centre Redevelopment - Project Summary
Project Name | Austin Convention Centre Redevelopment |
Project Details | Demolish existing centre and rebuild facility, nearly doubling its capacity |
Location | Austin, Texas, US |
Project Value | USD 1.2 Billion |
Client | City of Austin |
Contractor | Turner – JE Dunn JV |
Contract Style | Construction Manager at Risk (CMaR) |
Key Takeaways from ConstructionFront.com:
- Construction Manager at Risk has been broadly implemented in the US for Convention Centres, Stadiums, and Recreational/Event Facilities
- Expanding the center is essential for meeting current and future demand, unlocking economic benefits from events at the Austin Convention Center.
Austin Convention Centre Redevelopment - Project Details
Project Background
According to the Austin Convention Centre (ACC) website, the City of Austin has become one of the top ten preferred convention destinations since the ACC opening in 1992 and its expansion in 2002
However, the current facility needs more space to meet the growing demand for events and act as a barrier between East and west in the city.
Consequently, the ACC has initiated an expansion project to create a larger, more efficient facility on a smaller footprint, fostering ground-level interaction for the local community and visitors in Downtown Austin. The new Convention Center aims to nearly double the rentable space, positioning itself to attract a broader range of convention businesses and evolve into a more community-friendly event space.
Project Details
The Convention Center redevelopment project is expected to be completed by 2028 and aims to demolish and rebuild a brand-new facility, nearly doubling its rentable space for enhanced competitiveness.
The project’s broader goal is to create a more efficient, community-friendly centre within a smaller footprint, fostering an active and culturally rich environment in the Palm District.
By removing the existing Convention Centre’s barrier, the project aligns with initiatives like Waterloo Greenway, the Palm District, and Project Connect, transforming the southeast corner of downtown Austin into a community-centric destination.
The City of Austin confirmed that extensive community engagement is integral part of the design development approach for the new Convention Center.
Austin Convention Centre Redevelopment - Contracting Approach
In June 2021, the Austin City Council approved the use of the Construction Manager at Risk (CMaR) contracting method for the Convention Center expansion project. In this approach, the Construction Manager Contractor (Turner-JE Dunn JV) is involved in the project from the early days of design development, bringing all its technical know-how to help the client with:
- engineering Solution and Design;
- Refine cost estimates;
- Planning and coordination of third parties;
- Stakeholder engagement, and
- Others.
Typically, in this commercial framework, the Construction Manager Contractor also shares cost overrun risks with the client and ensures that the project will stay within a pre-established cost limit, also referred to as the Guaranteed Maximum Price.
This contracting methodology is prevalent for projects with these features, and it has been recently used in other significant project, such as:
Suggested Article: Managing Contracting vs Construction Manager – Key Differences & Tips
