A growing contractor based in Wilmington has been awarded a shot at working on NASA facilities, according to an announcement Wednesday.

Civil Works Contracting (CWC), where officials are in the midst of planning a new headquarters building on land the firm bought this year on Raleigh Street, has been selected as one of 24 nationwide contractors for a NASA Multiple Award Construction Contract II (MACC-II). The value of the NASA MACC-II is up to $3 billion over an eight-year period, a news release said.

As one of four in the historically underutilized business zone (HUBZone) category within the group of 24 companies selected for the MACC, the Wilmington firm has a one-in-four shot at some of that revenue, said Jeff Cole, CFO of CWC.

"It could double the size of our company," Cole said Wednesday.

CWC, currently in office space on Wrightsville Avenue, has been in business for about 10 years and employs more than 100 full-time workers performing heavy civil and infrastructure construction. This is the fifth multi-year federal contract CWC has been awarded within the past three years, the second in two months.

The NASA MACC-II for future construction and design/build requirements will take place at NASA facilities throughout the Southeastern United States, including Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida; Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama; Stennis Space Center in Stennis, Mississippi; and Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, according to the announcement.

"The MACC-II is a regionalized Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract vehicle for small and large general construction projects. It has an anticipated value not to exceed $3 billion during an eight-year ordering period," a NASA news release said. "IDIQ construction contracts were awarded in six categories: woman-owned small business; historically underutilized business zone; service-disabled veteran-owned small business; 8(A) Business Development Program; small business; and full and open unrestricted awards. The 20 small business set-aside contracts awards are part of U.S. Small Business Administration efforts to help small disadvantaged companies compete in the marketplace."

In the end, CWC will still have to bid against the three other companies in the HUBZone category, Cole said.

"You've got to have the best price and best technical abilities. Nothing's guaranteed," except that NASA has up to $3 billion worth of work available of the eight years, he said.

Meanwhile, CWC is working with the city of Wilmington for technical approvals to build a 6,000-square-foot new headquarters facility on part of 10 acres at 190 Raleigh St., with possible completion by next summer.