One of the most expensive building projects currently in the works in the area, the new Allied Health and Human Sciences Building at UNCW, will wind up being a major deal in more ways than one.
“Being in the Wilmington market for five years, it was probably our biggest turning point to get a higher education project of that magnitude,” said Rob Beale, vice president of W.M. Jordan’s Carolinas Division.
Beale’s Wilmington office of the Virginia-based general contractor was chosen recently by the University of North Carolina Wilmington Board of Trustees to manage the project, part of the $2 billion Connect NC bond that North Carolina voters approved in March.
In the coming months and years, five Connect NC projects will provide millions of dollars’ worth of work to contractors and subcontractors in the Cape Fear region. In addition to UNCW, Brunswick Community College, Cape Fear Community College, Fort Fisher State Recreation Area and Carolina Beach State Park received funding from the bond for improvement projects.
The new UNCW building will house the College of Health and Human Services, including the Center for Healthy Communities; existing academic programs in health and applied human sciences, nursing, clinical research and social work; and related labs and classrooms.
The 170,000-square-foot facility, designed by EYP, is expected to be built in several phases starting in January 2018 and could be finished by December 2019.
Since 2012, the local W.M. Jordan office has grown from five staff members to more than 25.
“We’ll do about $55 million in revenue in North Carolina and South Carolina in 2016, and we’re looking to grow closer to $75 million a year revenue in 2017,” Beale said. “So a big portion of our growth will be with this project.”
At CFCC, Connect NC funding will be used to make interior renovations at the downtown campus.
Facilities scheduled for work include buildings that house CFCC’s auto body, culinary arts and boat building programs. Interior renovations are planned for CFCC’s Workforce Training building on Front Street. A contractor has not yet been selected for the CFCC renovations.
At Brunswick Community College, the funding will be used to repurpose the school’s former Early Childhood Education Center for Allied Health programs, said Susanne Adams, president of BCC.
In addition to higher education projects, state park facilities in the area will eventually get a boost from Connect NC money. That includes renovating bathhouses at Carolina Beach State Park and adding RV sites that have electric and sewer connections, said Chris Helms, park superintendent.
Helms said the latest timeline shows the Connect NC work taking place in Carolina Beach in 2018.
Statewide, the Connect NC bond will involve $2 billion for projects in 76 counties, with nearly $1 billion going to the University of North Carolina system.
The Connect NC bond said the funding “will allow us to pay for 50-year assets with 20-year financing. No tax increases are necessary to finance the bond, given our strong revenue growth and ample debt service capacity.”
Connect NC Projects in the Wilmington Area
UNCW: $66 million for the school’s new Allied Health and Human Sciences Building
CFCC: $5.9 million for facility improvements
BCC: $2.9 million for facility improvements
Fort Fisher State Recreation Area: $1.1 million for improvements
Carolina Beach State Park: $855,000 for improvements
Source: Connect NC
