`Hotel Nellis' set to break ground

When government entities finally opened to the design-build concept, no one was happier than the construction companies in Southern Nevada, where design-build has flourished in the private sector for years. In addition to making public projects more attractive to bid, it offers benefits for government as well, according to Don LaRue, a project manager with Martin-Harris Construction.

The firm, which completed the first state design-build project in Southern Nevada earlier this year at Community College of Southern Nevada's Cheyenne campus, is poised to make a federal case. Later this month, Martin-Harris will break ground on a four-story, 190,000-square-foot guest quarters at Nellis Air Force Base.

For LaRue, a military and construction industry veteran, the project represents a move toward a more cost-effective and timely method of building on the part of government that has been used by the private sector for decades.

"What this does is create a team of people to provide the best value for the owner's money. We bring everyone for (the owners) -- the subcontractors, architect, the whole package. We bring the whole team together before we bid the job," LaRue said. "Under the more traditional design-bid-build, it's a little more adversarial. You can't make changes, even simple ones that make sense, without checking with an outside firm.

"I'm confident this is the way for the public sector to build for the next 10 years or more."

LaRue is optimistic the building, slated to open in 12 months, will be completed on time and under its $23.5 million budget, even though its design won't be finalized until early next year -- well after the exterior walls are raised.

"We know where the walls go and what they are made of. We can get this part of the project started and keep the project on schedule while the interior details are hammered out," LaRue said.

For a major construction firm such as Martin-Harris, which has nearly $200 million in projects under contract this year alone, the project borders on the routine.

LaRue described the project as comparable to an executive suite hotel -- something Martin-Harris knows how to build. To LaRue, the Nellis Visitors Quarters is a simplified version of a Marriott, a little simpler in style but not in function.

"You'll find all the amenities you would expect to find in a mid- to upscale hotel for a business traveler," he said. "It's very similar. In fact, that's what it's replacing. This allows the base to have a place for its visitors without sending them across town."

The cast-in-place, concrete-frame building is planned to include 350 suites, which can be reconfigured into 700 rooms if required. In addition, it will include a meeting room, communication center, outdoor recreation area, a convenience store, a coffee bar and data ports. The building will also serve as a central check-in point for base visitors and will include about 6,500 square feet of offices.

"While it's somewhat plain as an architectural statement, it's significant in its architectural detail. It's similar to other Nellis buildings with a little more detail, but not too much because we want it to blend in," LaRue said. "Nellis focused primarily on performance."

It also includes one feature most hotels do not: it will use design elements and materials engineered to meet Unified Force Protection standards required of many federal buildings. Such measures are designed to minimize damage caused by terrorism and other acts of sabotage.

Even security features are nothing out of the ordinary for Martin-Harris. LaRue said the firm has had more requests in recent years for designs that protect a company's vital assets, such as the hardware of its computer networks or its fiber optic lines, from acts of sabotage from outsiders and disgruntled former employees.

The visitors quarters complex is part of a larger construction campaign at Nellis Air Force Base overseen by Straub Construction of California.

Other projects include new barracks for permanently stationed personnel, a remodeling of the base exchange and commissary, and the installation of nine new holes to the golf course. The projects are contracted through the Army Corps of Engineers.

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