Ground Broken on $835M National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility

The joint venture team of McCarthy/Mortenson recently broke ground on the final and largest phase of the $835-million National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility. The construction team was joined by representatives from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S Department of Agriculture, the state of Kansas, Kansas State University and the community of Manhattan, Kansas.

The NBAF project will contain 574,000 gross square feet, including biosafety level 2, 3 and 4 shared research space to be constructed on the 29-acre site. The facility will house advanced research, diagnostic testing and validation, countermeasure development (i.e., vaccines and anti-viral therapies) and diagnostic training for high-consequence livestock diseases. It will also provide the necessary infrastructure to improve understanding and preparedness for potential bioterrorism employing foreign animal disease and zoonotic disease pathogens that may be accidentally or intentionally introduced in the United States and will develop capabilities to improve protection against such threats.

Awarded to the McCarthy/Mortenson team by the DHS Science and Technology Directorate, this project represents the initiation of the third and final phase of construction of the NBAF. The award is a modification to the existing $107-million contract for the team comprised of McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. and Mortenson Construction, which was chosen in 2009 to perform construction management services for the NBAF.

With funding provided in 2012 by the state of Kansas, McCarthy/Mortenson completed site preparation and is building an $80-million, 87,000-square-foot, freestanding central utility plant to house boilers, chillers, emergency diesel generators and other support elements for the main laboratory facility. The CUP is scheduled to be complete in October of this year.

The team is using the latest construction technology and tools on this project, including virtual design and construction, allowing the team to build the entire project virtually prior to actual construction.  Construction of the NBAF is to be complete in 2020 with full operational capability achieved in 2022.

For more information on the project, visit mcmjv.com.