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Terminal Construction is no stranger to large-scale public sector projects in the Northeast. The Wood Ridge, N.J.-based operation is drawing on its more than 65 years of experience for a project that represents the state of New Jersey’s first foray into the public/private partnership model of delivery.

Construction got underway in May 2010 on the $140 million, 567,271-square-foot Heights residence hall project at Montclair State University in Montclair, N.J. The project is scheduled for completion in July 2011 and will open in time for the university’s fall 2011 semester. The 200-acre urban university campus serves a student population of 18,000.

Terminal President and CEO Donald Dinallo credits an extensive eight-month preconstruction and planning process for the project being on time and more than 50 percent complete.

“Many hours over and above the normal pre-planning time frame were put into this project, which has resulted in a 15-month construction schedule being condensed to 13 months and a project completion date targeted well ahead of the contractual completion date,” he explains.

The Heights complex consists of eight precast concrete residence halls and one new dining facility. The project, located on two former parking lots on the campus’ northern end, will provide living space for 2,000 students as well as approximately 25,000 square feet of dining space.

Building features include secure entrances, multipurpose rooms and game and recreation spaces, building management and staff offices, community kitchens, study areas, and outdoor courtyards, the university says.

The architect on the project is Paulus, Sokolowski and Sartor Architecture (PS&S) of Warren, N.J.

Sustainable Design

The project will incorporate a number of energy efficiency and sustainability features and is projected to achieve LEED Silver designation.

To ensure the project remains environmentally friendly, Terminal used a range of special materials and design/build practices throughout its work on the project, such as:

• The installation of bus stops, bike racks, and preferred parking for alternate fuel vehicles, reducing vehicle traffic on campus.
• The management of construction waste of the site. Roughly 90 percent of construction debris was recycled and diverted from landfills.
• The use of a structural system concrete containing 30 percent flyash in place of Portland cement, reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The recyclable content of the flyash further contributes to the post-consumer demand for building materials, the company says.
• The use of design components including a precast concrete panel structure with an innovative “concrete thermal sandwich panel,” a center core of rigid foam insulation that creates a thermal building envelope.  The precast concrete panel provides a durable long-life expectancy building structure and a thermal barrier for efficient energy design.
• Terminal Construction took advantage of “Green School,” a university educational program that provides a teaching environment for future builders to examine and develop sustainable design.
• An Energy Star high-albedo roofing membrane (EPDM) which covers 

  nearly 75 percent of the total roofing area, reducing the amount of energy required to cool the building

• The project’s wood-based materials have been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
• The strategic use of site lighting to reduce light trespass and night glow.
• The installation of dual flush tank type water closets, which reduce water usage by 35 percent.
• The implementation of water-efficient landscaping.
• The use of a mechanical system that uses a water source heat pump installed in each of the student suites. The system features individual thermal comfort controls, which assure ongoing accountability of building energy usage. The mechanical system also utilizes enhanced LEED commissioning to assure indoor air quality during construction, while enhanced refrigerant management provides zero use of CFC refrigerants.

Building a Partnership

The Heights project is the first public/private partnership in the university’s 100-year history. Under the arrangement, the university provides the land and a development team designs, builds, finances and manages the project. The university will become the facility’s owner after 30 years, Dinallo says.

The project’s developer is Capstone Development of Birmingham, Ala. The project was authorized under the New Jersey Stimulus Act of 2009, a state law that allows public colleges to form such partnerships.

“The partnership worked very well with both parties having the ultimate goal of the start-up of construction and its ultimate completion,” Dinallo explains. “It is a testament that when the public and private sectors work together with a common goal, success is achieved on all fronts.”

High Honors

One of the complex’s eight wings will be named in honor of New Jersey native John Basilone, a World War II soldier and the only Marine in U.S. history to be awarded both the Medal of Honor 

and the Navy Cross, Montclair State University says.

Basilone, a gunnery sergeant, was killed in combat at Iwo Jima on Feb. 19, 1945. Basilone served a key role in beating back a sustained attack for control of an airfield on Guadalcanal in 1942. “He manned a machine gun and twice ran through a hail of bullets to retrieve ammunition on the night of Oct. 24 and 25, 1942, for his small, decimated unit, which was far outnumbered by 3,000 Japanese [soldiers],” the university said.

The university has a tradition of naming new buildings after deceased New Jersey residents “who have blazed new trails in their fields of endeavor,” it explains. The remaining seven wings of the residence hall will receive their names at a later time.

Company Background

Terminal Construction credits its prosperity since its 1945 founding to a number of factors, including the work of its dedicated staff; attention to detail, practices and training; and a total commitment to client satisfaction.

The company offers general contracting, construction management, design/build and development services to clients in the public and private sectors including federal, state, county and municipal clients and several Fortune 500 companies. It is a leader in the public works market in its region, Dinallo says.

Terminal Construction has worked with Montclair State University on several previous projects including another student residence, an academic building, a children’s center and a theater building, he adds.

The company explains that it prides itself on its ability to manage all aspects of the construction process from design through project completion, complete jobs on time, and meet and exceed clients’ expectations.

“Terminal Construction enjoys an exceptional reputation within both the public and private sectors,” the company explains. “It is our continued mission to provide all our clients with the best possible service from project inception to final turnover.”

Dinallo says the company’s capabilities and philosophy of relentlessly pursuing excellence its work every day help keep it competitive in what he calls an extremely intense market. 

“We continue to believe that public work over the long run has the brightest future, with an emphasis on education, transportation and institutional work,” he stresses.

The company is ranked among the Top 50 contractors in New York by Engineering News Record.

Stockton College project

In addition to the Heights project, Terminal Construction is also working on building a new 153,000-square-foot campus center for Richard Stockton College of Pomona, N.J.

The center – the largest individual building project in the school’s history – is expected to open in 2011, the college says. Construction on the $50 million project started in March 2009.

“The Campus Center will provide a focal point for the campus, a gathering point for students, faculty, staff and visitors, and begins the transformation of our campus,” College President Herman J. Saatkamp Jr. said in a press release.“The Campus Center helps to alleviate our immediate shortage of space and serves as the first component to our long-range plans to expand and meet the demand of the growing Southern New Jersey region.”

The project includes building the center and performing related site work including demolishing existing temporary facilities, pump rooms and retaining walls; renovating a chemical preparation area; connecting site utilities to building systems; and soil erosion and site access control measures, Terminal Construction says.

The building is being designed to LEED Gold specifications.

Kean University Additions

Terminal’s other recent higher education-related projects include two additions to the campus of Kean University, a public liberal arts and research university  in  Union, N.J.

Within the last few years, the company completed work on two new residences halls and the New Jersey Center for Science, Technology and Mathematics Education, a six-story, 107,000-square-foot LEED Gold certified building.

The building features a  glass curtain wall assembly that incorporates large glass sunscreen panels and a geothermal ground source HVAC system, Terminal Construction says.