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Beechtree Apartments Tops Out

Beechtree team, owner, and architect gather for topping out
Prince Frederick, MD

Located in Prince Frederick, MD, Beechtree Apartments has reached a construction milestone with the topping out of the 249-unit market rate apartment community. The milestone was celebrated on Wednesday, December 18th with a barbecue catered by Adam’s Rib. There were over 200 subcontractors in attendance, along with representatives from Harborside Management, county inspectors, and Henneman + Associates. Music and entertainment were provided by C.A. Klein HVAC Foreman Juan Vallecillos Membrano.

The first apartment community to be built in the area since 1999, the 327,590 sf community includes five four-story wood frame buildings with 80 one-bedroom, 140 two-bedroom, and 29 three-bedroom units. When completed, there will be a 8,000 sf clubroom, pub, fireplace, cyber cafe, fitness area, conference room, and business center for residents to enjoy. Outdoor amenities will include a pool, multiple fireplaces, and a patio area with pergolas, grilling stations, an outdoor fireplace, fire pit, water feature, picnic areas, and a dog park.

Topping Out Photos

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Pointe View at Aspen Hill Celebrates Grand Opening

Construction team gathers for grand opening event
Silver Spring, MD

Pointe View at Aspen Hill has reached a construction milestone! The project held its grand opening on Wednesday, December 11th in Silver Spring, MD.

Situated on approximately five acres behind an existing church, the community offers 120 independent, senior living apartments made up of one- and two- bedroom units. This four-story wood frame building was designed to be residential in appearance, incorporating brick and cementitious siding for consistency with surrounding multi-unit buildings.

Each apartment unit includes a modern kitchen with a dishwasher and ceramic tiled bathrooms. Amenities include a community room, fitness area, hair salon, business center, and a game room. The building also features an outdoor patio area with seating and a walking path around the complex.

The team worked through many challenges on this project, including paving a separate drive for construction access with water and power extended to reach this point. Special attention was given to the surrounding church to ensure that it was unaffected during construction, with site work ceasing on Saturdays to allow for uninterrupted services.

Grand Opening Photos

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National Federation of the Blind Celebrates Grand Opening

construction team celebrates grand opening ceremony national federation of blind
Baltimore, MD

National Federation of the Blind has reached a construction milestone! The project held its grand opening on Thursday, December 5th with a supporter celebration at the newly remodeled Barney Street Wing of their headquarters in Baltimore, MD.

Originally built in 1906 and home to various manufacturers, the Federation now houses the International Braille and Technology Center and sleeping accommodations for visitors. The 22,000 sf wing underwent removal and replacement of 29 (10 feet high) exterior windows with metal facade. It was altered to include 22 guest rooms, a full gym, game room, and kitchen area. Additional features include custom acoustics and metal wall panels designed for low vision skill training.

Due to its age, this challenging interior project needed 58,000 sf of abatement work. Additionally, the team uncovered 12 inch structural columns every eight feet that required framing and encapsulating.

The National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute remains a premier facility to serve the needs of blind Americans for friends and supporters to come.

Grand Opening Photos

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Unlocking Safety Through Analytics

Safety dashboard with analytics

By Project Controls Executive Russell Tipton and Corporate Safety Director Bob Walsh

As Harkins is always striving for continuous improvement, advancements are being made in our ability to gain insights into our safety performance at a company-wide level. Over the past year, our safety committee has rolled out new inspection forms in Procore that are being used by all our project teams and the safety department. These Procore forms that are being generated by our project teams are also being used in conjunction with the data gathered from the daily reports and incident report forms to build a safety dashboard.

The dashboard is a comprehensive self-audit of our safety management system. It offers visual reports that display important safety indicators and key performance indicators (KPIs), with metrics including number and type of incident, inspection concerns, safety violations, and site safety inspection pass rates ranked by percentage. The live version of this dashboard, which went through a lengthy testing period before being rolled out to the company, is updated in real-time whenever the dashboard is accessed. We will be using this data to gain more insight into what the largest safety concerns are across the company, which trade partners perform well in terms of safety and which need improvement, and tailoring safety training and education efforts for both our own employees and trade partners. Below are benefits to utilizing this safety dashboard:

  • Inspection forms used by project teams and safety department
  • Comprehensive self-audit
  • Visual reporting that displays key safety indicators
  • Accurate metrics with number and type of incidents
  • Real-time dashboard that is accessible at all times
  • Drives awareness and accountability

As part of the Harkins family, our top priority is making sure everyone goes home safe after each and every day. That’s why we take safety so seriously. Improving construction safety cannot happen by accident – pun intended and we must continue to make a conscious, deliberate effort to do better. Our safety dashboard is a platform that will continue to drive awareness, accountability, and change. We look forward to the insight we will gain as a company and the positive impact that advancements like this will have on our project teams and trade partners.

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Perry Point Veterans Village Awarded Reader’s Choice

perry point team accepts readers choice award
Perryville, MD

We are proud to announce that the Perry Point Veterans Village project has won a Reader’s Choice Award from Affordable Housing Finance. This year’s 15th annual Readers’ Choice Awards competition drew 118 entries, from which 11 were selected. Our client HELP USA was presented with the prestigious award at AHF Live: 2019 Affordable Housing Developers Summit in Chicago. Perry Point took the honors in the Special-Needs category. Thank you to all of the newsletter and magazine subscribers who voted for the winners in each category.

Congrats to President and CEO Walter Webdale of AHC Inc. for being inducted into Affordable Housing Finance’s Hall of Fame for his lasting contributions to the industry. He has helped build thousands of affordable homes, fought for better housing conditions, and advocated for critical programs and resources.

Full Story

Harkins and HELP USA accept Reader’s Choice Award (left) and AHC CEO Walter Webdale inducted into Affordable Housing Finance’s Hall of Fame (right).

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Two Award Winning Projects in the Northeast

Group with two awards ABC PA
Norristown, PA

We are excited to announce that our Northeast Division has won two awards from the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Eastern Pennsylvania chapter. On Thursday, November 7th, Harkins was presented with an Excellence in Construction award for the One Ardmore Place project along with a Merit award for the Parc at Princeton project. The 29th Annual Excellence in Construction Awards Gala celebrates outstanding projects and quality craftsmanship by merit shop contractors in the Eastern Pennsylvania area. It was held at Presidential Caterers in Norristown, PA.

One Ardmore Place took the excellence award in the Residential Over $10M category. Standing at one of the most prominent corners in Ardmore, PA, it is an eight-story, 281,000 sf mixed-use building, made up of 110 luxury apartments, 8,450 sf of ground floor retail, and 337 parking spaces.

Parc at Princeton took the merit award in the Residential Over $10M category. This community offers 232 luxury apartment units and corporate suites in West Windsor, NJ. It consists of 10 separate buildings on a 10-acre site, along with 5,000 sf of community amenity space, and 20,000 sf of retail space.

 

Pictured above (from left to right): Parc at Princeton team and One Ardmore Place team.

 

The Ardmore team was joined at the banquet by a member from our architect Nelson Worldwide (previously Cope Linder Architects). The Parc at Princeton team were joined by three members from our architect BartonPartners.

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Industry Trends: Senior Living

Technology trends senior living

By Preconstruction Manager Casey Hughes

It’s an exciting time for the senior living industry as we are seeing a new generation, the baby boomers, make waves with their arrival into retirement. With this demographic shift along with most seniors leading longer and healthier lives, our clients are focusing more on urban housing with smart home technology, on-demand services, and an array of expanded amenities in more modern facilities. Here’s the top five trends that we’ve got our eyes on heading into 2020:

  1. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
    The demand for traditional suburban, sprawling senior living communities is quickly diminishing in favor of urban sites. Seniors are looking for walkable properties with proximity to public transportation, healthcare, and entertainment options. In addition to being built in metro town centers, the management of these properties are being tasked with finding ways to help seniors stay connected to the community through intergenerational activities.
  2. AMENITIES GALORE
    Today, interpersonal relationships, social activities, and intellectual stimulation are a huge part of a typical baby boomer’s daily life. Designs are becoming more focused on integrating robust dining options, outdoor activity areas, and
    tons of gathering spaces into the plan. Residents want sophisticated, restaurant-style dining rooms with fresh daily menus instead of cafeteria style food service, along with flexible dining options. As for more amenity spaces, resistance
    pools, yoga studios, gyms, gardens, landscaped areas, alfresco dining, and fire pits are among resident favorites.
  3. MODERN AESTHETICS
    The traditional look and feel of senior living communities is changing to incorporate more contemporary designs. Modern-day facades are being confused for recently built projects for college graduates. Any remaining holdovers from aged designs that may have been considered institutional, are being quickly eliminated. Interior colors and furnishings are warm and inviting, with natural light flooding the space.
  4. FLEXIBLE DESIGN
    By integrating multi-purpose space into facilities, the same space can be used in different ways and for different events instead of needing a unique room for every activity. For example, instead of a library and a meeting room, a new design could include a coffee shop that can be used for those activities. This flexibility also flows into the residential units, with new unit types being delivered to market.
  5. MORE TECHNOLOGY PLEASE!
    Smart devices, like iPad’s are being given to residents, allowing them to schedule activities, or select dining options. Residents can also be seen wearing devices that track health and safety statistics. Management teams are finding new ways to use technology to improve the resident experience and telemedicine is allowing residents to avoid off-site appointments. New facilities are also being fitted with electronic key fobs for access, and package systems for Amazon deliveries.

The near future offers plenty of changes for the senior living industry with many new innovations and evolutions anticipated over the next decade. We look forward to building for the next generation!

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Homes on Quaker Lane Tops Out

Group photo topping out construction framing
Sandy Spring, MD

Homes on Quaker Lane has reached a construction milestone! The project celebrated its topping out on Thursday, October 24th with a lunch catered from Mission BBQ for subcontractors.

The independent living community will offer 80 new independent units, 72 of which will be affordable and eight will be market rate for seniors. This will later become a component of the larger, existing Friends House Community, a campus of residential facilities for seniors. The campus has significant green space areas, walking areas, and a community garden that will be available to residents at the Homes on Quaker Lane.

The team has been facing many challenges throughout construction. There were three water lines running under the purposed building pad and the Verizon cable line that ran through the building pad was entangled in a 36″ tree stump that caused a delay in hand digging. A 15″ storm drain and fiber optics ran under the other side of the building pad at the elevator, along with the main electric duct bank running through the main section of the building. The biggest challenge was maintaining emergency access given the site’s congested work area. Despite this, the team expects to reach project completion by May 2020.

Topping Out Photos

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The Strive for Five Accomplished at the HCC Challenge Run!

Columbia, MD

For the fifth year in a row, Harkins is the overall Corporate Challenge Champion of the Howard Community College Challenge Race! This is the sixth annual 5K Challenge Race, focusing on corporate health and wellness programs for small and large organizations in our community. This year’s elite fleet consisted of 89 teams, made up of almost 500 participants. The Challenge 5K is a team event where individuals race for the fastest combined score as they run, climb, and crawl through an obstacle-filled course on the college’s campus.

The race raised over $116,000! Proceeds goes to support HCC’s student scholarship programs, allowing many HCC students to pursue a career in the healthcare industry.

As a team, Harkins’ Team 1 came in 2nd, 6th, 7th, and 15th with an aggregate time of 19:53. This was made up of Ethan Burbridge with a time of 18:00, Landon Leatherman with a time of 19:05, Josh Turskey with a time of 19:08, and Alan Kratz with a time of 22:01.

Congrats to all of this year’s runners and participants for being such a worthy cause.

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Harkins Ranked Among 50 Fastest-Growing Companies in Baltimore

Baltimore, MD

We are proud to announce that Harkins is one of the 50 fastest-growing companies in Greater Baltimore, according to the Baltimore Business Journal’s 2019 Fast 50 list.

Each year, the Baltimore Business Journal (BBJ) publishes the Fast 50 to honor the top companies in the region who demonstrate consistent rates of rapid growth. For this year’s list, the BBJ ranked companies by the highest average percent change in revenue between 2016 to 2018. To be eligible for inclusion, companies had to have revenue of at least $100,000 in 2016 and $1 million in 2018.

As a result of our comprehensive and deliberate strategic plan to improve our financial performance, provide opportunity, and expand our geographic footprint, Harkins has grown 40% in the past two years. In late 2017,  we opened an office in Charlotte, North Carolina which helped lay the foundation for our southeast expansion.

The Baltimore Business Journal unveiled the region’s ten fastest-growing companies, as well as the company who made the top spot on the list, at a special event on October 17th. Harkins was listed as #15. For details and to see the full Fast 50 list for 2019, click here.

Harkins was also recently identified by the BBJ as the #9 largest private company and the #21 largest defense contractor in the Greater Baltimore area.