General contractor Kirby Nagelhout Construction is soliciting bids from subcontractors for a range of work on the campus in Bend.

The $5 million renovation and expansion of the Oregon Military Department facility is being split up into two phases. The work up for bid is phase one and will consist of interior renovations of three cadet dorms and adjacent office space.

Hennebery Eddy Architects has designed phase one improvements, including demolition of three existing male dormitory interiors and the framing and fire-rated construction of new interior spaces. Bidding will be for work involving (but not limited to) gypsum board assemblies, doors and hardware, acoustical ceilings, windows and wall penetrations.

Bids are due by 2 p.m. on Oct. 10. Questions about the project may be directed to Kirby Nagelhout Construction project manager Scott Jackson at 541-389-7119 or ScottJ@kirbynagelhout.com.

Phase two of the project will see construction of new campus buildings that will increase capacity to accommodate 84 additional cadets (60 men and 24 women) per class. Both phases are being paid for via $4.977 million of bond money approved by the 2015 Oregon Legislature.

The Oregon Youth Challenge Program is run by the Oregon National Guard. In essence, it’s a co-ed residential school operated on military academy lines with an emphasis on discipline and structure. Cadets stay for a five-month residential term and then are mentored for 12 months after leaving.

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The Oregon Military Department recently celebrated completion of its new $26 million Joint Forces Headquarters in Salem.

The 55,078-square-foot facility at 230 Geer Drive N.E. in Salem was .

to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold standards and State Energy Efficiency Design (SEED) requirements. The design also should allow smooth expansion if deemed necessary in the future. The facility meets seismic requirements for “essential” buildings; it’s expected to not only withstand a sizable earthquake, but also be able to continue with operations and emergency response immediately thereafter.

The two-story building has two independent wings connected via a two-story central glass lobby that serves as the main entry and breakout space for the adjacent assembly spaces. This, architects say, encourages occupants to use both indoor and outdoor spaces for informal meetings and general work. Meanwhile, work suites and open-office areas are arranged to optimize passive daylight and views.

The project was built with a mix of state ($6.7 million) and federal ($19.3 million) funding. A dedication ceremony took place Sept. 26.

, the Oregon National Guard‘s longest-serving adjutant general. He spent 27 years in that post until his death in 1941.

White began nearly half a century of service by enlisting in the Utah National Guard in 1895. After serving in the Utah artillery during the Spanish-American War, he joined the Third Infantry of the Oregon National Guard and was commissioned as a first lieutenant in 1907. He served on active duty on the Mexican border in 1916 before being transferred to France in January 1918. There, White served both with the 41st Division and on the staff of General John J. Pershing at the General Headquarters of the American Expeditionary Force.

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The new headquarters of the Oregon agency expected to take the lead in the event of a major statewide emergency was designed to exemplify resilience and sustainability.

Part of that inspiration came from a tight budget of $25 million, a figure lower than earlier estimates.

Deep thinking about priorities led to a stronger outcome, a process aided by the design-build delivery method, according to project members. The project was upgraded in design development from tracking Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design silver (a minimum required by the state) to gold.

The final product represents the “cultural shift” of the armed forces from a traditional employer to a contemporary one, said SERA Architects‘ Bill Poulos, senior project manager for the new headquarters of the Oregon Military Department.

“Yeah, we scaled back, but we think the project’s richer for it,” he said.

The new facility will have 55,000 square feet of office administrative space. It will house the state’s adjutant general and his senior staff. The military department is now finalizing purchases of the adjacent parcels to finish what will be an administrative campus for the state’s military wing; build-out is expected to require 25 years.

“Over the past 15 years our headquarters element has grown significantly,” said Jim Willeford, construction branch chief for the Oregon Military Department.

The new facility will be “modern” inside and out, according to project team members.

The exterior will feature a look honoring ground and air forces.

Inside will be low dividers, lots of light and a look hewing to the “truth to materials” concept in architecture – that is, visible utility infrastructure, vaulted ceilings – absolutely no dropped ceilings.

Another challenge has been working with the soils at the site, which for years was an unregistered landfill of the Department of Corrections.

The project is primarily federally funded but got a $7 million boost from the state Legislature. That funding goes to the building features required under state law, like a mandate to dedicate 1.5 percent of construction costs to green features. The agency recently won approval to upgrade from a 50-kilowatt solar array to a 124-kilowatt one, which will help keep the building functioning in the event of a large-scale disaster.

But before that could happen, the project had to be programmed on the federal side, which took 15 years.

“That’s normal for our projects,” Willeford said. “It takes a long time to go through the federal hoops to get a project approved.”

Despite the slow pace of programming, the project is using the design-build delivery method to streamline the construction process. The military department switched to performing all its capital construction this way about 15 years ago.

Willeford said the department is the leading proponent for design-build among state agencies.

“For a number of reasons, design-build works best for us,” he said. “It’s a single contract, so we’re not held in the gap where I can only hold architects and engineers to a reasonable level of care, and yet I have to warrant to the construction industry that the contract documents are free from error, which, of course, no set of documents since the pyramids have been free from error.”
Design-build is a “trust-based” system that puts the best people in the right positions, Willeford said. Risk assessments and charter documents are devised cooperatively.

“I also like that this helps us make the best-value selection, and not just take the bidders that bid the lowest,” he said.

Though a ground-breaking ceremony with officials took place recently, civil work on the site began last fall. Crews are installing utilities and nearly ready to pour footings. Completion and occupancy is targeted for next summer.

Oregon Military Department Headquarters

Square footage: 55,000

Cost: $25 million

Contractor: Fortis Construction

Architect: SERA Architects

Major subcontractors: Coffman Excavation, Cherry City Electric, Alliance Mechanical

Expected completion: June 2018

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