Public owners who ignore or fail to recognize overly narrow specifications prepared by their design consultants can violate open and fair competition requirements, and furthermore incur significant liability if the resulting project cannot comply with the anticipated performance requirements. An owner’s design team has legitimate reasons to seek out reputable vendors and products to include in the construction of any public facility.
ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) is replacing Westridge Middle School in Orlando, Fla., and recently signed a contract for the installation of energy saving-equipment that will eventually save the school millions of dollars.
CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif. — The Acorn Family of Companies has officially changed its name to Morris Group International.
The new name will allow the company to better acknowledge and promote its diverse line of businesses, including Acorn Engineering Company, the founding company, as well as all of the other divisions formerly under the Acorn Family of Companies umbrella.
It has been decades — four to be exact — since the University of Detroit Mercy has seen a brand new building on its campus, but many will say the wait has been worth it.
MANCHESTER, Conn. — Schools in the Manchester School District in Connecticut are facing some serious problems. Leaking roofs, failing mortar, paper-thin steam pipes and maxed-out electrical systems are all in need of attention by the district — but costs are high.
The cost to fix just the high priority items is about $10.4 million, according to district manager Richard E. Ziegler.
“Our schools are in rough shape,” said Ziegler.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — There are perks for those using energy efficient designs and the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (CRLS) is seeing it first hand.
RICHARDSON, Texas — Austin-based Hill & Wilkinson has received the top green building award from Education Design Showcase for the LEED Platinum, University of Texas at Dallas Student Services Building. Only three university projects were selected as 2011 Green Judges’ Choice Winners, with submittals throughout the U.S.
