Public Building Commission Posts Year-End Results

The Public Building Commission of Chicago (PBC) today reported its year-end results citing the completion of 16 projects in 2010. The projects brought on line numerous new schools, park district fieldhouses, a water purification plant, a police station as well as a great deal of community open space.

The original budget for these 16 projects was $395 million. As a result of exemplary cost performance, the PBC expects to return a projected budget surplus of nearly $30 million to its clients on these 16 projects.

Completed projects included five new schools open to CPS students in fall 2010 under Mayor Daley’s Modern Schools Across Chicago program. Eric Solorio Academy High School, Calmeca Academy of Fine Arts & Dual Language and Mariano Azuela Elementary School opened on the southwest side, along with West Ridge Elementary School on the north side and Federico Garcia Lorca Elementary School on the northwest side.

As the Chairman of the PBC, Mayor Daley also cut the ribbon at the new “Town Hall” 23rd District Police Station in the Lakeview Community, the new Marshall Metro High School Campus Park on the City’s west side and the new Valley Forge Park Fieldhouse in the Garfield Ridge Community. Other projects included two beach houses, one school addition, two playgrounds, one park, one artificial turf project and a new water purification plant.

“As a strong steward of the public fund, the PBC is proud to report another successful year of delivering high quality public amenities with exemplary schedule and cost performance,” said Erin Lavin Cabonargi, Executive Director. “Most important, our projects promote environmental sustainability and economic sustainability and positively impact communities through every project we deliver.”

Of the total construction dollars paid out in 2010, over 30 percent went to minority-owned businesses and 4 percent to women-owned businesses, meeting and exceeding the PBC’s minimum participation goals.

The PBC also implements bid incentives for the employment of apprentices; bid incentives for the employment of minority and female workers; contract provisions that require at least 50% of the labor force to be residents of the City of Chicago; contract provisions for community hiring, employing those closest to each project at hand; and contract provisions that require local subcontractor participation.

All PBC projects are designed to achieve a minimum LEED “Silver” certification from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The PBC reports that to date they have 39 projects registered with the USGBC, and a total of 31 additional projects have already achieved LEED certification.

Additional environmentally sustainable initiatives in 2010 included an energy efficiency retrofit project for the Daley Center. New lighting, water fixtures, a heat inductions system and boiler system controls were installed to optimize the building’s energy and resource use. These Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs) will garner a guaranteed average annual savings of more than $600,000 in utility and operational costs.

The PBC was also an active partner in the 2010 Greenbuild Conference held in Chicago in November 2010, where PBC Chairman Mayor Richard M. Daley received the first-ever Mayor Richard M. Daley Legacy Award for Global Leadership in Creating Sustainable Cities. The award will carry his name in perpetuity.

The Public Building Commission of Chicago manages construction and renovation projects for the City of Chicago and its sister agencies. Mayor Richard M. Daley serves as the PBC’s chairman. Erin Lavin Cabonargi serves as the Executive Director of the PBC. Additional information about the PBC and its projects, including a full copy of the 2010 Year End Staff Report can be found at www.pbcchicago.com.

Check out the new PBC video highlighting its environmental sustainability program initiatives at:
https://pbcchicago.catconsult.biz/content/projects/environmental_videos.asp