2006 Contractor of the Year
Bovis Puts Exclamations On Chicago's Skyline

by Craig Barner

Exclamations are often heard in the Chicago offices of Bovis Lend Lease Inc.

advertisement

The local headquarters of the London-based general contracting firm are located in the UBS Tower, a crisp building in the West Loop completed in 2002 to much acclaim in part because its lobby is framed in an ultratransparent glass net wall held by cables.

Once inside Bovis' eighth-floor offices, the bracing atmosphere is heightened. A stream of guests arrive, telephones ring and heels click as people move about.

Jeffrey Arfsten, 52, executive vice president and director of operations for the firm's Central, West and Texas areas, welcomes guests with gusto.

His colleagues are similarly buoyant, and with Arfsten, they have transmitted their passion for construction throughout the metropolitan area. They include Jeffrey Riemer, 55, executive vice president and principal in charge; Paul James, 57, senior vice president and director of technical services; and Kevin Zesch, 50, senior vice president.

Fittingly, the firm has recently etched some exclamation points on Chicago's skyline in the form of new buildings.

The most important is the 92-story Trump International Hotel & Tower under construction at 401 N. Wabash St.

When the 1,360-ft.-tall structure is finished in late 2008, it will be the second tallest in Chicago-behind only the 1,450-ft.-tall Sears Tower-and likely the 12th tallest in the world, assuming each announced structure taller than it is built according to plan.

Also, Bovis has recently completed two architecturally distinctive office towers across the street from each other that act as something of a gateway between the West Loop and the city center in part because each features curves in its facade, the 53-story 111 S. Wacker Drive building and the 49-story Hyatt Center.

Accentuating the accomplishments these buildings represent, Bovis has erected the projects for developers who are legendary for being demanding.

The most flamboyant, Donald Trump, is a real estate mogul who has sought to solidify his reputation as the toughest of bosses through his appearances on the hit NBC-TV show "The Apprentice." The difficulty of what he is attempting in Chicago is huge.

The 472 condos units in his building range in price from $505,000 for a 580-sq.-ft. studio to an extraordinary $28 million for a 14,000-sq.-ft. penthouse in a high-octane high-rise residential market with abundant choices for buyers. The 286 hotel-condo units in the Trump building vary from $815,000 for a 526 sq. ft. space to $3 million for a 2,245-sq.-ft. unit.

The brash boss has delivered because in mid-February, the condominium was 75 percent sold and the hotel-condominium was 72 percent sold with completion about two years away, said Tere Proctor, director of sales in Chicago for Trump.

Other demanding Chicago-based developers Bovis has worked for include the John Buck Co. (111 S. Wacker) and the Pritzker Realty Group (Hyatt Center).

Their projects will house some organizations with a global reach and exacting facility needs, including accounting firm Deloitte & Touche LLP at 111 S. and investment firm Goldman Sachs & Co. at the Hyatt, as well as the headquarters for the namesake hotel chain that the Pritzker organization runs.

"Each client in its own right is a seasoned, proven developer," Arfsten said. "Their track record is such that when you sit down and meet with them, their level of expectation is right on the front of the table."

Bovis' impact on Chicago and the Midwest goes beyond a few shiny towers. The company has seasoned expertise in the Midwest in areas that include residential, health care, education, transportation, mixed-use and commercial office.

Other major projects under way include the 70-story 340 on the Park condominium to overlook Millennium Park and a 430,000-sq.-ft. building on the campus of the University of Chicago Hospitals to house medical offices and a parking garage.

Important recent completions include the $19 million Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier, the $36.5 million Courtyard by Marriott on East Ontario Street and the $38.5 million Two River Place condominium.

Bovis' financial performance in the Midwest is stellar due in part to its recent major completions. Billings in the four-state Midwest region that Midwest Construction covers went up about 11 percent in 2005 over 2004, to $480.9 million.

In 1998, the firm had $126 million in billings in the Chicago area. As a result, Bovis has nearly quadrupled its dollar volume in only seven years, though inflation accounts for part of the increase.

The firm's executives enjoy a good reputation among other firms in the industry, and their knowledge, commitment and communication skills are unmistakable.

For these and other reasons, Midwest Construction has named Bovis Lend Lease its contractor of the year, the third ever. Bovis is the first organization to receive the honor with main headquarters outside the Chicago area.

"Quality and depth of individuals are what make a contractor great, and Bovis has some of the best people in the industry," said Dan Jenkins, principal of the John Buck Co.

30 Years in Chicago

The firm traces its roots in Chicago to 1976 when Schal Associates Inc. was formed.
In 1993, London-based Bovis Construction Group purchased the operation, and its name was changed to Schal Bovis Inc. Four years later, Schal Bovis and its sister operations, Lehrer McGovern Bovis in New York and McDevitt Street Bovis in Charlotte, N.C., were named Bovis Construction Corp.

In 1999, Australia's Lend Lease Corp. acquired the Bovis companies, and Bovis Lend Lease was formed. Lend Lease operates in 38 countries and had billings in 2005 of $6 billion, up 2 percent from 2004.

Though Sydney is the parent firm's headquarters, London remains the head office of Bovis.

In the United States, New York is Bovis' headquarters. The firm has 20 locations, including one in Columbus, Ohio, the only other Midwest operation.

Bovis had 2004 billings, the most recent available, of $3.16 billion in the United States.

Overall, the firm offers services in 18 market sectors, such as commercial, cultural, health care and others.

In the Midwest, the firm has about 300 employees. Eleven projects were completed in the region in 2005, and 42 projects are under way.

Arfsten joined Bovis in 1976 and was most recently principal in charge in Chicago.

Since March 2004, he has been executive vice president and director of operations in Chicago, Ohio, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Texas and San Francisco.

Sidebar One:
Bovis Means Business

The business strategies of Bovis Lend Lease Inc. help explain its success in the Midwest.

For instance, the company is able to leverage the resources of a worldwide organization. Indeed, the contract for the 92-story Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago went to Bovis in part because of the groundwork the New York office had laid.

Andrew Weiss, executive vice president of the New York-based Trump Organization, said Bovis has established a good reputation with Trump because Bovis successfully completed the Trump World Tower on the East Side of Manhattan and five of seven completed properties for Trump Place, a residential development on Manhattan's West Side.

In Chicago, the Bovis team capitalized on a reputation established elsewhere but also contributed to it by helping the Trump Organization finalize plans for its Chicago tower.

The Chicago team helped Trump make the decision to switch the structural support for the Trump International Hotel & Tower, Weiss said.

Steel was the original structural support for the tower due in part to the wide column-to-column spans the material provides for offices. But because of high steel prices when the project was in design and other factors, offices were taken out of the building plans. The switch was made to concrete for the structural support.

"Bovis provided the scheduling, logistical and costing support to help us make that decision," Weiss added.

Moreover, the Bovis organization set up a system three years ago called ikonnect that allows project managers and executives in Chicago to tap the knowledge base of an organization with about 10,000 employees worldwide, many with highly specialized construction and product knowledge.

A question might arise, and the ikonnect team in Charlotte, N.C., is contacted. Ikonnect tries to find someone in the Bovis organization worldwide who can provide help.

About three years ago, when Bovis was doing work for Community Unit School District 200 in west suburban Wheaton, a question came up about an artificial turf product used for athletic fields. It had never been used in Chicago.

"We got an ikonnect response from our office in upstate New York and were able to put things in place in terms of under-field drainage," said Jeffrey Riemer, executive vice president and principal in charge with Bovis in Chicago.

The teamwork ethic extends to organizations outside Bovis.

Steve Nilles, partner with Chicago-based architecture firm Goettsch Partners, the designer of the 111 S. Wacker project, said he needs reliable cost estimates from contractors to make reliable decisions during design.

He praised James Dushek, senior vice president and director of field operations for Bovis, for his knowledge.

"He (Dushek) has the insight to know without the architect telling him what is important from a design standpoint," Nilles said.

-C.B.

Sidebar Two:
A Yearning for Learning

Increasing staff knowledge and continuing education are a virtual constant at Bovis Lend Lease Inc. in Chicago.

A curriculum of five areas of competency and made up of 30 one- to two-hour classes was established for employees recently graduated from college and midlevel employees new to the organization, said Paul James, senior vice president and director of technical services. Senior and middle management are the teachers.

"If an employee wants to get promoted and can demonstrate [he or she] had training in these classes and mastered these skills, you've demonstrated you are ready to step up," he added.

Moreover, every month, safety training is held, and subcontractors give specialized training.

And, project team members are drilled on critical skills, especially showing strict attention to a building project's schedule. Scheduling agility is important because many building owners want to get cash flow from leases started as quickly as possible.

Early in the project, the team will try to recommend early purchases-such as electrical switchgear, fans, chillers-so it can be installed quickly, Principal in Charge Jeffrey Riemer said.

James Jenkins, an associate professor in the Department of Building Construction Management at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., said scheduling is one of three key measures owners use to assess a contractor. The others are quality of workmanship and safety.

"You want to keep the owner abreast of everything that is happening on the project," he added.

The emphasis on learning has paid dividends in construction know-how in Chicago because of the intricate projects here.

On the Trump project, for example, rock caissons will hold a bearing pressure of about 250 tons per sq. ft.-reportedly the highest ever in Chicago. The 100 N. Riverside Plaza office Bovis erected in the early 1990s features a building corner suspended over active train tracks from an exposed truss on the roof.

On the 111 S. Wacker Drive office project, the three-part structural system features 80-ft. column spans at the base, 40-ft. column spans on the top and a nine-story megatruss-with horizontal, vertical and diagonal members-between the two to help transfer loads. In addition, a tensioned net wall frames the lobby and provides passersby with views inside.

Ron Klemencic, president of Seattle-based Magnusson Klemencic Associates, the structural engineer on 111 S. Wacker, applauded Bovis for constant communication during the net wall tensioning because it affected the structure during construction.

"They kept very tight control of the surveying of where the building was located and how it was reacting as we tensioned the cables," he said.

Important trends are learned at Bovis, such as the sustainable building and design techniques.

Two employees at Bovis are accredited in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design by the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Green Building Council, including Bruce Watts, vice president of business development.

The work has paid off because 111 S. Wacker is reportedly the first high-rise in the world to receive the LEED Gold designation. Green elements included reusing some caissons and foundation walls from the previous building on the site and installing a green roof.

Dan Jenkins, principal of Chicago-based John Buck Co., also credits Bovis for the laborious effort of documenting the project's sustainable elements. This included verifying the amount of recycled concrete and recycled steel used.

"We could not have achieved it (the Gold LEED designation) without Bovis' good work in that regard," he added.

Executive's skills are sharpened via traditional methods, such as a two-week training program at New York's Columbia University.

More important, unorthodox methods are occasionally used, including in Chicago. For example, the world-famous Second City comedy troupe was hired to improve the executives' communication and presentation skills.

"At one point we were standing and yelling against the wall to learn to project our voices," James said.

The students were taught to guard against weaving, watching hand position, being too monotone or-in some cases-insufficiently monotone.

"Most of us came to our business with an engineering or technical background and are comfortable with technical issues," Riemer said. "We've had little formal training in presentations."

-C.B.

Click here for next Top Contractors Feature >>