Skanska about to begin Jackson federal building upgrades

09/01/2009

By Candy McCampbell

Skanska USA Building Inc. will start work later this month on a $60 million job at the A.H. McCoy Federal Building in Jackson, Miss., that will upgrade the architecture, the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems and add a security area.

The five-phase job is one of 120 similar projects nationwide that are funded by a grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to make buildings more energy-efficient and less costly to operate.

The 420,000-sq-ft building will get a new 3,000-sq-ft security area to separate the security screening process from building operations, says Brian Murray, Skanska senior vice president and project executive.

The mechanical system is being upgraded to meet new energy goals and building window replacement is currently under study, he says.

The project is planned to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver certification.

Other features are motion sensors for lights and water faucets, sensors to turn off lights if enough daylight is available and rainwater runoff collection for landscape use.

Cooke Douglass Farr Lemons, a Jackson architecture and engineering firm, is working with Schwarz/Silver Architects Inc. of Boston on the architecture and engineering for the project.

The 15-story building was built in 1979. This project is scheduled for completion in late 2012.

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