Research center boosts builder's bottom line

The $54 million Center for Molecular Medicine at UNR represents a crucial element in the bottom line for Clark and Sullivan Construction, says Senior Project Manager Jarrett Rosenau.

While Clark and Sullivan has some smaller projects at Renown Regional Medical Center company president BJ Sullivan says Clark and Sullivan has been working steadily at the hospital since 1987 the

Center for Molecular Medicine is carrying the day for the company.

"We are very thankful to have it," Sullivan says. "That is a major job, and in this area right now I do not see whole lot of work coming out, so it is very important. All the subs we have are pleased, too."

Clark and Sullivan employs 20 to 25 carpenters and laborers, superintendents, engineers and foremen at the site, with another 20 to 25 men working in other trades.

"We are very blessed to be able to get this job," Rosenau says. "(Reno) is not as busy as it once was, and that gives us the opportunity to have some high-quality labor, guys who have been around a long time and are professionals.

"This is the biggest job we have going on right now, and hopefully it will carry us until things relax a little bit economically and begin to pick up and we can pick up our fair share of the market and put people back to work," he adds.

Clark and Sullivan broke ground in December on the two three-story buildings that total about 140,000 square feet and should be completed with construction by summer of 2010. But breaking ground is slightly misleading the new buildings sit in a formerly V-shaped draw that over time was filled in and was unsuitable for conventional concrete footing construction. Clark and Sullivan contracted with Case Pacific of

Paso Robles, Calif. to dig 125 caissons some holes were six feet wide and up to 60 feet deep to support the new buildings.

"The unsuitable soil wouldn't allow for engineered fill," Rosenau says. "It was a lot of clay, some boulders and non-load bearing soil."

Will Smith, vice president of Case Pacific, says large granite boulders up to six feet in diameter hampered drilling in about 25 percent of the holes. But the company had a massive drill rig that provided 200,000 foot-pounds of torque and 160,000 foot-pounds of push-down power.

"With this kind of power we made big boulders into little rocks," Smith says.

Case Pacific dug up to eight or nine holes a day on its best drilling days. Filling the caissons took more than 4,000 yards of concrete and 162 tons of rebar installed by Northern Nevada Rebar.

Rebar cages were fabricated at Northern Nevada Rebar's Sparks shop.

"They wanted them one after the other, and staying up with the pace of it was a challenge, but luckily we have a machine for that," says Marc Bebout, shop manger for Northern Nevada Rebar.

The groundwork wasn't the only complicated part of the job, Rosenau says. Since the site slopes high to low west to east, they must tie in three different elevations.

"We have to make sure they all jive during the consulting process," Rosenau says. "Sometimes we come across areas where we need to get some clarification before we make it permanent in the field. Some stuff is clear as day on the drawings, and some other stuff we need to research a little more to make sure we are doing it right."

Vortex Steel of Sparks will begin flying in steel in a few weeks, Rosenau says.

The skin of the center will be finished concrete, brick veneer and glass curtain. The center also will have a pedestrian footbridge connecting it with the Howard Medical Sciences building. Inside the building top-notch research laboratory facilities will be reminiscent of the best biopharmaceutical research firms in the Bay Area.

"They definitely will have the facility to do any kind of research," Rosenau says. "It is nice to know that caliber of facility is present in Reno."