Hard Hat Tour of Gwinnett Braves Minor League Stadium Synopsis

An unseasonably cold wind was blowing on Tuesday, March 31st, but that didn’t slow the numerous trade crews and their monumental efforts to complete the Gwinnett Braves ballpark. Nor did it stop the many members of SMPS and DBIA from attending a presentation and tour of this amazing facility. Special thanks go out to Ashley Dale of Barton Malow, and the SMPS Programs Committee for all of their efforts to make this spectacular event come to fruition.

The day started with a special appearance by Gwinnett Braves mascot Chopper, who entertained everyone. With a backdrop of a welcome message to SMPS members on the video board, Beth Harris, of McDonough Bolyard Peck, and President of the SMPS Atlanta Chapter welcomed the group. Event sponsors, Crystal Plemons, of ATC, and Randy McCook, of DPS thanked us for the opportunity to be featured at the event. Proceeds from the event will be donated to the Gwinnett Children’s Shelter. Their Executive Director, Nancy Friauf, described the organization’s mission and how it all started 22 years ago with 3 women from the local PTA. And last but not least, Mike Castle, of the Gwinnett Braves, informed the group about ticket prices and options. By the way, tickets start at only $5 for a space on the lawn, up to just $15 for a box seat behind home plate!

The presentation of the design/build project was given by Phil Roy and Len Moser of contractor Barton Malow; Matt Mitchell, architect with HKS and Bill Blackwell, AGM of the Gwinnett Braves. The project is a wonderful example of the design build process. A ballpark like this one would typically take 22-24 months to complete from design to ribbon cutting. This one will be completed in just 14 months!

The following is a listing of notable project facts:

• The stadium is developed by Brand Properties and is part of a much larger development that will include office, apartment, condos, hotel, and retail.
• The ballpark will hold 10,300 spectators total (7,500 seats, 300 in suites, 2,500 lawn)
• It broke ground 6/08 and because of a wetland issue was delayed 2 months and did not start building the structure until 9/08, but will be completed in 4/09!

Sustainability Features:

• 1.5 miles of underground water storage pipe that will hold 775,000 cubic feet of reuse water saving millions of gallons of water per year.
• The rock blasted for the underground utilities was placed in a crushing machine and reused on site for temporary roads.
• Timed lights in parking lots and automatic light sensors in many locations throughout the project.
• Local materials reduced fuel consumption, 95% recycled content in carpet, 10% pervious paving, and white reflective roof.

The group was then divided into smaller groups and toured the entire facility, including home team locker rooms, suites and back of the house areas. The suites feature granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, and soon to be installed 50” flat panels. The super suite can accommodate large office or client outings and has a private sky deck overlooking right field. The ballpark has multiple bars and places to dine but all meals are prepared in a single kitchen and delivered to the patron’s location.

The Gwinnett Braves ballpark is an exemplary example of the design build process in action and will host countless fun filled days for our community.

Congratulations to all that were involved in such a marvelous accomplishment!

Mark Fore
CEI Engineering
Program Committee Member, SMPS Atlanta

Past Event Link

Event Sponsors:
Digital Printing Solutions
ATC Associates Inc.

Redevelopment in Georgia Program Synopsis

Maria Mullins, Director of DeKalb County’s office of Economic Development moderated an esteemed panel of industry experts including Ken Bleakly of Bleakly Advisory Group, Scott Condra with Jacoby Development, Ted Tarantino of MARTA and Bob Roche a City Councilman in Doraville.

Maria shared that based on current conversations with GM, there is no information to share at the present time. GM is not ready to talk about the redevelopment of that property until they work out additional details. The one criteria issued was the new development honor the legacy and history of the site and the plant. Once plans are developed, the city and county will work with GM to develop incentive packages to sustain the businesses and create opportunities for new companies to enter the market. Scott shared that the Ft. Gillem and Ft. McPherson projects have reuse plans prepared and are awaiting negotiations with the Army to finalize purchase and transfer. This should move forward in 2010 or 2011.

As the discussion turned to the impact of the economic stimulus plan on our industry, Ken shared that the market for Tax Allocation Districts (TADs) shut down about a year ago due to the interest rates and financing restrictions and thus deals aren’t closing now. Currently 55 cities and municipalities across Georgia are using TADs and as a result development has stalled. For recovery, the municipal bond market needs to stabilize. Second, the capital markets are frozen. Developers can’t get financing even with 50% equity. It will take a thawing of the credit markets to help get banks lending again.

Going forward, the focus is on infrastructure projects or projects tied to seaports and airports. It will take time for the retail and residential markets to recover and there won’t be many spec projects in the near future.

Bob Roche introduced the thought process behind the ordinance in Doraville that requires all new buildings to be LEED Certified before a certificate of occupancy is issued. It’s a win-win for everyone and he dispelled some of the misinformation related to certification costs. Atlantic Station is actually the first LEED Certified Campus in the nation and many others across the state and country are taking notice and starting to follow suit.

MARTA has already been affected by the economy. Ted shared that the Avondale project is ready to go, but currently on hold because bond financing isn’t available. Right now the plan is to wait another year or two until the economy rebounds before releasing any more projects.

Incidentally, Mayor Hartsfield purchased the land that became the airport during the Great Depression. NOW is the time to be planning for and looking at redevelopment.

Ashley Dale, CTI
Barton Malow
Director of Programs, SMPS Atlanta

Past Event Link

Event Sponsors:
DPR Construction, Inc.
Energy Ace, Inc.

International Business Program Synopsis

The SMPS Atlanta Chapter’s November program focused on international business and local A/E/C firms working abroad. The Panelists were Bill Griffin, Chairman of the Board, Rosser International; Helen Davis Hatch, FAIA, Principal and Vice President of Client Relations with Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates; Richard Taylor, a Partner with HLB Gross Collins, an accounting firm; and Danielle Fernandes, Project Manager of Business Engagement with the Atlanta Development Authority. The panel was moderated by Andrew Schutt, a Partner with Arnall Golden Gregory law firm.

What is attractive about Atlanta? What makes our city easy to sell?
Richard Taylor responded that our people are friendly. Other responses included:

• A good labor supply particularly of technically savvy people aged 25-35
• Having the largest airport in the work in our back yard is very appealing to CEOs
• Top notch colleges and universities that actively partner with private industries

What would you change about Atlanta?
The response was unanimous…our highway system. While the city has a state-of-the-art system, it’s obviously too crowded, and the only solution would be to have a metro system that actually goes somewhere. Danielle Fernandes added that the only other negative she has heard recently about Atlanta is that there should be more focus on the public middle school and high school systems because they’re not as competitive as they should be.

How do you learn, early on, about business opportunities interested in moving into Georgia?
Danielle says that they partner with the state chamber and with Georgia Power, and also have connections within the booming life sciences industry. Richard says that the local chambers of commerce and the Georgia Economic Development office are good sources of information.

Have you been asked in recent years about water resources in Georgia in light of our recent drought conditions?
Neither one of them have been asked about it. They said they tend to focus on business services issues. Plus the city of Atlanta just bought the Vulcan quarry which will function as a water reservoir for the area.

What do you focus on when trying to bring business into the city?
Responses included:

• Understanding your client’s needs
• Maintaining confidentiality
• Learning to connect with the people
• Learn to adapt to cultural differences (the book “Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands” was referenced)

What are some of the current and near future challenges?
Richard responded that the financial markets are certainly tight and there is definitely lower than normal activity. Danielle added that there are several domestic projects that are on hold until at least January. They both agreed that internationally, Europe is more affected than the Asian markets, and overall there is more activity in China and India.

Where should companies open offices?
Helen Hatch said that she feels the days of US companies working in China and the Middle East are numbered. Right now they need our expertise but that won’t last forever. China needs it more than Dubai for example. She stated that she thinks the Dubai bubble could burst at any moment. Bill Griffin added that India will keep going for a while, but overall it won’t be as strong as it has been.

What are some of the challenges working internationally?
Helen said that the most challenging place to work has been China and a large part of that has been because of cultural differences. First of all it’s not a democracy and it’s an insult to say no. As a result, most often they will tell you what you want to hear, which is not what is actually going to happen in the end. She also said that design competitions are really expensive and it’s a major investment you have to be prepared to make.

How did you enter the international markets?
Bill said that Rosser had employees on staff from the Middle East and wanted to work there, so the company made a commitment to put people on the ground there. Helen said that TVS’ work began with a retail client in Chile that they met through ICSC in the early 1990s. They are still doing work with that client, although they don’t have an office in Chile. Conversely, they wanted to sell their convention center expertise in China, and took one of their employees in Atlanta, who was of Chinese decent and wanted to go to back to China, specifically for that purpose. It took them 3-4 years of consistently selling to finally get work. With Dubai and India, they also had architects on staff that wanted to go to those countries to develop relationships. Additionally they also had contacts in the US through ULI that took them to the Middle East to work.

Some of the challenges that TVS and Rosser face working internationally include:

• Cultural differences
• Knowledge of the legal system (or lack thereof)
• Civil codes
• Local labor laws/labor pool
• Taxes and tariff issues (for instance there are double taxes in India)

Richard offered that he had assisted clients in both Russia and Algeria and found that official in those countries were, for the most part, corrupt. There were bribes required at every turn for one company that was trying to export a product out of the country.

Helen said the common denominator is relationships and it’s all about who you know. She said that TVS would never enter a design competition if they don’t know the owner and if the owner didn’t think highly of them. She also said they only decided to open international offices when clients demanded it, and that sometimes they still debate whether some offices should be representative offices or fully staffed offices, but it’s all based on what the client wants. She said they’re a very culturally diverse firm: there are 22 languages spoken by members of their Atlanta office.

How much time did it take for your firm to see a payoff for your efforts?
Helen said about 4 years in China and about 2-1/2 in Dubai. Rosser said it took about 3 years in the Middle East. Both agreed that firms should plan on about 4 or 5 years.

Take-aways from the panel members:

• There will be manufacturing and distribution centers moving into areas outside the city. Within the city, business services/human capital jobs will continue to move in, primarily those in the life sciences, telecom, engineering, and other high tech industries, because of opportunities to partner with local universities.
• A global economy is here to stay, and countries where there is still work, should you chose to open and office there, include Brazil, India, China, Mexico, and parts of the Middle East.
• One area that may see a lot of attention is the upgrading of infrastructure. Governments may pump money into infrastructure to get the economy moving again.

Lisa B. Roberson, CPSM
Newcomb & Boyd
EAC Member, SMPS Atlanta

Past Event Link

Dealing With The Reality of Unemployment

Having recently been unemployed, I would like to offer the following insight on how to deal with this new reality for so many in our industry. First and foremost, get registered with the Department of Labor immediately, regardless of your severance situation. They will know if, and when, you are eligible to receive an unemployment payment. In Atlanta, the system is backlogged, so it can take over a month to receive your first payment, apply now, before you think you need to.

Next, get out there -- and stay in front of people! Let others know you are looking for a job and get the word out. Attend association meetings, go out to lunch with your peers, keep up with what is going on in the industry, go on interviews - even if you do not believe you are right for that position. You never know what you will learn. And even if it is not the right “fit” for you, someone else you know may be perfect for that role--Pay It Forward!

For those who are employed and want to help, keep in touch with your unemployed friends, colleagues and peers. Most importantly, we are all in this game together, so let them know that they are not alone. Take them out to lunch, offer to pay for their registration to attend an association meeting, and pass along job leads as you hear of them. Write a recommendation of them to post on the SMPS Pay it Forward website, along with their resume.

These times are uncertain, at best. But one thing is certain, SMPS is here to stay, and we are here for our members and colleagues. We get closer to the end of the economic downturn every day. Now is a great time to get in front of those clients who are typically too busy to meet. This is the time to make a plan for “the turnaround”. What is your firm doing now to position itself for new project opportunities? You never know, the person you connect with a new job today, could be your new best client tomorrow. Build those relationships, stay connected, and remember, your friends at SMPS are here for you.

_____________________

Beth Harris was recently hired by McDonough Bolyard Peck, Inc., as Regional Marketing Manager. MBP is a construction program management, cost estimating, scheduling, litigation/claims support firm in Buckhead.

Beth Harris

McDonough Bolyard Peck, Inc.

President of SMPS Atlanta

Vectors vs. Pixels

Here's a situation you may be familiar with. You've just joined a firm and you need to do a design that requires a vector image. Your boss doesn't understand why you can't just use a jpg, tif, or gif image and no one knows what a vector image is.

If you feel shy or irritated when trying to explain the importance of vectors, or maybe you need an entertaining reminder yourself, check out this funny 3-minute video by MacMerc.TV called Pixels vs. vectors. Additionally, iStock has a helpful article on vector tips and tricks: Points and Paths article.

Lastly, a great place to find that vector image is to call the printer that provides stationary or signs to your firm.

Sarah Mackley
Innovative Solutions Group, Ltd. (ISG)
SMPS Atlanta, Director of Communications

Best Practices Program Synopsis

For the October 28 “Best Practices” presentation, Karen Courtney of Barton Malow and Pete Kienle, of McKim & Creed featured real world examples and life lessons beginning with some definitions and differences between marketing (one to many), business development (one to one) and sales (closing the deal).

As they moved into the “Business Acquisition”: process, they talked about delineating the different stages of the sales process and where most firms spend the majority of their time. By contrast, they illustrated how that differs from where winning firms spend most of their time. The bottom line is more effort up front in the “target” and “intelligence” (relationship building) phase pays big dividends when it comes to getting the job. They referred to this process as “wiring the job.”

Expounding more on targeting and intelligence, they covered many unique places to look for leads and the sales funnel rule of thumb. It opened many eyes as to just how many places and ways you can acquire a lead from rumors you hear at your child’s baseball game to alumni reports. There was a definite push to become focused on a manageable number of prospects where your firm does have experience in what the prospect is attempting to build. A great tip in this section was to always call and ask questions about the RFP. It just shows you respect the prospect enough to make sure you have everything they require.

Next, in the Go/No Go section, the white board brainstorming came up with several suggestions a committee should consider during this phase. Does your firm have:

• A relationship with this prospect?
• Relevant experience with this project type?
• Appropriate staff to do the job?
• Funding source?
• Enough marketing staff to create the proposal?
• A possibility for future work?
• Profit margin?
• Prospect?
• Internal champion?

Cultivate was the next area of concentration and focuses on creating those lasting relationships. Karen even told a story about an out of town shopping excursion she once had with a client. She also gave excellent insight including “trust is the number one reason a firm is selected” and “it takes a minimum of seven contacts (communications) to make a sale.”

They spoke of the fact that we all must find our value proposition, practice our elevator speech and find or create differentiators between ourselves and our competitors. We also received a great tip about a good access letter in the 14th addition of the AIA handbook.

In the “Strategic Plan” section, they advised us to set a goal, develop a strategy and devise a tactic. For marketing in a slow economy they encouraged to keep talking, bury your competition, promote yourself, give accolades to those that do a great job and keep marketing and developing business!

Mark Fore
National Business Development Manager
CEI Engineering Associates, Inc.

What's On My Mind...

These days I’m finding it’s important to cut through the clutter and focus on what is important. The challenge is figuring out just what is the important stuff.

We all have that ever-present balancing act between our personal and professional lives. The way I see it is, as you get older, you really need to “protect” your me time, or the thing that makes you YOU, gets lost. Time is a premium. I can’t tell you how many times I have turned to my husband or children and said, “I just wish there was more time in the day.” That’s at the point where I’m climbing in bed and then falling asleep immediately. And, then again, there are those times I lay awake all night worrying about things – some within my control and other totally out of my control. I’m sure you’ve felt that way too.

My thought here is to share a few tidbits or, perhaps even, mantras that may serve as some guideposts for you in your own individual journeys:

• Stay on a quest of continuous learning! Personally, I like knowing a little about a lot of things. It keeps life interesting. I like to know about what’s on the horizon. It gives you great conversation starters.
• Celebrate your wins; pat yourself on the back. Especially in our industry, I know you may often feel like you are unappreciated or not valued. The truth is if YOU know your value, that’s all that matters. Walk with your head held high and smile. And, if you don’t like your situation, you are the only one who can change it.
• Don’t be afraid to ‘ask for forgiveness instead of permission.’ I have found that if I’m waiting for someone to give me permission to do something, that particular opportunity is long gone. Trust your gut, must of the time it is right. But, if you totally mess something up, quickly admit to your failing. If you don’t, the consequences can be disastrous.
• Avoid looking back and saying “I wish I would’ve.” If you ever find you are at a crossroad of indecision or even fear, ask yourself, “Will I wish I would have done that?” Much of life is serendipity. And, if you think about it, we spend a lot of energy ‘creating our own luck.’ Think about it.
• Be in it to win it! Everyone wants to win. Give it your all. Think positively and know you are going to win. You deserve to win!

Since this is a ‘blog’ and the EAC has been challenged to participate, I look forward to hearing your feedback and comments to this posting, share your insights that may serve as inspiration to others.

Peggy Henderson
Senior Associate
Heery International