Southland Industries, one of the nation's largest Design/Build mechanical contracting firms, recently announced it had been awarded three diverse and challenging projects.
The SLS Hotel and Casino — formerly the Sahara Resort — will be completely renovated. With more than 1.5 million total sq.ft., the project consists of three hotel towers that account for about 885,000 sq.ft., as well as a low-rise building accounting for about 770,000 sq.ft. Two of the towers will be completely stripped down and rebuilt, while the third will undergo a renovation that will allow its layout to remain the same. Southland's scope of work on the project will involve HVAC, plumbing, and fire protection services.
Southland designed the facility's HVAC systems to rely on an effective combination of chilled water, heating hot water, and steam. To support these systems, a central plant will be modified to hold a capacity of 2,710 tons of chilled water, 12,500 MBH of heating hot water, and 20,926 MBH of steam.
In regards to plumbing services, Southland will replace various parts of the plumbing systems such as a water softener, grease interceptors, underground waste lines and other infrastructure systems. The upgraded plumbing systems will feed eight restaurants, five kitchens, as well as numerous bars and restrooms within the facility.
For fire protection, a new standpipe system, a diesel fire pumping addition, and various sprinkler modifications and upgrades will be implemented to accommodate the new low-rise building, while two new fire sprinkler systems will be installed within the towers.
The project's construction phase has been underway since February 2013 and overall project completion is anticipated by July 2014. The facility anticipates an official opening in the fall of 2014.
The Holy Cross Hospital campus expansion and renovation project in Silver Spring, MD, will consist of a new patient tower totaling 232,000 sq.ft., as well as a four-level parking garage expansion to accommodate an additional 300 spaces. As the primary purpose of the project, the capacity of the existing one million square foot hospital will be expanded in order to accommodate 150 new private patient rooms, with the ability to increase to 180 new patient rooms. Additionally, the central utility plant serving the existing campus will be replaced and expanded.
Overall, the facility will be designed to achieve LEED certification. With the design stage complete, the project's construction phase commenced in January 2013 and ultimate project completion is anticipated by the end of June 2015.
The National Museum of African American History and Culture project in downtown Washington, DC will cover 410,000 sq.ft., and consist of three stories of below-grade space and five stories of above-grade space on the National Mall, next to the Washington Monument. Southland's scope of work for the project will include HVAC and plumbing services. In regards to plumbing, the project will utilize a large water reclamation system for both ground water and storm water due to its location. Overall, the museum will focus on sustainability as well as environmental stewardship throughout all phases of the project, and will be designed to achieve LEED Gold certification.
The project is currently about halfway into the design phase as well as undergoing early stages of construction due to the sizeable and complex site excavation required. With the majority of the field trades scheduled to start in August 2013, the project is expected to reach overall completion by July 2015.
Southland Industries was founded in 1949, and is one of the nation's largest Design/Build mechanical contracting firms. Southland's Design/Build/Maintain model integrates in-house engineering and design capabilities with self-performed HVAC, process piping, plumbing, fire protection, construction services, automation and controls, testing and balancing, energy services, as well as operations and maintenance in order to provide customers with customized, single-source solutions. www.southlandind.com.