State of Connecticut Awards Litchfield Judicial District Courthouse Project to KBE Building Corp. and its Design-Build Team | $67.8M construction project has been decades in the making

TORRINGTON, Conn. Aug. 15, 2014 – After decades of planning and discussion, the State of Connecticut has chosen KBE Building Corporation to design and build the long-awaited Litchfield Judicial District Courthouse in Torrington, Conn.

KBE is the design-builder and constructor  for the $67.8-million construction project, which encompasses the new construction of a 183,600-square-foot L-shaped building containing (1) a south wing with three stories and basement and (2) a north wing with four stories and basement. The courthouse will accommodate 386 vehicles via an attached two-story parking structure and on-site parking at grade level.

“We are thrilled to have received the award for the Litchfield Courthouse  project,” said KBE principal owner and CEO Mike Kolakowski. “Over the years, KBE has successfully completed 12 design-build projects, including six for the State of Connecticut, and we are very pleased to continue this partnership with the State to create and construct this significant and challenging project.”

Design-build is an innovative way of delivering construction projects. As defined by the Design Build Institute of America, “Design-build is an integrated approach that delivers design and construction services under one contract with a single point of responsibility.” This creates a highly integrated team that is fully committed to controlling project costs and to working together to develop the best solution within the owner’s budget and schedule. Design-build typically enables projects to be completed faster and at a lower cost than under traditional project delivery methods.

For the Litchfield Courthouse project, KBE leads the design-build team, which includes The DLR Group of Orlando, FL as the lead architect with support from CT-based architect AM Design.  DLR Group’s Justice+Civic practice is nationally recognized for award-winning courthouse and correctional design for local, state, and federal clients. AM Design has designed three courthouse projects.

Other design team members include BVH Integrated Services of Bloomfield, CT, providing structural, civil, mechanical/electrical/plumbing, and information technology engineering services; CR3 LLC of Simsbury, CT, providing landscape architecture; Geodesign, Inc. of Middlebury, CT, providing geotechnical and environmental engineering; and Cerami & Associates of New York, NY.

The new building will reflect a traditional courthouse style incorporating a colonnade and a clock/stair tower. Its cast stone and brick exterior will take note of the adjacent buildings while portraying the image of a prominent governmental building.

The new courthouse will be located at 50 Field Street in Torrington. Intended as a replacement for the existing courthouse located in Litchfield, the new building will house criminal courts, civil courts, arraignment courts, juvenile courts, and family courts with all the requisite support spaces. It will also contain a protected sally port and holding area for prisoners, a law library, a public defenders’ space, a judicial marshal’s office and a State’s attorney’s office.

The KBE design-build team will pursue LEED Silver certification for the project. The groundbreaking occurred on August 12, 2014, with completion scheduled for March 2016.

About KBE Building Corporation

Regionally located in Farmington, Conn., and Columbia, Md., KBE Building Corporation is a full-service, single-source commercial construction company strategically positioned to serve the Eastern and Mid-Atlantic U.S. Founded in 1959 and incorporated in 1966, the firm is celebrating its 55th year of providing preconstruction, construction management, design-build, and general contracting services to clients in the educational, senior living, federal, corporate, hospitality, health care, institutional, and retail markets. KBE has managed more than $2.5 billion in construction volume over the last decade and is ranked among Engineering News-Record magazine’s top 400 construction companies nationally.

 

Media Contact: Jonelle Lawhorn | KBE Director of Marketing

t: 860.284.7431| c: 860.836.7517 | f: 860.284.7831 | e: jlawhorn@kbebuilding.com