Perhaps it means nothing but the list of contractors prequalifying for the $80 Agricultural Sciences building at WVU is refreshingly short. The responses to the RFQ have not actually gone in yet so the list could further shrink but the attendees at the mandatory pre-proposal conference included only Mascaro, Massaro/Clark, PJ Dick, Turner, Walsh and Whiting-Turner. During the last few years a project that size drew a handful of national contractors to the table, so having a project involving only contractors with regional offices in Pittsburgh is a welcome change. Again, the list could be indicative of no shift in trend – the project’s size is a bit awkwardly in between large and small – but any relief from the hypercompetitive frenzy of 2009-2013 is a good thing.

WVU awarded the $2.6 million site prep package, which bid publicly earlier, to PJ Dick.

Hospitals are making the other news today. The $14 million surgical center that Highmark is building at the Jefferson Hospital medical center in Bethel Park is out for CM at Risk proposals. UPMC is doing scope reviews with the low bidders on its $20 million Luna Parking Garage. Last week Armstrong Hospital took similar proposals from AIM, A. Martini, Landau, Massaro, MBM and Rycon for its $5 million emergency dept. expansion.  Landau, Martini and Massaro have been short-listed for interviews.

On Thursday, Chevron is interviewing the Mascaro/Skanska and Massaro/Clark teams for the construction management of their new $250 million regional headquarters.