While the local (yawn) elections were taking place and the pitched battle over highway funding rages in Harrisburg, a variety of interesting projects are being priced or otherwise in competition.

Chuck Hammel was in the news with a small but expensive conversion of 2500 Smallman Street into what he calls ‘city houses’ but there was progress of sorts on a much bigger project that Hammel is planning. Along with Oxford Development and Lincoln Properties, Hammel is proposing 300+ units of apartments just east of the Cork Factory. The project should be $40 million or more. Massaro Corp. has been involved helping with preconstruction for a couple of years. Both they and Mascaro had interviews with the development team last week to move forward in 2014.

Massaro, Mascaro, PJ Dick and Martini are submitting proposals on the 18th for the CM-at-Risk for Central Catholic’s $15 million STEM building. Massaro, Mascaro, PJ Dick, along with Jendoco and Gilbane are putting in proposals on the 14th for a significant ($25 million or more) renovation/remediation at Westinghouse’s headquarters in Cranberry Twp. Both those projects are still being designed by Stantec.

In news from West Virginia, WVU is taking design/build proposals from Astorino, Gilbane, Mascaro & PJ Dick for their new $13 million baseball stadium. Mosites Construction was the apparent low bidder on several packages for general trades, demolition & concrete on Ruby Hospital’s second phase of the $140 million South Tower expansion being construction managed by Yates Construction. A few exits south in Bridgeport, Dominion is taking proposals from development teams for a new 100,000 square foot office in the White Oaks Business Park. They are working with six teams including Clayco, March Westin, Alter Group, Regency, thrasher & WYK.

Following up several of the smaller projects that bid in September/October, Volpatt Construction is underway with St. Clair Hospital’s $1.2 million urgent care facility at 2000 Oxford Drive in Bethel; St. Clair also chose Massaro for their $2 million interventional radiology suite at their main hospital; A. Martini was awarded a contract for Blind & Vision Rehabilitation Services’ $4 million-plus tenant improvement in their new building on the Boulevard of Allies. Rycon is working on the $3.5 million build-out of the former Dick’s space in South Hills Village. The space will become an Ulta and DWS store.