Construction in the public sector has been a tougher place to make a living for the past couple of years. While adequate funding for transportation projects still seems like a coin toss at this point, there is some activity in higher ed and K-12 that offers hope. Pitt is taking Predetermination of Responsibility submissions for two of its projects on Nov. 25. These are essentially pre-qualification forms to be approved to bid the $23 million Clapp-Langley complex and the $3.5 million Chevron Science Center jobs that DGS will put out to bid, probably in December. The projects will bid as separate prime contract offerings and won’t be from Pitt’s invited list of contractors but the PDR process keeps the projects from bidding to unqualified contractors. You can find the PDR at http://www.facmgmt.pitt.edu/CurrentProjects/

For those with a longer horizon, two major new school projects are moving ahead in the early stages of planning. West Jefferson Hills selected Turner Construction as CM for their $70 million new high school. Selection of an architect will come after the holidays and bidding is not likely until 2015. On a similar timetable, Montour School District is reviewing architectural proposals for its new $55 million elementary school.

In private sector news, Mike Coates Construction was selected for the general construction package on Duquesne Light’s new $5 million warehouse in McKeesport. And James Construction started construction on the $15 million expansion of the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in downtown Greensburg. PMC Management has started work on the conversion of the upper floors of the Clark Building into 144 apartments.