VRH Construction and Aeroterm, in a webinar on November 30, shared updates on the development of a new cargo facility at JFK International Airport and solicited participation from Minority/Woman-owned contractors and vendors. Aeroterm is the developer and future operator of the new facility, the first new cargo infrastructure to be constructed at the airport in 30 years.
VRH, the general contractor, joined Aeroterm in the project introduction and overview. About 50 local union contractors and vendors attended the virtual presentation, invited by Aeroterm, VRH, the Port Authority of NY and NJ, and several Queens-based organizations.
The project is currently underway with the Abatement and Demolition of three existing buildings on North Boundary Rd. at JFK, with two of the existing 3 buildings has been abated and demolished. The relocation of a 90-inch sanitary sewer main that run underneath the new building structure will be the second phase of construction. That will be followed by the underground utilities, civil, and building construction of the 350,000-square-foot cargo-processing facility, which will include three Class VI aircraft parking positions and 42 loading docks. The project is targeting LEED Gold certification. Construction is expected to take two years, following which Aeroterm will own and operate the facility for 30 years.
Tuesday’s presentation detailed the project requirements for meeting and exceeding the Port Authority set goal of the MWBE participation which consists of 20% minority business enterprise (MBE) participation, 10% woman business enterprise (WBE) participation and 3% service-disabled veteran-owned businesses (SDVOB) participation. VRH also stressed the importance of using local business entities for subcontracting and supplier vendor opportunities, with a particular emphasis on Queensbusinesses.
VRH described the prequalification process for contractors to be invited to bid on this and future projects and also shared the latest development of having virtual office hours, which entails VRH holding 30-minute, one-on-one discussions that are available by appointment. Project Executive Magdy Allam explained the next packages that will be issued for bid and broke down the trades that will be required. The meeting concluded with a robust question-and-answer session.
To learn more about how you can get involved in the project, email aerotermoutreach@vrhcorp.com.
