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News Archive - Page 3


SmithGroup Commendation
May 18, 2009
Solomon G. Brown Corps Center

WCS Construction's relationship with our architects is another vital part of our business. Speaking of this relationship, Colden Florance, Principal of SmithGroup recommended WCS Construction "based on your company's outstanding performance as the General Contractor for the 74,000 GSF, 5-story Corps Center for the Salvation Army in Anacostia, SE, Washington, DC."

"Through our many years of collaboration on this project, from the Pre-construction to the Construction Administration phases we found WCS and its personnel most knowledgeable, dedicated, and experienced, which lead to a well-executed, award winning project."

"The variety of building uses required multiple space, lighting, acoustical, and system solutions and WCS attention to detail and ability to manage multiple trade sequencing brought the building to life and to become a development catalyst in Anacostia while setting a high-quality standard for the neighborhood."

"WCS also distinguished itself by their proactive approach to identifying potential issues ahead of time saving costly after-the-fact remedies to the Owner. We are very pleased to see our design vision executed with quality and care."

We want to thank Mr. Florance for his kind words which speaks for our commitment to building strong business relationships that help ensure the smoother management of our clients projects.

The Unitized Flashing System
February 25, 2009
The Reserve at Tysons Corner is a multi-story apartment complex being built in Vienna, Virginia. Dave Kutchma is the Senior Project Manager for the $50 million project, which features 322,000-square-foot of residential wood frame building over a two story below grade 444-space parking garage. When it came to planning for the masonry work's flashing system an innovative product solution was found that would save not only half the time and labor of installing separate components, but provide a user-friendly, virtually fail-safe installation, with a high quality composite masonry flashing system. WCS Construction, together with masonry contractor Oak Tree Building Group, and SK&I Architects hit upon substituting a unitized flashing system for the separate components in the specifications. The TotalFlash system for the exterior brick cavity walls, although costing more up-front compared to buying separate components, cut installation time and labor costs significantly, off-setting the higher cost of the product with the value added benefit of a quality, one-piece flashing system. This system elminates installation errors commonly found in conventional systems, further allowing the skilled workers to focus on the more challenging tasks. The product provides redundant protections against water infiltration wall failures and mold growth which contribute to a building's longevity. This added protection was a major selling point for the owner.

Wood Frame Construction over Concrete Podium
February 25, 2009
Avera Station 4-Story Wood Frame Apartments

One of our fastest growing areas of expertise is that of wood frame construction over slab-on-grade or podium parking garage. Where residential height limitations are a concern, wood frame structures offer a more cost effective alternative with savings between 15-25% compared to concrete and structural steel buildings.

Avera Station is a prime example of this, being a recently completed 4-story wood frame apartment complex over a 2 level below grade parking garage. The Vienna, Virginia project was recently recognized by the Association of General Contractors of DC with their New Construction Award 2008. WCS Construction returned to the owner $2 million in cost savings, and completion of the project 2.5 months ahead of schedule --despite starting late due to permitting delays!

The Reserve at Tysons Corner is a similar project currently ongoing in Vienna, Virginia which also features 267 apartment units over a below grade parking garage. In October of 2008, the wood framing work on this project was subject to a rare visit by a Canadian and Japanese delegation of timber and lumber industry officials who wished to tour the project and see an outstanding example of this construction type.

As you will have noted in our feature article, The Reserve at Tyson's Corner has also been recognized for the quality and cost savings offered by the unitized flashing system used for the masonry work. There's no question that WCS Construction has the experience and the expertise to offer you an exceptional alternative.

Examples of Representative Wood Frame Podium Projects

The Reserve at Tysons Corner: 267 units, 4-story wood frame, 2 levels below grade parking structure (444 spaces) with podium.

Rhodes Hill Square: 89 luxury condominiums, 4-story wood frame, 1 level below grade parking structure (169 spaces) with podium.

Avera Station: 250 units, 4-story wood frame, 2 levels below grade parking structure (400 spaces) with podium.

Metro Place @ Town Center: 397 units, 4-story wood frame, 5-story precast parking garage (420 spaces).

8045 Newell Street: 120 units, 5-story wood frame, 1 level below grade parking garage. One of the first '5-story' wood frame projects constructed in the DC Metro area.

"WCS Construction built a very well constructed building, with no delays, and did so with professionalism and integrity." - Chris Akkerman
VP of Production Multifamily, Beazer Homes
(Avera Station / Carmel Vienna Metro Apartments)
Fore A Good Cause
October 31, 2008
The Washington Business Journal's October 31-November 6, 2008 edition had the following to report about WCS Construction's Fore Kids Golf Tournament which was held September 29.

Who's Giving: Sponsor WCS Construction LLC of D.C. and participants in a golf tournament.
Who's Receiving: The Salvation Army
What's Being Given: $174,000 in Christmas gifts, school supplies, day care and after-school programs for more than 6,000 needy families, shelter and training for homeless women and children.
Background: About 200 golfers, including more than 50 pros, competed in the Fore Kids Golf Tournament, the third-largest annual fundraiser for the Salvation Army.
A Few Words From the Sponsor: "This year's Salvation Army golf outing was blessed with great weather, a great group of hosts and a wonderful contingent of avid supporters," says Fred DiPietro, vice president of estimating for WCS Construction, a unit of William C. Smith & Co. "I was struck with pride at the response that WCS Construction and our subcontractors were able to bring to the event. We will continue the good work this year with the goal of making next year's golf outing the event to attend and to increase the support for the Salvation Army and the kids."

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WCS Construction Hosts Japanese/Canadian Delegation
October 22, 2008
Japanese and Canadian government officials were part of a government-to-government 50 member delegation, hosted by American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), that meets annually to discuss building codes and ways to use wood in residential and commercial construction. The visit in October was organized through the U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service to encourage the visiting nations to use more wood in their construction. The delegation was formed to introduce them to the way U.S. regulations promote the use of wood in residential and commercial construction. The group has been meeting for 18 years since U.S. and Japan negotiated a wood product agreement.
Washington, DC, contractor WCS Construction conducted a tour of a 4-story wood frame, 267-unit, luxury apartment complex the company is building in Vienna, VA. Jim Anglemyer, president of WCS Construction, expressed the significance of hosting this group, “the timing of sharing this major wood frame project with the Japanese Delegation could not have been better. With 40% of the project’s wood framing in place, and two buildings under-roof, the delegation was able to experience the production benefits of a well-run, major wood frame construction project and see the internal building structure, framing components and interfaces, hurricane/wind and shear force structural provisions, and building fire-separation details, as well as view the roughing in of plumbing, mechanical and electrical trades in a wood frame structure. Most importantly, the delegation was able to see the significant benefits of maximizing land usage density (90-units per acre on this site) with multi-story wood frame construction, which can be built for up to 30% less cost than conventional steel or concrete building construction, and with the added benefit of utilizing renewable resource products.”
Japan’s wood housing sector remains the second largest in the world, behind only the United States. This fact is particularly significant since the population of Japan is about 125 million - equal to about half the population of the U.S. As a result, Japan continues to be a major consumer of wood construction materials. The residential housing sector accounts for an estimated 85% of the wood use in Japan, and this percentage approaches 90% if wood used in all forms of construction is included. The U.S. Government has been working closely with the U.S. wood products industry to ensure full implementation of the 1990 Wood Products Agreement designed to open the Japanese wood market. Through regular consultations between the U.S. and Japanese governments and consistent U.S. industry pressure and technical exchanges, some progress has been made in the areas of standards, regulations, and certification. Obstacles to increased value-added exports due to tariffs and non-tariff barriers remain, however, and deny U.S. producers fair and open access to the Japanese market.
AF&PA participates in the annual Building Experts Committee (BEC) and Japan Agriculture Standards Technical Committee meetings. One goal is to maintain a dialogue with Japanese authorities with regard to building code fire performance ratings that continue to be unreasonably restrictive in several applications where wood has proven to be an optimal material. Wood frame assemblies are held to a much higher standard then competing steel assemblies. This leads to discrimination not only against U.S. wood products but all wood products in favor of competing materials such as steel.
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Avera Station Wins AGC Award for New Construction
October 7, 2008
The Association of General Contractors (AGC) Washington Contractor Awards presentation were held Tuesday, October 7, 2008 at Washington, DC’s Newseum on Pennsylvania Avenue. WCS Construction was the proud recipient of an award for Avera Station, the only residential project to receive a New Construction award. Receiving the award is WCS Construction’s Senior Project Manager Dave Kutchma whose talented team delivered the project substantially under budget and 2.5 months ahead of the 24-month construction schedule.
The $50M project included the construction of three connected, four-story wood frame buildings, all situated over a 2-story below grade, 188,000 SF, 400 space, cast-in-place concrete parking structure. With 250 total residences, the project has a gross area of 315,000 SF, including a 10,000 SF clubhouse. Avera Station represents a great success story in the partnership between the project Owner (Beazer Homes), general contractor and the trades.
On behalf of WCS Construction, we wish to acknowledge the work of Dave Kutchma and the Avera Station team of Ken Hammond, Mark Hammond, Ralph Hammond, Tim Wilkerson, Andre Dixon, Kari Poole, Michael Hammond, Dylan McCoy and Justin Jordan for their contributions to the success of the Project.
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WCS Construction sponsors the WDCEP's Annual Meeting & Development Showcase
October 2, 2008
The Annual Meeting & Development Showcase was held by the Washington DC Economic Partnership on Thursday, October 2, at noon at the Washington Convention Center. Sponsored by WCS Construction, the showcase and the luncheon allowed discussion of the economy and the promotion of business opportunities throughout the District of Columbia. This years' event saw a record registration for attendees and exhibitors who participated in the Development Showcase of new development projects in the District. The event went off without a hitch and provced an excellent opportunity to network and make WCS Construction's presence as a Washington, DC based general contractor more visible to developers and architects. We wish to thank Keith Sellars and the Economic Partnership team for creating such an excellent event, with this year surpassing the last. We also wish to thank those that stopped by our coffee bar and introduced themselves and let us do so in return. We look forward to working with you in the future!
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WCS Construction & Salvation Army FORE Kids Golf Tournament
September 29, 2008
The Salvation Army Fore Kids Golf Tournament took place Monday, September 29, 2008. Due to the high profile of this years' event the tournament was held at both the Westfields Golf Club, Clifton Virginia. Over 240 players, including professional golfers enjoyed the Fred Couples Signature Course and an awards dinner that followed in the late afternoon. The tournament is held each year and dedicated to improving the lives of children in our community, ensuring that our children will continue to receive the help they need.
The event raises money to support The Salvation Army's collection of materials to give to area children in need to prepare them for school, distributing toys during the Christmas season, providing day care, after school and evening character building programs and supporting the Salvation Army's Turning Point Center which houses and trains homeless mothers for two years so they and their children can have a better future.
This was WCS Construction’s second year sponsoring the event, with this years’ donation of over $100,000 dollars signifying our ongoing commitment to the community.
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Second Tower Crane Erected at the Reserve at Tyson's Corner
June 26, 2008
Due to the Reserve at Tyson's Corner's size a second tower crane was erected to aid in this project's already speedy construction.

Asheford Court Ribbon Cutting
March 12, 2008
On March 12, 2008, Southeast Washington, DC marked the sale of Asheford Court's first single family home, the Magnolia model. There was a good attendance for the ribbon cutting, which included a speech by William C. Smith Chairman and CEO Chris Smith, the Washington, DC Mayor Adrian Fenty, and Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry. WCS Construction, LLC is proud to be the general contractor on the project which includes 75 new single family homes in the Congress Heights neighborhood. The site work began in 2004, and included clearing of vegetation, hauling off contaminated soil, excavation of borrow and filling operations to prepare the site for the new residential housing. Construction of the $40 million project began late 2006. Asheford Court is in walking distance to Southern Avenue and Congress Heights Metro Stations, and to the new Shops at Park Village and Giant Food store.

The Reserve At Tyson's Corner
March 11, 2008
This Project includes the construction of eight connected, four story wood frame condominium buildings, containing 267 total units, all situated over a 2-story below grade, 180,000 SF cast-in-place concrete, 444 space, parking structure. The parking garage is capped with a 12" thick concrete podium slab which supports the wood frame residence buildings and three on structure courtyards. The condominium project contains 267 residences with a gross area of 322,514 square feet.

Rhodes Hill Square Condominiums begins
September 14, 2007
This 244,000 SF project contains 89 luxury condominiums with an average of 1,800 SF (ranging from 1,100 SF to 2,000 SF). The work includes construction of a four story wood-frame over concrete underground parking garage, and rooftop terraces. Condominiums will include high-end Viking appliances, high-end cabinets, granite counter tops, as well as granite vanity tops, granite tub surrounds, and granite floors in the master bedrooms. Rhodes Hill Square will be located in Arlington, VA near the Iwo Jima Memorial. Units start from $600,000 up to $1.2 million.

The District's Largest Giant Foods Store Opens in Southeast Washington, D.C.
December 7, 2007
On December 7, 2007, Southeast Washington, DC celebrated the opening of the Super Giant #384 - the first new supermarket built in Ward 8 in 40 years. Speakers at the opening ceremony included Mayor Adrian Fenty, Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry, DC Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, and William C. Smith Chairman and CEO Chris Smith, developer of the project. WCS Construction is proud to have been the general contractor on the project which was turned around in six months from start to completion. The 65,000 SF supermarket is located at the Shops at Park Village on Alabama Avenue. Giant Foods, a subsidiary of Stop and Shops and wholly owned by Ahold International provides a significant economic boost as well as much needed shopping convenience to the local community.

WDCEP Annual Meeting & Development Showcase
November 16, 2007
On November 16, 2007, the Washington, DC Economic Partnership held its Annual Meeting & Development Showcase at the Washington DC Convention Center. The DC Economic Partnership's Annual Meeting is a celebration of the District of Columbia and its renaissance. Each year the meeting awards top development in key market segments and attendees will hear a keynote address from influential private and public sector decision makers. The Development Showcase (held before the Annual Meeting) offers developers, brokers and real estate professionals a chance to display and showcase their development projects, whether it be in the office, residential, retail or education sector. WCS Construction was proud to sponsor the Coffee Bar.

The Salvation Army Fore Kids Golf Tournament
September 24, 2007
On Monday, September 24, 2007 the fifth annual Salvation Army Golf Tournament was held at Westfields Golf Club in Clifton, Virginia on the Fred Couples Signature Course. WCS Construction was proud to be Corporate Patriot Sponsor at the event which was dedicated to improving the lives of children in our community. Money raised will ensure that our children will continue to receive the help they need. The day was a great success, with attendees enjoying perfect weather and hospitality, and meeting fund raising objectives.

Oxon Run Community Improvement Day
May 31, 2007
On May 31, 2007, William C. Smith & Co., in partnership with Fannie Mae, hosted more than 700 employees and community members to bring about the dramatic restoration of 25 acres of parkland in Southeast Washington, DC. This $750,000 improvement was another in a series of projects undertaken by Smith Company as part of its commitment to beautify Oxon Run Park. In one day, volunteers built a state-of-the-art playground, redesigned two pedestrian bridges, refurbished an amphitheater, built four horseshoe pits, paved and striped basketball courts, created nature trails, and restored picnic areas. WCS Construction donated workers and vehicles to the event, including three Bobcats, one backhoe, one bush-hog and utility vehicles.
Work carried out by WCS Construction and its subcontractors in preparation and during the event included cutting the pathways, putting down the stone base and asphalt for the sidewalks, paving the basketball courts, grading the hill by Mississippi Ave, constructing large and small horseshoe pits, picnic tables and benches. WCS Construction also cleaned the existing pavilions, moved top soil, cleaned up the site brush, removed fencing and posts, and assisted with seating in the amphitheatre. By 2:30pm work wrapped up with a closing ceremony which marked the conclusion to a highly successful park restoration. WCS Construction is proud to continue working to improve and uplift local communities.

THEARC Wins Award of Excellence 2007
May 11, 2007
Each year the Urban Land Institute bestows 11 awards of excellence to development projects that embody innovative design and planning and which also fill a societal need. This is one of the most prestigious awards a developer can receive, and William C. Smith & Co. was honored to receive the recognition for the Townhomes at Oxon Creek in 2003. This year there were 163 nominations for the U.S. awards, and on May 11th THEARC was named a ULI award of excellence winner for 2007. WCS Construction was the general contractor for the $27 million dollar project.

ABC Baltimore General Contractor of the Year Award
April 1, 2007
On May 2007, the ABC Baltimore Contractor Awards were held and WCS Construction was recognized for outstanding construction management for the Historical Renovation Tremont Grand. WCS Construction received the prestigious ABC Baltimore Award of Excellence.

Giant Joins The Shops At Park Village
April 1, 2007
After years of hard work and planning by Chris Smith, the Smith family of companies, after years with no grocery store in Ward 8, William C. Smith & Co. and the District of Columbia announced that Giant Foods will locate at the Shops at Park Village on Alabama Avenue. This will provide a significant economic boost as well as much needed shopping convenience to this long overlooked and much deserving neighborhood. So what could be more fitting than Giant Foods, a subsidiary of Stop and Shops and wholly owned by Ahold International choosing WCS Construction to build it for them? Giant Foods has indicated a strong desire to open this store in 2007 and WCS Construction will work to get this local project that is so important to the community on the fast track.

Salvation Army Groundbreaking
 February 13, 2007
On February 13th, 2007, the ground breaking ceremony for the Salvation Army Solomon G. Brown Corps Community Center was held. In attendance for the ceremony was Washington D.C.'s Mayor Adrian Fenty who gave a speech in support of the project. The Salvation Army Solomon G. Brown Corps Community Center is now under construction in South East Washington DC.

Washington Contractor Award Winner 2006
October 27, 2006
In October 2006, the AGC of D.C. celebrated the 6th annual Washington Contactor awards to honor excellence in construction. The award-winning WCS Construction team was honored for their great work on the challenging project of the Tremont Grand which won in the Restoration/Renovation category features in the Winter 2007 issue of Washington Contractor Magazine.

Tremont Grand Completed
 September, 2006
A $27.2 million dollar historic renovation of the former Masonic Temple in Baltimore was completed in August. The event rooms are a stunning variety of cultural influences ranging from Oriental to Corinthian.

Washington Contractor Award Winner 2005
October 27, 2005
On October 27, 2005, AGC of DC celebrated the 5th Annual Washington Contractor Awards Ceremony to honor excellence in construction. WCS Construction was recognized with an award in the category of New Construction for THEARC.

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