On March 3, 2006 Milestone Construction Company submitted a written proposal to the University of Arkansas for Construction Management Services for the Sigma Nu Fraternity House.  From the numberous proposals sent to the University, Milestone was short listed along with three other contractors to interview for the project.  Milestone was selected as the Construction Manager under the Alternative Delivery Method which has been adopted by the University of Arkansas since the legislation change several years ago.  The Alternative Delivery Method allows State Universities to select a contractor based on their qualifications and pricing and not only on price.  This method has been very successful for the University and as a result several projects have successfully been completed with higher quality with competitive pricing.

In order to complete this project for the Fall Semester of 2007, the project had to utilize fast track construction method.  Milestone had to break the project into two phases, one for site and earthwork and one for the actual building.  At the time we were informed in April 2006 of being selected, the contract drawings were approximately 50% complete.  Milestone had to develop a preliminary budget and present this to the University and Sigma Nu Board for their approval.  This budget had to be value engineered and Milestone was able to present a budget by May 1, 2006 and bid out the site work by May 15, 2006.  The final bid documents were completed in June 2006 and the final Guaranteed Maximum Price was established after further value engineering in August 2006.

The new building was to be built on a site that was very challenging.  The entire site was sloped 45 degrees from east to west and the building pad and first floor was built into the side of the slope.  Shortly after the earthwork was started in May, our subcontractor uncovered numerous existing foundations from previous buildings that had been built in the same location.  This took additional time and money to remove these foundations from the building pad and several locations had to be undercut and filled with lean concrete under the footings.  In addition, there was a 10” fiber optic cable that ran through middle third of our site and had to be protected at all times.  This fiber optic cable serviced all the facilities (including the football stadium) on the west one-third of campus.  This posed a serious concern and potentially disastrous problem for us especially during heavy rains when the entire side of the slope would continue to slough off.  The fiber optic cable had to be continuously shored and stabilized to prevent it from breaking.

Once we were able to get our foundations underway, the basement retaining walls followed and the slab on grade was placed.  The three story building structure was a combination of structural steel and wood framing with pre-engineered wood trusses.  The exterior façade included detailed masonry and pre-cast concrete work.  The sloping site with almost zero lay down and storage room made constructing the structure and façade very challenging.  Richard Merrill, our Superintendent, did an excellent job of coordinating deliveries and insuring the flow of the project to maintain our schedule.  

Being in the heart of campus, safety on this project was a major concern.  The safety of the students, faculty and construction workers was a top priority on this project.  Milestone went to great lengths to insure that there were not any major accidents by placing a full time safety engineer on-site to monitor all safety procedures used on site by all trades.  As a result of this, Milestone and our subcontractors did not have any serious or lost time accidents.  None of the students, faculty or public safety was ever jeopardized and as a result there were no incidents or accidents. 

The Sigma Nu House is a 22,454 SF house that has 54 single bedrooms with shared adjoining bathrooms on the upper two floors.  The first floor was equipped with a kitchen, formal living room, dining room, library, foyer and game room.  The resident director’s room was also on the first floor and had separate living quarters with bathroom and efficiency kitchen.

The entire first floor was trimmed in wood including wood base, door casings, crown moldings, built-in cabinetry, library shelves, chair rail and columns covers.  The entire first floor included porcelain tile floors and other high end finishes to create an elegant yet masculine atmosphere.  The exterior was fully landscaped and a concrete, masonry and pre-cast plaza was built for gatherings during football games and other outdoor activities.

The construction of the Sigma Nu House was fully funded by donations from Sigma Nu Alumni including people such as Don Tyson of Tyson Foods and Chancellor John White of the University of Arkansas.  As explained to us at the ground breaking ceremony, Mr. Tyson and Chancellor White both had great  experiences while at Sigma Nu and wanted other collegians to have the same opportunity.  Even though the project was funded by Sigma Nu Alumni it was owned and governed by the University of Arkansas Housing.