Since 2018, JE Dunn Construction has been part of the TFC Capitol Complex Master Plan in Austin, Texas, a transformative program aimed at modernizing the corporate campus surrounding the State Capitol and expanding infrastructure to support long-term operations of existing and new facilities. During the two phases of the Master Plan, JE Dunn has provided Construction Manager-at-Risk services for excavation, utility relocation, central utility plant upgrades, and construction of a new CUP and currently two new office buildings.
The Capitol Complex Project is transforming the Capitol Complex as a destination that celebrates the Capitol with grand civic spaces, shaded pedestrian-friendly streets, and connections to the surrounding community. Here’s the role JE Dunn has played in this project.
As Construction Manager at Risk for the initial three packages of Phase One, JE Dunn managed a monumental 60-foot excavation across 12 city blocks in downtown Austin, involving the removal of 507,000 cubic yards of soil. To efficiently manage this process, JE Dunn strategically phased the excavation into smaller sections, enabling a dynamic rolling turnover for subsequent work.
As the project team managed excavation, they took on the encompassed the largest utility improvement project in downtown Austin. JE Dunn successfully relocated over 10,000 linear feet of essential utilities, including water, storm sewer, wastewater, electrical, natural gas, and telecommunications lines. This critical infrastructure work laid the foundation for vertical construction of the new state office buildings.
Work was performed block by block to minimize public disruption while ensuring safe pedestrian and vehicular traffic and preventing utility shutdowns to operational buildings.
Final work on phase one was a new 19,000 SF, three-level Central Utility Plant (CUP) to support current and future energy demands This new CUP was seamlessly integrated with the existing Stephen F Austin central plant via an underground utility tunnel and involved significant MEP upgrades. Our team implemented complex engineering solutions to ensure this integration was seamless, achieving zero service disruptions. Through strategic value engineering, the team saved $2 million, optimizing materials and construction methods while enhancing overall facility functionality.
Building on the successful management of the initial packages, JE Dunn was asked by TFC to take on critical Capitol Mall site work and landscaping to complete Phase One.
In the spring 2023, JE Dunn with architect, HOK, owner representatives, Square One and Hill International, broke ground for the two state office buildings and the final segment of the Texas Capitol Mall and Underground Parking Garage. The stats for each office building are:
In early July 2024, the project team completed excavation of the sites when the prescribed depth on the mall bottomed out. Soon after, trucks arrived to deliver 390 cubic yards of concrete. The long booms of the pump trucks carried the concrete 67 feet down to the bottom of the excavated site to pour the first slab-on-grade for the new building.
