Cogence accepted submissions in the following categories: Project Award (Small), Project Award (Mid-size), Project Award (Large), Project Award (Extreme), Individual Award, and Emerging Leader | Rising Star. Submissions were evaluated by an independent, national jury.
The awards were presented Friday, September 13, 2024 at the Cogence Town Hall in Columbus, Ohio.
The Drive Awards were re-named this year in honor of Cogence Founder and Board member, Walter Jones, who passed away in December 2023. Walter was the driving force in developing the Cogence Drive Awards program.
The Walter Jones Drive Awards honor the best in project collaboration, while showing our community how their contributions are improving project outcomes in the industry. The awards highlight the critical role and immense value that collaboration and innovation bring to building projects. The awards also demonstrate to the A/E/C community how their contributions are improving project outcomes.
2024 Walter Jones Drive Awards were presented in the following categories:
SMALL PROJECT: UP TO $15 MILLION
Cleveland Metroparks Zoological Society Administration Addition and Renovation
This was a three-phase project that took place within an active Zoo. Phase 1 & 2 consisted of a remodel of the existing Zoo Administrative building while keeping the building open to the staff and public the entire time. Phase 3 was an auditorium addition attached to the existing Zoo Administrative building.
Submitted by: Turner Construction
Delivery Method: CMR
Cost: Initial $3,070,322 vs. Final $3,431,102
Timeframe: December 2021 – March 2023
Collaboration Highlights:
- Weekly budget updates, meetings, site walks by Team
- Monthly schedule updates included distribution to Trades
- Utilized Procore software for immediate access to drawings, RFI’s, documents in the field and to generate reports direct to Owner
MID-SIZE PROJECT: $15 – $50 MILLION
Dayton Public Schools Welcome Stadium Renovation
Dayton Public Schools hired Shook Construction and MSA Sport to revive Welcome Stadium, reestablishing the landmark as a point of pride for the community.
Submitted by: Shook Construction
Delivery Method: Design-Build
Cost: Initial $28,000,000 vs. Actual $27,821,598
Timeframe: December 2022 – August 2023
Diversity: Met 20% diversity and inclusion goal
Collaboration Highlights:
- Significant collaboration between the owner, MSA Sport, and the design-build team.
- Interactive design process to ensure minimal disruption to existing operations.
- Daily detailed pull planning sessions to maintain tight 8.5-month schedule and allow open communication with Trades.
LARGE PROJECT: $50 – $350 MILLION
Ashtabula Regional Medical Center Patient Tower
The ARMC Patient Care Tower is the culmination of years of detailed programming and planning aimed at replacing and expanding essential hospital departments. Following an extensive analysis to support community needs, ARMC reimagined the ED, Surgery, ICU, and Patient Care depts. The project focuses on creating a ‘respite’ environment, offering calming spaces for patients and families during their stay.
Submitted by: Karpinski Engineering
Delivery Method: CMR w/Design-Assist
Cost: Initial $86,500,000 vs. Actual $89,500,000 ($3M Owner Changes)
Timeframe: May 2022 – June 2024
Collaboration Highlights:
- Familiarity with each other and open communication ensured the proper flow of information, building confidence in early-stage deliverables.
- The team worked to provide a DD set descriptive enough to commit to early purchases to lock in prices and mitigate the impact of price hikes due to supply disruptions.
EXTREME PROJECT: OVER $350 MILLION
MetroHealth Glick Center
As the foundation to the new campus transformation, MetroHealth built a ten-story hospital tower on its main campus in Cleveland, Ohio. The building project included a multi-level connector building which attaches to the existing Critical Care Pavilion (CCP). The Glick Center includes 386 beds and is located adjacent to a new Central Utility Plant and loading dock, which was completed in unison with the Glick Center.
Submitted by: Turner Construction
Delivery Method: CMR
Cost: Initial $542,607,133 vs. Actual $539,333,868
Timeframe: February 2018 – July 2022
Collaboration Highlights:
- A collaborative project culture that leveraged each team member’s strengths.
- Big Room and DA Subs
- Reduced risks and improved outcomes.
- Open book DA subs
- Financially responsible and enjoyable projects.
- Early teaming coaching sponsored by Owner
- Development of new lines of thought to move the A/E/C industry forward.
- Process Neutral
EMERGING LEADER/RISING STAR AWARD:
Stephanie Drenten Ferro, Heapy Engineering
Stephanie holds the dual position of Sr. Project Manager and Principal at Heapy where she plays a pivotal role in both project execution and company leadership. In her PM role, she fosters an environment where diverse voices are heard, valued, and elevated while continuing to advocate for the owner’s interest.
She takes time to understand the unique expertise each team member brings to the table, engaging in meaningful dialogue with each stakeholder to understand the reasoning behind their needs, allowing her to more effectively communicate the requirement and ensure they are properly implemented in the design.
INDIVIDUAL AWARD:
Brett Connolly, Shook Construction
As Director of Operations, it is Brett’s role to support and develop the operations teams on current projects. From preconstruction through closeout, he collaborates with team members to ensure deadlines and responsibilities are met and/or exceeded.
His collaborative nature comes from the vast experience in and around the construction industry on a variety of project types. Brett’s degree in Civil Engineering enables him to see things from other perspectives on his projects. This allows him to empathize when issues arise and collaborate to solve them quickly and effectively.
While working collaboratively with his team is a foundation of who he is, Brett’s real excitement comes from his ability to improve the communities that the projects serve.
Congratulations to all the Walter Jones Drive Award Winners!
Matt Morgan (Karpinski), Katie Lee (Karpinski), Jaron Devilbiss (Shook), Jan Jones, Taurean Spratt (Turner), Stephanie Drenten Ferro (Heapy), and Joanne Brown (CWRU -Stephanie’s mentor) enjoy the recognition for their hard work. Brett was unable to attend due to work obligations but, his team quickly took him the award and sent us a picture!
Brett Connolly (Shook).
Additional Awards Available for Order.
Team members on any of the winning projects can order an award for their company by contacting Jodie at “The Glass Asylum” info@theglassasylum.com. Project awards are “Purple on top”.
