Detroit’s Patrick V. McNamara Federal Building will get a few eco-friendly upgrades thanks to the U.S. General Services Administration awarding more than $53 million to sustainable construction projects in Michigan, officials announced Tuesday.
The administration’s effort includes investing $34.1 million to improve the historic skyscraper downtown, GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan told media and electrician apprentices at the IBEW-NECA Detroit Electrical Industry Training Center in Warren.
The investments make for a slam-dunk on multiple fronts by allowing the federal government to lead by example, creating jobs and saving taxpayers money, she said.
“And to me that’s the most exciting part of all of this — is that it’s a triple win,” Carnahan told The Detroit News. “These are smart investments for our country and to be able to showcase those in Detroit means a lot.”
The GSA received $3.4 billion total through the Inflation Reduction Act to maintain and build facilities across the country, including the $53 million going to buildings in Michigan, Carnahan said.
The Rosa Parks Federal Building will receive approximately half a million in federal funds to revamp critical structural systems, including the building’s parking garage off East Jefferson Avenue, Carnahan said.
The GSA is putting other funds toward sustainable projects at the Ambassador Bridge and Sault Ste. Marie land ports of entry, the Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse and the Battle Creek Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center, officials said in a release Tuesday.
The GSA is also asking contractors to use project labor agreements with unions for all major construction projects, Carnahan said.
The pre-hire collective bargaining agreements will ensure workers have safe conditions and fair wages on the new projects while also guaranteeing quality results, she said.
The GSA awarded the design-build services contract for the McNamara project to Pullman SST Inc., a Maryland-based concrete infrastructure contractor.
Pullman plans to support locally owned businesses through the project, said Rob Johnson, an estimating manager with the contractor.
“It’s a nice step for making that commitment to all the local trades,” Johnson said of the GSA’s request for project labor agreements. “I would say it’s definitely a win.”
Workers on the McNamara project will use low embodied carbon construction materials to restore the parking garage, install 22 electric vehicle chargers and improve electrical and lighting systems, according to the GSA press release.
The McNamara construction project is slated to begin work in spring of 2025, Carnahan said. The materials to be used are one way the federal government is asking the construction industry for environmentally friendly options, she said.
Each construction project is part of GSA’s push to transition all the agency’s facilities to produce net-zero carbon emissions by 2045, she said.
“It used to be you had to make a choice whether you wanted to do something that was lower emitting and better, more efficient, or lower costs,” she said. “Today, with technology and changes, we know that we can have both of those things at the same time.”
Two Michigan lawmakers, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow and U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar, both applauded the investments in the GSA’s press release Tuesday.
“These investments in Michigan’s federal buildings and ports of entry are a win-win for our state – building our infrastructure and helping to address the climate crisis,” Stabenow said in the release. “They will also improve federal services provided to Michigan residents for years to come.”
The pending construction projects and resources such as the IBEW-NECA training center in Warren are examples of President Joe Biden’s Investing in America agenda, Carnahan said.
“You don’t always have money and momentum at the same time,” she said. “And here in Detroit, you’ve got another part of that secret sauce. You’ve got the money, you’ve got the momentum, you’ve got the leadership and collaboration to actually make it happen.”
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Publish date : 2024-08-06 07:39:00
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