Military Job #8

Repairs to Air Traffic Control Facility, Building 1166, Marine Corp Air Station, Beaufort, SC

  • Award Price: $2,897,351
  • Architect: BES Design Build, LLC
  • Project Delivery: Design-Bid-Build

Building 1166 is the Air Traffic Control Center and Tower on the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, SC. There are two facilities on the site, with one being the 6-story air traffic control tower itself and the other being approximately 6,000 sq. ft. of administrative facilities. The project involved overhauling the entire mechanical system at the facilities, including two large air handling units, new chillers, CRAC units, exhaust fans, and all associated piping, ductwork, pumps and other equipment. Structurally, the work included a new roof. The existing built up roof received a new, stick built truss system with a new standing seam metal roof. An approximately 1,400 sq. ft. addition was added to the administrative space to serve as a future classroom area. The addition included installing helical piles with a depressed slab to make room for a new raised flooring system needed in the space. With the slab being very low, an underground pump system was put in place to constantly pump water away from the building. As part of the renovation, the administrative facilities also received new finishes, including ACT ceilings, selective doors/hardware, flooring, and new paint throughout. The bathrooms were totally replaced with new bathrooms with new layouts, fixtures, showers and ceramic tile throughout. A modification was added to the Building 1166 project to totally re-plumb the bathrooms to appropriately fit the new layouts. In addition to receiving an all new mechanical system, the 6-story air traffic control tower also received basic cosmetic upfits, including new paint, stair treads/flooring, and new casework. Mitchell Brothers also rebuilt the tower’s conveying lift to put it in working order in order to allow materials and gear for the facility to be moved between the ground level and up to the 6th floor.

The Air Traffic Control Center is very important for MCAS Beaufort because it not only controls air space for MCAS but also for commercial flights. Mitchell Brothers worked together with its Designer of Record, BESI, on this project. BESI was the designer and project manager for the project. Our team along with the government partners were able to perform this entire project while the Tower and administrative facilities stayed fully operational. As part of this, temporary air conditioning was set up in the facilities, because it was of utmost importance to keep the flight control equipment and the occupants cool pending installation of the new mechanical system. Most of the roof construction was performed at night to ensure that the constant noise involved in this did not affect transmission at the air traffic control tower. A fully conditioned ADA compliant restroom facility also was brought on site while the bathrooms were being renovated and rebuilt. As a team, BESI and Mitchell Brothers, with customer input, were above to quickly and efficiently figure out solutions to unforeseen issues to keep the project moving forward. All issues that arose also were communicated and taken care of immediately, with no interruptions to work or operations at the facilities.