New York, New York

Normally, a few weeks delay for a residential construction project are unfortunate--but hardly disastrous. But for Fred Schnur, Vice President of Finance and Administration at Columbia University's Teachers College in New York, even a few days holdup on the school's new dormitory buildings would have spelled disaster. "This was a do or die situation," he recalls. "If students didn't have a place to move in before classes began, they would go elsewhere to live. And we would have been dead in the water with a year's worth of expenses and empty buildings-a tremendous financial burden."

For more than three years before they broke ground in 2002 on the 252-room, twin-tower dormitory project, the construction management firm, RCDolner, had been the college's "contractor of choice," in Schnur's words. RCDolner had collaborated with the university on extensive exterior and interior renovations, the creation of new classrooms and offices, a new central heating and cooling plant and a comprehensive restoration of the college's historic gothic-style Millbank Library. Now, RCDolner faced its most obdurate challenge: Finish the dormitory project for August 2004 occupancy. There was zero wiggle-room in this non-negotiable schedule.

Rigid milestones were developed and value-engineering efforts were employed to meet the deadline while maintaining an aggressive budget. For example, RCDolner recommended a facade change from handset brick and stone to precast concrete-and-brick panels in order to expedite the schedule without jeopardizing the buildings' esthetics.

With limited space in the historic residential neighborhood of Morningside Heights, RCDolner opted to position a single crane at the north end of the construction site. This crane had to be tall enough to service the larger, 19 story dormitory, as well as to swing panels over it in order to reach the 11-story dorm that was to rise one block south. "Both buildings went up simultaneously," boasts Christopher Mesbah, RCDolner's senior project manager for the dormitory. "We poured a floor every day."

In addition, the team determined to source as much material as possible from North America to avoid overseas delays. "We wanted to be within driving distance," says Mesbah.

By September 1, 2004, the new residence halls greeted returning graduate students--not the potential "white elephants" that Schnur feared most. "This project was an example of how a construction project is supposed to go," concludes Mesbah. "The excellent working relationship and team effort of everyone on the project-from the architect, to the project manager, to the owner-- made all the difference in achieving the college's goals."