August 21, 2024

Three finalist teams chosen for $95M UW cafeteria project

Photo from UWMC website [enlarge]

The UW medical center plans to keep its cafeteria open and operational for the duration of the project, requiring a multi-phased approach to construction.

The University of Washington selected three finalist design-build teams Monday for the $95 million renovation of the kitchen and dining area of its Montlake medical center at 1959 N.E. Pacific St.

The university wants to modernize and update the 28,000-square-foot kitchen, servery and dining area, called the Plaza Cafe, which provides food service for UWMC patients, visitors, staff and students, and keep it open and operational for the duration of the project, according to the RFQ. The project will require a multi-phased approach including decommissioning and “make-ready activities” to maintain kitchen operations.

Work also includes a two-story addition of approximately 6,000 square feet of primarily dining area, according to Charles Cummings, a project manager with the UW Facilities Project Delivery Group.

Eight design-build teams submitted qualifications for the project, and Cummings said the three finalists were notified Monday night. The three finalists for the project (alphabetically by builder) are the design-build teams of Abbott Construction/ZGF Architects, BNBuilders/Mahlum Architects, and Mortenson/NBBJ.

The five other teams seeking the work (alphabetically by builder) were Andersen Construction/Boulder Associates Architects, Howard S. Wright Construction/Ankrom Moisan, Clark Construction/Perkins&Will, Kiewit/HDR, and Sellen Construction/HOK.

The university expects to execute the design-build contract around Sept. 30, Cummings said. Unsuccessful finalists will be paid an honorarium of $5,000. A notice for the project ran in the DJC last month.

UW hopes to begin construction in December of 2025, with work fully complete by June of 2028, according to the RFQ. The project budget is $95 million, and the target budget for the design-build contract work is $75 million, not counting state sales tax. The UW plans to utilize a preliminary agreement with the design-builder, and a second guaranteed maximum price contract.

Work includes optimizing design of the space to increase efficiency; upgrading supporting mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems to meet the new design and support future enhancements; and “refreshing the dining area to provide a warm, welcoming experience for patrons,” according to the RFQ.

Also underway at UWMC Montlake is a $51 million replacement of the medical center's existing waterproofing membrane, flashings and associated systems. Skanska began construction on that project last summer and work is expected to be complete next July. LMN Architects is primary designer on that project.

UWMC Montlake is also getting a new roof and chiller, as well as waterproofing work on its ninth-floor roof. The full scope of that project is still being defined with contractor Abbott Construction, according to the UW project page.