sure we had all the materials, the equipment and the people
to get it done,” said Carlat. “At the tail end we were literally
working around the clock to get it done. But we made the
May 1 deadline.”
A MEMORABLE HOTEL—AND A MEMORABLE PROJECT
The Marriot Marquis welcomed its first guests on May 3, 2014
just two days after the official opening. Since that time, visitors
have been impressed by the many amenities of the LEED Silver
building: the grand lobby with the 30,000 square foot atrium
skylight and 56-foot steel sculpture centerpiece; the 1,175
rooms and 49 suites; and the more than 100,000 square feet
of event space including the ballrooms and breakout rooms.
Hotel guests can avoid traffic and bad weather by using the
hotel’s underground connector tunnel to the convention
center. Trucks delivering supplies to the hotel unload at a
dedicated loading dock within the convention center garage.
“We had to connect into the building foundation of the
convention center and remove that foundation—which was a
slurry wall—to open up the dock,” said Carlat.
While the project was extremely demanding, the companies
involved are glad that they were part of it.
“Hensel Phelps created an open partnership and teamwork
atmosphere on the project,” said Huff. “They did whatever they
could to keep work progressing. Their guys were out there,
even if it was pushing carts to get the trash out of the building
to make sure the customers could get in on time.”
“Our staff had a tremendous amount of pride in what we were
able to accomplish, beating the odds and working through the
challenges and the obstacles, because nothing was ever easy
on that project,” said Carlat. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime event.”
n
Community Concerns a Top Priority
From the start of the Marriott Marquis project, Hensel Phelps
was determined to hire local residents and to keep community
members informed about how the project would impact their
neighborhoods, according to James W. Harper, III, manager of
supplier diversity.
• Hensel Phelps included an on-site, three-days-a-week DC
Department of Employment Services (DOES) One-Stop Center at
the project site, making it easy for area residents to stop by and
talk with the company about job opportunities.
• With grants from the DC Office of the State Superintendent of
Education (OSSE), and working in conjunction with job training and
placement program STRIVE DC, the company offered two sessions of
a 15-week “School-to-Work”Construction Career Training Program
at the job site. There were 16 graduates of the first session, and 12
were hired on the Marriott project, with six becoming Hensel Phelps
employees. The company also facilitated the hiring of 18 of the 28
graduates of the second session on the Marriott project and other
construction sites withinWashington, DC.
• Hensel Phelps achieved overall 30 percent DC resident workforce
participation, with an all-time monthly high of 51 percent. The
historic overall city high was previously only 21 percent.
• The Certified Business Enterprise goal for the project was $84.5 million.
Hensel Phelps achieved $122.6 million—145 percent of that goal.
• Out of 57 documented community concerns, 40 of them (70
percent) were responded to or resolved within 24 hours.
The Grand Lobby is flooded with light from the 30,000 square foot atrium
skylight. The 56-foot steel sculpture creates a dramatic centerpiece for the area.
Building Washington 13
