Robins & Morton, one of the nation’s leading healthcare construction companies, is converting 250,000 square feet of the Miami Beach Convention Center into a 450-bed field hospital, including isolation rooms. The Army Corps of Engineers announced the project at a press conference Wednesday, April 8, joined by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The Miami Beach Convention Center retrofit is part of the Corps' ongoing effort to convert convention centers, hotels, and closed hospitals to alleviate pressure on local hospitals from the anticipated surges of COVID-19 patients.
The Army Corps of Engineers selected Robins & Morton to perform the $22.5 million contract. The facility is scheduled to be ready to receive patients on April 21, giving the general contractor two weeks to go from bare floors to a working hospital.
“As we were wrapping up details of the contract, we were already working on the logistics and had our key project team members in place within 24 hours so that work could start the next day,” said Robins & Morton Senior Project Manager Johnathan Peavy. “Turning an empty space into a hospital in such a short time is a huge undertaking, but everyone on the project is committed to working with the Army Corps of Engineers to get this done. We know how important this is to the state of the Florida and the Miami Beach community during the public health emergency.”
TWO SHIFTS, WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK
As the project quickly ramps up, up to 250 people—including craft professionals and more than 40 members of the Robins & Morton team—will be working around the clock in two shifts. Robins & Morton quickly pulled together more than 20 contractors from South Florida to support the project. In addition to coordinating the work, Robins & Morton will follow COVID-19 health and safety protocols and CDC guidelines to help protect everyone on the job.
“There’s a tremendous amount of logistical challenges we have to solve in the first few days,” said Peavy. “Fortunately, we have long-term relationships with a number of trade contractors and vendors who have worked with us on other healthcare projects.”
Robins & Morton has a long history of major healthcare construction in Miami and across Florida and has offices in Miami and Orlando, with corporate headquarters in Birmingham, Ala.
ABOUT ROBINS & MORTON
Robins & Morton is a privately held construction firm based in Birmingham, Ala., with offices in Charlotte, Dallas, Huntsville, Miami, Nashville, and Orlando. The firm specializes in the construction of healthcare, hospitality, higher education, entertainment, sports and government buildings. Robins & Morton is consistently ranked as one of the top 100 contractors in the United States, and one of the top 15 in the Southeast. To learn more about Robins & Morton, visit: www.robinsmorton.com.
Related Stories
Glass and Glazing | May 8, 2020
Vitro Architectural Glass releases guide on decontaminating glass surfaces
The five-page technical document offers methods for cleaning and sanitizing glass surfaces.
Coronavirus | May 7, 2020
White paper clarifies steps, roles for use of metal composite material
Responsibilities of manufacturers, distributors, and fabricators outlined.
Coronavirus | May 7, 2020
Architects release new resource for safer re-occupancy of buildings
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is releasing a new Re-occupancy Assessment Tool today that provides strategies for limiting exposure to COVID-19 in buildings.
Coronavirus | May 6, 2020
Reopening Main Street post-COVID-19 quarantine
Cities and communities will need to adjust public space to allow customers back in with distancing in mind.
Coronavirus | May 6, 2020
Making jobsites safer in the COVID-19 world
A leading construction manager and installer certification alliance share their insights.
Coronavirus | May 6, 2020
National Construction Association and Procore to release new data showing the impacts of the coronavirus on the constructionindustry
Data will be released on Friday, may 8 at 12 pm EDT.
Healthcare Facilities | May 5, 2020
Holt Construction, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers complete temporary hospital in two weeks
The project is located in Paramus, N.J.
Coronavirus | May 5, 2020
How will COVID-19 change the procurement of professional design services?
We can use this moment as a test-case to build greater flexibility into how we pursue, win and deliver capital projects, better preparing the industry to meet the next disruption.
Coronavirus | May 4, 2020
Design steps for reopening embattled hotels
TPG Architecture recommends post-coronavirus changes in three stages.
Coronavirus | Apr 30, 2020
Gilbane shares supply-chain status of products affected by coronavirus
Imported products seem more susceptible to delays