User:Halicke2/Walsh Group

Walsh Group is a general construction company employing over 5,000 engineers and skilled tradesmen with 13 regional offices and 2 corporate headquarters nationwide. The Walsh Group consists of two subsidiary construction companies: Walsh Construction and Archer Western Construction. Walsh Construction Company is a Chicago-based general contracting, construction management, and design-build firm. Archer Western Contractors, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is an open-shop contractor in various building, civil and transportation sectors.

The Walsh Group has worked in 41 states, as well as Puerto Rico and Ontario.The firm has a corporate equipment fleet valued at over $450 million. The Walsh Group's revenue totals $3,342 million annually. The market sectors of the Walsh Group encompasses both commercial building and heavy civil projects, with a variety of building and structure applications such as aviation facilities, healthcare, parking garages, high rises, bridges, dams, and highways.

History
The Walsh Group has practiced general building construction since its foundation in 1898 by Matthew Myles Walsh. Walsh Construction’s rise to preeminence in the construction business began with the arrival of the English native, Matthew Myles Walsh in Chicago in 1893. He came to the city to be a carpenter in the World’s Fair. Five years later, Walsh Construction was founded in Matthew’s garage. Over the next few decades, the company established itself as a small but well-regarded Chicago building contractor. Walsh survived the difficulties of the Great Depression, and in 1955 the company had nine employees and established its headquarters at the intersection of Archer and Western in Chicago, Illinois. By 1970, the company’s earnings had grown to $1M per year, and Matthew’s two sons took the reins. In 1979, Walsh landed its first heavy civil job.

In 1992, the Walsh Group moved their headquarters to a larger location on Adams Street, located on Chicago's west-side, to accommodate the company's increasing employee and client base. The firm has been a family-held business since its founding. Walsh Construction was incorporated in the State of Illinois in 1949; in order to facilitate national expansion efforts, The Walsh Group and additional subsidiary Archer Western Contractors were founded in 1983. Each company has experience with a wide variety of building, civil, and transportation sectors including waste water treatment plants, rapid transit, highway and bridgework, educational facilities, warehouse/distribution facilities, athletic facilities, correctional facilities, office, design-build, and more. The Walsh Group has invested over $450 Million in capital equipment and regularly employs over 5,000 engineers and skilled tradesmen.

Walsh Construction
Walsh is recognized as the largest construction firm in Chicago according to Crain’s Chicago Business, as well as one of America's top 20 contractors according to Engineering News-Record. The firm has experience with a wide variety of building, civil, and transportation sectors. Maintaining regional offices across North America, Walsh Construction operates using Union Labor and Union Subcontractors.

Archer Western Contractors
Archer Western Contractors was established in 1983 and incorporated in the State of Illinois. The name Archer Western was derived from the location of the company’s old office location near the intersection of Archer and Western in Chicago, IL. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company is served by seven regional offices throughout America. Archer Western is a subsidiary of The Walsh Group, a general contracting, construction management, and design-build firm currently ranked among America’s Top 20 Contractors according to Engineering News-Record. The firm performs as an open shop contractor and offers services in various building, civil and transportation sectors. With this second company under the Walsh Group performing as a non-union contractor they are able to compete in a wider variety of markets in the construction industry.

Commercial Building
Aviation Facilities

According to Engineering News Record’s latest ratings, Walsh is the seventh largest Airport builder in the U.S. The firm’s relevant heavy civil experience includes many types of airport developments, including traffic control towers, runways, taxiways, parking facilities, hangars, and even pump stations. The Walsh Group retains an extensive staff of construction professionals, estimators, safety professionals, clerical and administrative staff, and other support personnel specifically qualified to perform these project types. Past projects in aviation facilities include the LAX Tom Bradley International Terminal with a contract value of $1,130,000,000.

Data Center Facilities
The Walsh Group also has engineers and managers with specific electrical and mechanical system experience to provide clients with the knowledge required to construct these complex, state-of-the-art data center facilities. Past projects in data centers include the JP Morgan Chase data center in Belleville, Michigan with a contract value of $90,000,000.

Educational Facilities

The Walsh Group is also known for its work in the educational field. They have constructed many academic institutions, including the University of Chicago, Georgia Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, and others. Buildings constructed for education sector clients include laboratory teaching facilities, indoor athletic centers, classroom spaces, stadium renovations, parking garages, student housing, and other facilities.

Entertainment

The Walsh Group has completed a variety of entertainment facilities for both public and private clients. The company’s entertainment experience includes: baseball stadiums, university football stadium expansions, indoor multipurpose athletic facilities, and ice rink facilities. Additionally, The Walsh Group has experience constructing extensive casino, mixed-use, conference, and restaurant facilities. Past entertainment projects include the Millennium Park Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois.

Federal Building

The Walsh Group has also constructed high-profile projects for federal agencies. The Walsh Group’s federal government clients include: the General Services Administration, United States Navy, United States Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Aviation Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Veterans Administration, and Food and Drug Administration.

Healthcare

The Walsh Group has also worked in healthcare. The firm's portfolio healthcare experience includes the John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, Illinois, the LaGrange Memorial Hospital Expansion, and others.

The Walsh Group has experience in the construction of hotel and conference center facilities, including stand-alone hotel buildings, larger scale mixed use developments, and multiple expansion projects.

The Company’s experience with laboratories includes forensic facilities, genetic/molecular research buildings, biomedical engineering labs, corporate research facilities, college and university laboratories, and environmental clean rooms.

Office

The Walsh Group has performed award-winning construction work on a variety of office projects for clients. The company has earned recognition for interior rehabilitation of historic office buildings, such as the 175 West Jackson Renovation in Chicago, and for technologically advanced office/laboratory/research facilities, like the Advanced Life Sciences Laboratory and Office Facility. In addition to these specialized projects, the firm constructs high-rise corporate office headquarters like the Blue Cross Blue Shield building.

Parking Garages

The Walsh Group has constructed many parking facilities, both stand-alone structures and parking floors included in office buildings and multi-unit residential projects. The firm has completed parking structures in a variety of settings, including airports, universities, conference centers, transit stations, residential high rises, and government facilities.

The firm has completed, or has in progress, over $1.5 billion in contracts and over 5,500 units of residential high-rise work. Recently completed buildings of this type are a large portion of the firm’s workload and include major projects like The Legacy and The Heritage at Millennium Park. Most of these projects include high-end interior finishes and many include multiple parking levels and retail space. .

Retail

In the retail sector, the firm's work includes a wide variety of facilities for retailers such as Target, Sears, Home Depot, and Walgreens; movie theater facilities for clients AMC and Cineplex Odeon; retail mall developments like the Quarry and the Oak Brook Shopping Center in the Chicago area, and bank facilities for clients including First National Bank of Naperville, Cosmopolitan Bank, and Bank of America.

Senior Living

The Walsh Group has built senior housing facilities for both public and private clients. Project experience includes both renovations and new construction of a variety of facilities, including independent living, assisted living, and skilled care.

Heavy Civil
Airports

According to Engineering News Record’s latest ratings, Walsh is the ninth largest Airport builder in the U.S., with a separate division dedicated to this sector of work. The firm’s experience includes many types of airport developments: terminals, parking facilities, hangars, runways, and taxiways.

Bridges

The Walsh Group was recently ranked by Engineering News Record as the second largest bridge builder in the United States.

Highways

The Walsh Group’s Highway Division includes a separate in-house estimating department solely committed to highway work, an equipment fleet valued at over $450 million, and in-house Foundations and Concrete Divisions that allow for self-performance capabilities. Pump Stations

The Walsh Group has performed numerous times to provide general contracting, construction management, and design-build services on Municipal Pump Station projects. Recently, the firm was named the fifth largest U.S. Builder of Water Supply Systems by Engineering News Record.

Transit

The Walsh Group ranks seventh amongst the Top 50 Transportation Builders according to Engineering News Report. Included in the company’s transportation experience is rapid transit work for public authorities across the country, including MARTA (Atlanta), DART (Dallas), BART (Bay Area), the CTA (Chicago), Valley Metro Rail (Phoenix), CATS (Charlotte), Metro Rail (Miami), The T (Boston), and others. Work for these clients includes transit stations, rail line segments, parking garages, tunnel work, renovations, and more.

Waste Water Treatment Plant

In 2010, the firm was named the largest builder in the U.S. of Water and Desalination Plants, as well as the sixth largest Wastewater Treatment Builder and eighth largest Sewerage and Solid Waste Builder by Engineering News Record.

Notable Projects
John G. Shedd Aquarium Oceanarium Redevelopment

The scope of the John G. Shedd Aquarium project includes several distinct areas of work including an office expansion, new terraces, food service, and guest services improvements, as well as significant oceanarium exhibit and infrastructure improvements. The oceanarium maintenance and theater work were the major portions of the Shedd Aquarium project. In September 2008, the oceanarium facility was shut down to the public, the marine life relocated, and water drained from the pools. Walsh performed extensive selective demolition on the existing exhibits, and new habitats were created. The total contract value for Walsh's work was $55,300,000.

John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County

The new Cook County Hospital, a four-year project, involved the construction of over 1,200,000 SF of medical facilities that were completed on schedule and within the original budget. It represents the largest healthcare project in Illinois history. The facility, which replaced the existing structure, has nine stories, houses 464 beds, and contains over 4,100 rooms. Approximately 40% of the facility houses a variety of outpatient clinics. A 50,000 SF laboratory along with a full service cafeteria are located on the lower level.

The Legacy at Millennium Park

This 1,100,000 SF, 72-story, 352-unit condominium high-rise is located one block west of Millennium Park in the heart of downtown Chicago. It is highlighted by a sky bridge connecting the development to the University Club of Chicago, retail space, an expansion of the School of the Art Institute, and seven parking levels for residents. Floors fifteen through seventy-one are residential units and the top two floors are mechanical penthouses. Work at the Legacy includes complex façade restoration efforts. Three of the buildings previously existing on the site were built just after the Chicago Fire and are historically significant.

LAX Tom Bradley International Terminal

Walsh, performing as a Joint Venture, was awarded two contracts to reconfigure the LAX Tom Bradley International Terminal.

Exelon Pavilions

The Exelon Pavilions are four buildings that generate electricity from solar energy and provide access to underground parking in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois. The North Pavilions have received the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver rating from the United States Green Building Council, as well as an award from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). With construction starting in January of 2004, The South Pavilions were completed in July 2004 and opened when Millennium Park celebrated its grand opening on July 16, 2004.

Rankings
The Walsh Group in the 2010 Engineering News-Record’s Top Contractors Lists:

2nd Largest US Builder of Water and Desalination Plants

2nd Largest Domestic Heavy Contractor in the United States

3rd Largest US Hydroplant Builder

3rd Largest US Transportation Contractor

3rd Largest US Highway Contractor

3rd Largest US Builder of Water Supply Systems

3rd Largest US Wastewater Treatment Plant Builder

5th Largest US Bridge Builder

5th Largest US Builder of Multi-Unit Residential Housing

6th Largest US Airport Builder

6th Largest US Sewerage and Solid Waste Builder

7th Largest US Mass Transit and Rail Builder

11th Largest US Government Office Builder

12th Largest US Contractor by New Contracts

17th Largest US National Contractor with 2009

20th Largest US Entertainment Builder

21st Largest US General Building Contractor

25th Largest US Health Care Builder

25th Largest US Domestic Design Builder

40th Largest US Green Contractor

74th Largest Global Contractor

Other Honors:

Midwest Contractor of the Year (Midwest Construction)

Texas Contractor of the Year (Texas Construction)