Helix Campus

Brief Overview

Phase I of the Helix Campus project consolidated an existing research and development campus from around the Puget Sound onto one 29-acre campus. The project houses 850 to 900 employees in multiple buildings totaling 750,000 sf.  At full build-out, the campus will host more than 2,500 employees.

As construction manager, Skanska's scope of work included administrative office buildings, research and development laboratory facilities with vivariums, a utility plant serving the entire campus, a pedestrian bridge and extensive site and infrastructure improvements. At the peak of construction, the site hosted 750 workers billing more than $20 million in work a month.

An ownership change midway through the project put much of the job on hold while the new owner evaluated plans for the overall campus. This disruption had potential for tremendous conflict with the onsite subcontractors, but Skanska met with the subs, explained why the work was on hold, and re-sequenced work activities to allow as much work to continue as possible. Skanska aggressively kept change order processing and payments on track to maintain subcontractor commitment, and completed the project on time.