A highly specialized life sciences facility. A 365-unit multifamily development. New public infrastructure serving some of the most critical needs of a community.

The projects taking shape across Prince William County, Virginia, look very different, but together they reflect the demands of a rapidly growing market and the extent of the expertise required to build for what comes next.

General contractor Coakley & Williams Construction is delivering projects across the region, spanning life sciences, multifamily, education and public facilities. Each presents a different set of technical, logistical and stakeholder challenges, requiring an understanding of the jurisdiction and an execution strategy built around each client’s priorities.

Prince William County Department of Economic Development Executive Director Christina Winn said growth isn't just about the companies and development coming to Prince William County — it's also about what is built around that growth. 

“Business investment and community investment have to move together,” she said. “Experienced partners who understand the county and can deliver across different types of projects help turn that growth into long-term value for our businesses, residents and community."

One of CWC’s newest projects is the Homeless Navigation Center-East in Woodbridge, a 30K SF, publicly funded facility designed to support up to 50 adults experiencing homelessness.

The project involves replacing the existing building with a new facility that will provide overnight accommodations, meals, clinics and services focused on housing, employment, and physical and behavioral health.

CWC Senior Project Manager Max Zarate said on projects like the Navigation Center, there is an added sense of responsibility because the facility will provide the services that people in the community are actively waiting for. 

For CWC, that means being thoughtful and proactive in how it plans the work, coordinates its trade partners, manages critical milestones and addresses challenges to support efficient, successful project delivery.

“Every project has different priorities, and understanding those priorities has to drive how we plan and execute the work,” Zarate said.

That same commitment was reflected this summer at Washington-Reid Preschool Center in Dumfries. The construction team was focused on meeting a critical milestone: having the school ready for the first day of classes.

When summer break began at the end of June, CWC had just 60 days to complete the construction, commission the building, secure its certificate of occupancy and prepare the facility to welcome students in August.

CWC and its trade partners mobilized an intensive effort to complete utilities and parking infrastructure while coordinating closely with Prince William County Public Schools around critical milestones and turnover, Zarate said. The certificate of occupancy was secured before the first day of school, allowing the new publicly funded preschool to open as planned.

The Washington-Reid project was an important step in Prince William County’s initiative to expand access to pre-K education. It also demonstrated a broader reality of construction in a growing jurisdiction: Success depends on understanding each client’s priorities and building the execution strategy around them, said CWC partner and Business Unit Leader Baboucarr Cham.

“Having experience in a jurisdiction means we can anticipate what is coming rather than simply react to it,” Cham said. “We understand the processes, the stakeholders and the expectations. We also bring the construction expertise needed to identify challenges early and develop solutions that keep the client’s goals at the center of the project.”

CWC’s work elsewhere in Prince William County demonstrates the range of expertise required as the market continues to develop, he said.

In Manassas, CWC is constructing a 50K SF expansion for American Type Culture Collection that includes technically complex biosafety level-2 and level-3 laboratory environments. CWC Senior Project Manager Vanaja Shrivastava said highly specialized environments like these require an incredible level of coordination because every system has to work together exactly as intended.

“Resolving issues through BIM coordination before installation begins gives our trade partners a clearer path in the field and allows us to protect the reliability and performance the facility requires,” she said.

At Waterline in Dumfries, CWC is delivering a 622K SF, 365-unit multifamily development within the Potomac Shores master-planned community. Early coordination with Prince William County focused on permitting, inspection expectations and a phased turnover strategy, creating greater predictability around completion and occupancy as the project progressed toward delivery.

Across these projects, local knowledge creates the most value when it translates into better planning and greater predictability for clients, Cham said. Successful delivery requires more than just having experience in a particular building type. It requires a team that can apply its expertise to the unique priorities, risks and complexities of each project.

He said the most valuable thing that CWC can bring to a client is the confidence that comes from knowing their project is in experienced hands. That means understanding what they are trying to accomplish, anticipating challenges before they become problems and bringing the right people and expertise together to deliver. 

“The projects being built today will shape how Prince William County residents live, work, learn and access critical services for years to come,” Cham said. “As it continues to grow, we want to continue being the partner to help build what comes next.”

This article was produced in collaboration between Studio B and CWC. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.