Balfour Beatty scoops two US contracts worth $260m

Balfour Beatty announced this week that it had been selected to provide design-and-build services for the Virginia headquarters of The National Science Foundation, a US government agency that funds research and development. 

Balfour has also reached financial close on phase one of a student residence project at Texas A&M University. 

The National Science Foundation contract is worth $156m and the Texas scheme is valued at $104m. 

The National Science Foundation headquarters were commissioned by Lowes Enterprises Real Estate Group on behalf of the foundation. The offices will consist of two towers of 14 and 19 storeys and will include ground-floor retail space with three levels of below-ground parking. It is scheduled to be completed in 2017. 

The Texas accommodation project is the first in a two-phase scheme with an estimated combined value of $200m.  Phase one of the development, which is at College Station, Texas, will provide 1,274 beds in the form of separate apartments, as well as community areas and other amenities for the university’s undergraduate population. 

Construction will commence immediately, with the first students expected to move in during August 2015. 

Negotiations on the second phase of the project are expected to be concluded later this year. 

The National Science Foundation is an independent federal agency that promotes the progress of science, and funds scientific, mathematical and computer science research conducted by colleges and universities across the US.  Texas A&M University is the sixth largest university in the US. 

Balfour Beatty was recently awarded a $550m Canadian hospital PPP.