Hailing from Atlantic Highlands, a small town along the New Jersey coast that offers a view of the New York City skyline across its Sandy Hook Bay, Alan Petrasek worked in his father’s retail seafood business while attending high school. One summer they decided to remodel the business’ small, single story building that was built with driftwood from the World War II era. He enjoyed this first introduction to the construction industry and went on to receive a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Rutgers University in Piscataway, NJ (in addition to a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Monmouth University also in NJ). Upon graduation from Rutgers, he accepted a position as an assistant superintendent with The George Hyman Construction Co. in Washington, DC. Now known as Clark Construction LLC, the company has grown to be the premier general contractor in our Nation’s Capital, and the largest privately-held building general contractor in the US. After a promotion to Project Executive, his role included leading project management in the construction of prominent office buildings, parking garages, underground subway stations, and sports projects in the DC / Baltimore metropolitan area. Today, Alan works as a Senior Vice President with Clark Construction and in addition to overseeing Clark’s San Diego, California office, he is traveling back and forth to DC to manage the design-build project for the new Washington Nationals Ballpark.
On building ballparks: "Clark won the General Contractor’s package to construct Oriole Park at Camden Yards in 1990, which was my first ballpark project. The success of this project enabled Clark to forge a relationship with Larry Lucchino, who was then president of the Baltimore Orioles Baseball Club. Larry was impressed with Clark’s "can do" attitude and invited Clark to participate in the competitive award for the ballpark for the San Diego Padres (Petco Park). Clark was the managing partner of the joint venture general contracting team, and in 1998, as Officer-in-Charge, I relocated to California to oversee the completion of Petco Park, which opened in 2004. Based on my experience with building Camden Yards and Petco Park, I am on the team to help build this exciting ballpark for the Washington Nationals."
Something you may not know: "When I am not working, I like to volunteer my time to work with youth to promote our industry. While working on the Petco Park project, I got involved in the national, not-for-profit, organization ACE Mentor Program, which encourages high school students to enter the fields of architecture, construction, and engineering. In 2003, I was a founding board member of the new affiliate chapter of ACE Mentor in San Diego. Since then, the San Diego chapter has delivered successful annual programs with local high schools and provided numerous scholarships to students, and I now serve as board chairman. As a hobby, I enjoy relaxing 100 miles offshore, fishing in the Pacific Ocean. A fisherman for many years, I also hold a US Coast Guard License (inactive) for vessels 50 gross tons in size."
Current project: "Clark is the managing partner of Clark/Hunt/Smoot, A Joint Venture, contracted to provide Preconstruction and Construction Management Services for a new ballpark for Washington Nationals. Clark/Hunt/Smoot, A Joint Venture, is composed of Clark Construction Group, LLC of Bethesda, MD, Hunt Construction Group, Inc. of Indianapolis, and Smoot Construction of DC. The joint venture architectural team is comprised of HOK Sport of Kansas City, and Devrouax & Purnell of DC (HOK/D&P). The new ballpark is located at the base of the South Capitol Street Bridge along the Anacostia Waterfront, and will serve as the new home of the Washington Nationals baseball team. The 1,050,000-gross-square-foot facility will seat approximately 41,000 fans."
The team in place: "The project’s team members have long standing working relationships. The combined portfolio of the joint venture team members includes the construction of 11 of the past 16 Major League Baseball ballparks built in the country. Ten of those projects featured HOK Sport, the nation’s premier sports facility architect. Notable partnerships include Petco Park in San Diego, Comerica Park in Detroit, and Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Clark and Smoot’s Washington, DC, portfolio also includes several projects with Devrouax & Purnell, most notably the $634-million Washington Convention Center."
On first hearing about this new ballpark: "I first learned of the project for building a new ballpark in Washington, DC, from Clark’s Chairman. We were very interested in the opportunity to build an iconic ballpark in the Nation’s Capital, and in our company’s hometown. We knew the project would be the centerpiece for a revitalization of an overlooked neighborhood in Southeast DC."
On utilizing design-build: "Design-build practices are a part of the project. Design-build was chosen by the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission (DCSEC) to speed the design and construction process to assure an opening day delivery for Major League Baseball. The City Council government for the District of Columbia has legislated a $611 Million Dollar design and construction spending cap for the project. The DCSEC has used the design-build methodology to reduce its risk in delivering the project and as a proactive strategy to eliminate cost overruns that have historically plagued large sports projects. DCSEC Chief Executive Officer Allen Lew is very attuned to the benefits of building large projects in a partnering spirit."
Tip for those considering design-build: "The design/pricing/redesign process in design-build agreements provides a mechanism to control cost creep during the production of the project’s design."
Where the project is currently: "The cast-in-place concrete and structural steel superstructure is 45 percent complete as of this writing. The project groundbreaking occurred May 4, 2006, and completion is scheduled for April 2008."
Most memorable: "The most memorable experience thus far has been welcoming the new team owners of the Washington Nationals Baseball Club. Major League Baseball selected the new ownership group in May 2006 which was well into the design of the project. The new ownership group has provided their valuable input into the design of the ballpark."
Overcoming challenges: "Our biggest challenge has been to develop a strategy to design and build such a large sports project within a tremendously aggressive schedule. In a timed sequence, the building footprint is divided into nine discreet areas for design. Design documents must be produced in time to obtain approvals, fabricate, deliver and erect materials to keep the project on schedule. Each week is a horse race to overcome the routine issues that can slow a project down, but by cementing a firm bond between the architectural/engineering designers and the construction/subcontracting firms, the design-build team has held together and enjoys reporting an ‘on schedule’ performance as the project approaches its Opening Day delivery in April 2008."
On what he hopes to see in 2007: "Continued improvements in the Sports & Recreation construction industry will certainly include sustainable building design and construction requirements. The Washington Nationals new ballpark is designed to be the first ballpark/stadium building to achieve LEED Certification."
Favorite project: "My favorite project was Petco Park in San Diego. It was a true delight to plan and execute a project with Erik Judson, JMI Sports, and work with architects Antoine Predock and Joe Spear, HOK S+V+E, to deliver a unique southwestern design with all of the modern amenities expected in a Major League Baseball venue. An overarching reward was to participate with Padres owner, John Moores, in his vision to create an extraordinary 26 block ‘Ballpark District’ redevelopment of downtown San Diego. It is above and beyond expectations to have an opportunity to participate in another major league sports project that is providing much of the same results for a neighborhood in Southeastern Washington, DC."
INFO: Clark/Hunt/Smoot, A Joint Venture (http://DCballpark.com/)