Cole Engineering and Construction, based in Manchester, VT, is currently overseeing the day-to-day construction activities at the Main Street site of the new community library. Owner Chris Cole was brought in early on the project to provide oversight and act as owner representative during the program and design phase of the project. "I firmly believe that early involvement in a project provides significant benefits to all team members by developing an organized and economical approach with special emphasis on project costs and schedules," said Cole. "Bringing our expertise to the project at the beginning of the pre-construction phase saves many headaches down the road."
Groundbreaking for the new facility took place on June 26 and construction is expected to be completed in time for a fall 2014 opening. As construction manager, Cole Company is responsible for all aspects of the project including, coordinating between design team members, soliciting and awarding contracts and the daily supervision of subcontractors, budgets and schedules.
Cole Company’s approach as construction manager is to incorporate as many local contractors as possible. “Breaking contracts into smaller bid packages minimizes the need for larger bonded contracts and provides more opportunities for smaller local contractors to bid work while maintaining financial stability for the client.”
Cole Company has been providing construction management services in southern Vermont for over 12 years. These services include feasibility studies, site development, building assessments and code reviews, Act 250, state and local permitting, design/build, pre-construction and construction management. The company is also a member of the Association for Preservation Technology and has worked with preservation groups from New York, Vermont and Massachusetts. Local preservation projects include Bennington Project Independence, South Londonderry Depot and the Guilford Country Store. Cole Company also offers civil engineering services.
"Our goal is to provide clients with a comprehensive range of pre-construction and construction services for projects of all sizes," said Cole. "Engineering services are critical to our ability to enter into a project in the early stages and make the design and construction process efficient and economical, and we are excited to bring this capability to our clients."
Cole has extensive knowledge and experience in both commercial and residential construction. For over twenty years he worked for Turner Construction Company, one of the nation’s largest construction management companies, in the role of project manager, operations manager, and purchasing agent. While with Turner he worked on many large projects in New York City including the Museum of Modern Art, Mt. Sinai Hospital, and America's Tower. In Troy, New York, he worked on the Rensselaer County Courthouse facility, Emma Willard School, and the YWCA, all on the National Register of Historic Places. A licensed professional engineer, Cole has a BS from Northeastern University in civil engineering and an MS from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in building conservation.