On-Campus Housing, Under Budget and Ahead of Schedule

As one of the only community colleges in the state to offer on-campus student housing, Northampton Community College is home to an award-winning 325-room dormitory on their 36-acre campus in Bethlehem, PA. Coordinating closely with the client and project team, Bohler provided value engineering solutions that enabled the college to open the facility under budget and ahead of schedule.

The team identified cost-saving stormwater management solutions, incorporated creative construction sequencing, and responded quickly to contractor questions to keep the project moving forward. In collaboration with traffic engineer McMahon Associates, Bohler’s innovative pedestrian connectivity plans tied into the existing campus trails, incorporating porous pavement and multiple security call boxes along the route. In addition, Bohler’s landscape architecture design provided the tree plantings required for the added parking and building areas.

Value Engineering Stormwater Management

Faced with challenging regulations calling for multiple stormwater basins on site, Bohler identified a creative solution. Utilizing an extensive knowledge of stormwater, the team demonstrated through calculations that the requirement wasn’t necessary.

By convincing the Northampton County Planning Commission to reduce the amount of stormwater management needed, Bohler ultimately saved the client both time and money on permitting and construction.

Time-Saving Construction Sequencing

Because this project was an expansion of an existing student housing facility, close coordination with the college and the contractor was crucial to minimizing the impact on campus. To ensure proper planning and minimal delays, Bohler held a brainstorming session with key stakeholders to discuss construction sequencing.

Since faculty, staff, and students walked by the construction site and used the existing parking daily, Bohler creatively maximized work areas for contractors while maintaining proper passage for pedestrians utilizing the existing space. Instead of creating many phases with smaller areas of construction, Bohler prepared sequencing plans for fewer phases of larger areas, which ultimately shortened construction time and saved costs.

While securing all necessary local, county, and state approvals, Bohler remained especially receptive to contractor requests during construction, earning compliments for quick response times and keeping the project moving forward.

Delivering Under Budget and Ahead of Schedule

Bohler’s proactive planning, collaboration with key stakeholders, and aggressive permitting approach ensured the project was completed under budget and ahead of schedule. As a result, the $18 million expansion received the Land Development Honoree award at the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission Awards Gala for Excellence in Planning and Development.