Last year was a busy time for G.J. Hopkins, with projects in the Roanoke and New River valleys and beyond. Some of the industries they served include education, nonprofit, technology, and government.
Here’s their list of top projects that they started or completed in 2019:
Project Name: Goodwill Industries of the Valleys Solar Array
Project Location: Salem, Virginia
Project Value: $71,851
Project Type: Time and Material (Labor Only)
Project Highlights: RER Energy Group designed and provided materials for the array and contracted G.J. Hopkins’ Special Projects Division to provide labor to install the 658 solar panels. The project was the first large-scale solar install for G.J. Hopkins and took the team about four months to complete.
The solar array is expected to create about $400,000 in energy cost savings for Goodwill and keep 221 metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. Adopting solar technology has allowed Goodwill to enhance its mission of helping individuals with disabilities or disadvantages get back to work and gain greater independence through training and employment programs.
Project Team:
| Chris S. Smith Electrical Special Projects Supervisor |
Nathan Sherman Tech 2, Lead Electrician |
Paul Trent Helper, Apprentice |
Project Name: Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion
Project Location: Roanoke, Virginia
Project Value: $25 million
Project Type: Mechanical, plumbing, sheet metal, and electrical scope of work for expansion on the medical institute.
Project Highlights: The Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, located on the Virginia Tech Carilion Health Sciences and Technology Campus, is 139,000-gross-square-feet and connects to the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute via an elevated walkway.
The new building is an expansion on the success of the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, which opened seven years ago, and will provide additional state-of-the-art research laboratories organized around interactive research themes and infused with experiential learning environments.
Project Team:
| Chris Becker Mechanical Project Manager |
David Mays Assistant Mechanical Project Manager |
Chuck Moore Mechanical Superintendent |
| David Murray Sheet Metal Superintendent |
Chris Smith Electrical Project Manager |
Tim Weeks Electrical Superintendent |
Project Name: Henry County Jail
Project Location: Martinsville, Virginia
Project Value: $5.1 million
Project Type: Electrical scope of work for a new detention center
Project Highlights:
Managed by English Construction, this project consists of a new 160,0000-square-foot detention facility and is on a 24-month schedule. It’s located on the former site of the Dupont plant in Danville, which was a past G.J. Hopkins project.
The new jail will replace the existing facility that opened in 1974 and was designed to hold 67 inmates; however, there are 180 inmates housed there at any given time. Henry County has been paying other localities to house additional inmates since 2013 at an estimated cost of $900,000.
Reinvigorating and reinvesting in the Dupont property will help protect the environment and reduce blight. It will also allow for Henry County to protect valuable greenspace that would have otherwise been used to facilitate this project. DuPont is donating a portion of the needed acreage to the county for the new facility, and this will minimize the land acquisition costs for the county. DuPont has addressed previous environmental concerns at the site, and it is acceptable for county use.
Project Team:
| Breck Richbourg Project Manager |
Harold Driscoll Superintendent |
Project Name: Fallon Park Elementary
Project Location: Roanoke, Virginia
Project Value: $4.2 million
Project Type: Mechanical, plumbing, and sheet metal scope of work for expansion/renovation of elementary school
Project Highlights: The new Fallon Park Elementary School features 39 classrooms, a cafeteria, separate entrances for bus and car riders, a repurposed gym, and a park leading up to the front entrance. It’s located behind the old school, which was built more than 40 years ago and will be demolished as the construction of the new school continues.
Phase 2 of the project is complete and included a new kitchen, a cafeteria, and several new classrooms. Phase 3 will begin around the end of January and consists of updating the existing gym and renovating the old cafeteria into art and music classrooms.
Project Team:
| Josh Mills Project Manager |
Tim Love Mechanical Superintendent |
Mark Yonce Sheet Metal Superintendent |
Project Name: 1901 Group, CRC Building 1331
Project Location: Blacksburg, Virginia
Project Value: $1.5 million
Project Type: Mechanical and sheet metal scope of work for a research development facility.
Project Highlights: 1901 Group joined forces with the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center to build its new Enterprise IT Operations Center. The state-of-the-art 45,000-square-foot building will support the company’s continued growth of cloud, cybersecurity, and managed services business.
Construction crews broke ground on the project in August 2019 the company hopes to move in around spring 2020
Project Team:
| Josh Mills Project Manager |
Mark Kast Mechanical Superintendent |
David Murray Sheet Metal Superintendent |
| Mark Yonce Sheet Metal Superintendent |
Project Name: VMI Scott Shipp Hall
Project Location: Lexington, Virginia
Project Value: $10 million
Project Type: Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing. Higher Education Academic Building
Project Highlights: Scott Ship Hall is home to five academic departments and was constructed in 1918-19 with an addition in 1955. It will remain in use throughout the renovation, with departments and classrooms moving from one part of the building to another as the work takes place.
In addition to a complete renovation of the existing structure, plans call for a 28,000-square foot addition to be built onto the rear of the building. Work on the new addition, plus renovation of the 1955 addition, has begun and scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2020.
Classes and faculty offices have been relocated to the oldest part of the building while the work is taking place. Next, the original part of Scott Shipp will be renovated, and the goal is to complete all the work in time for the 2020-21 school year.
Project Team:
| Josh Mills Mechanical Project Manager |
Pete Whitley Mechanical Superintendent |
Mark Lynch Sheet Metal Superintendent |
| David Allen Electrical Project Manager |
Matt McDonald Electrical Superintendent |
Project Name: Pulaski County Middle School
Project Location: Pulaski, Virginia
Project Value: $4.8 million
Project Type: Mechanical, plumbing, and sheet metal, education
Project Highlights: The current middle school is more than 70 years old, and many of the classrooms only have one electrical outlet, don’t have heat, and there’s no air conditioning.
The new 126,658-square-foot school will have more than 50 classrooms, air conditioning, heat, two gyms, and a fitness center. Students will be able to take newly offered drama classes in the new auditorium and learn about robotics and mechatronics, among other subjects, in the agricultural education and technology labs.
The middle school will house nearly 950 students but has space for about 1,000. The project is expected to be completed in July 2020.
Project Team:
| Ricky Davis Project Manager |
Eric Kast Mechanical Super |
Joey Williams Sheet Metal Superintendent |
