Centennial Place Construction Brings Jobs and Expertise to Statesboro

Creating Centennial Place, Georgia Southern University’s new 1,000-bed residence hall, calls for the talent and expertise of many people and their organizations. Scheduled for completion in July 2009, the large-scale project includes a developer, an architect and a general contractor.

“Centennial Place is one of the largest construction projects that the University has undertaken,” said Vickie Hawkins, Georgia Southern University’s Director of Housing.
“Working with professionals makes this project a win-win situation for everyone involved.”

“The success of Centennial Place is directly tied to and dependent upon our strong relationship with the University,” said Paul Morgan, vice president of project management for Ambling University Development Group of Valdosta, Ga., which will coordinate the building process. “The key to success will be open communication among all the partners and team members, from the project’s inception through design, programming, construction, and delivery.” Ambling University Development Group’s portfolio of work, which includes nearly 30,000 beds and 10,000 units in university and college housing across the U.S., can be viewed at http://www.amblingunivdevgroup.com.

“This is an exciting project for Niles Bolton Associates,” said Gordon Karns, senior project manager of the Atlanta architectural firm that designed the new residential complex. “We’re part of an experienced team that has worked on major universities in the University System of Georgia, and we’re please to now have an opportunity to work in Statesboro.” Karns’ firm was designated among the top 40 architectural firms in the U.S. by Building Design and Construction Magazine, and the company has completed projects in 42 states and 14 countries around the globe. Completed work by Niles Bolton Associates can be viewed at http://www.nilesbolton.com

Actual construction of Centennial Place will be accomplished by Hardin Construction Company, headquartered in Atlanta. In addition to building residence halls at Kennesaw State University, Georgia State University and Georgia Institute of Technology, Hardin has completed education-related projects in Florida and Texas. Atlanta-based Hardin Construction Company is the winner of multiple awards—including two exclusive “Best Of” awards—in Southeast Construction magazine’s 2007 construction and design competition. In the Best College Housing category, Hardin was honored for its work on University Commons of Georgia State University. More about Hardin is available at http://www.hardinconstruction.com.

“We were approached by Ambling University Development Group to join them on this project, and we previously worked with this team on the Georgia State University Commons project,” said Joe Dusek, vice president of Hardin. “With Georgia Southern University supporting our efforts and with the weather cooperating, we’re ahead of schedule.”