Commitment at Stronghold: Building Even More Construction Excellence

To continue Stronghold’s reflection on its 33-year history of outstanding projects, the team chose to highlight the San Bernardino Courthouse, Rio Salado, and Barbados NAB Compound projects. This series of articles demonstrating Stronghold’s commitment to construction excellence celebrates all of the work that the team has accomplished in the company’s history.

San Bernardino Courthouse

In downtown San Bernardino, the Historic Central Courthouse and its accompanying annex building were originally constructed in 1926 and 1959, respectively. Stronghold Engineering was the primary contractor for a $24.2 million project consisting of the seismic retrofit, partial interior remodel, and historic renovation over 194,000 sq. ft. of the County Courthouse Facility from 2007-2009.

The courthouse remained active during the project, so Stronghold was limited to working at night and on weekends. The team worked in phases to ensure that no more than three courtrooms were closed at a time and coordinated with judges and staff to take over strategic areas without disrupting courthouse operations. Stronghold completed over 180,000 man hours without a single lost time accident.

Stronghold did their best to make sure the building looked just like it did when it was first built in 1959. They placed extra emphasis on maintaining as much of the original structure as possible. This project received the 2010 Excellence Recognition Award from the Superior Court of San Bernardino.

During the ribbon cutting, Stronghold received a tremendous compliment from Judge Brian McCarville. He compared Stronghold’s level of unseen detail on the San Bernardino Courthouse to the Great Cathedral in Florence, commenting that “God sees this kind of work.”

Thanks to Stronghold’s work, this historic building in downtown San Bernardino was given new life. The San Bernardino Courthouse employs more than 500 people and is occupied by over 3,000 community members each day. Stronghold updated this fixture of the city and deemed it safe for the county’s continued use.

Rio Salado

Stronghold was awarded a collection of contracts totalling $44 million for 5 design-build projects on the Rio Salado in Arizona from 2006-2007. Stronghold was the prime contractor overseeing the rejuvenation of the over 5 miles of the riverbed and 580 acres of surrounding wetlands and riparian habitats.

Initial site preparation included debris removal, grading, and establishing channels to eliminate the need for irrigation. After all civil work was completed, a flood erased all site progress. Unfazed, Stronghold’s team redid the entire site in three weeks at no extra cost to the client.

Stronghold planted thousands of native trees over a 75,000 sq. ft. forest environment to stabilize and beautify the banks of the Rio Salado. Among other labor-intensive tasks, the company constructed 2 reservoirs, a water distribution system, and 2 structural steel bridges.

Concerns about extreme desert temperatures (100-118℉), the indigenous environment, operating heavy equipment, and handling hazardous waste were addressed by a site-specific safety plan. The plan was implemented carefully to avoid safety incidents during the projects.

The Rio Salado project was completed with the highest level of quality control, and Stronghold received an Outstanding performance evaluation for their stellar work.

Barbados NAB and Compound

As the prime contractor for this $6 million project in Bridgetown, Barbados, Stronghold took care of material procurement and construction services for the U.S. Chancery’s Newly Acquired Building (NAB) and compound. Stronghold was the only American contractor cleared to work in top secret and classified areas over the 3.2 acre, 84,000 sq. ft. space.

On this project that spanned 2004-2006, Stronghold’s duties included electrical, mechanical, and life safety systems with associated testing; generator, electrical, lighting, and communications cabling; Forced Entry and Ballistic Resistant cladding, cable restraint kits, and seismic restraint kits; and more. Of all the work done on the Barbados NAB and Compound, Stronghold self-performed 70% of it, including all trades except HVAC and plumbing, in addition to working as the procurement agent for other contractors.

Thanks to the work done on the Barbados NAB and Compound, the site is now equipped with Antiterrorism Force Protection features, including Forced Entry Ballistic Resistant cladding; special doors, windows, and hardware; and unique sound enclosures.