D.C. hires contractor to convert convention center to health care facility

The Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington D.C. will soon undergo a construction project to turn it into a health care facility to treat coronavirus patients.

According to BisNow, Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration announced April 20 that it issued a design-build contract to Greeley, Colorado-based Hensel Phelps Construction Co. to convert the convention center's three halls into a facility to treat patients who do not require intensive care.

The Bowser administration coordinated with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in issuing the contract. The Army Corps conducted site inspections in late March and found the convention center met the necessary medical requirements and offered advantages including ambulance access, utility supply and its central location.

The facility is scheduled to open in phases, with 500 beds available by the first week of May and another 1,000 beds completed by the end of the month. The District had recorded 2,927 positive cases of COVID-19 and 105 deaths as of April 20. 

“Our goal, leveraging our contractor's expertise, is to get this site operational as quickly as possible while meeting medical standards, so equipment and beds can be placed and healthcare providers can take over, should the need arise,” says Col. John Litz, Baltimore District Commander for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 

Hensel Phelps was the seventh-largest general contractor in the D.C. region based on 2018 Metro-area revenue, according to the Washington Business Journal. It has also worked on public projects in the region including the Silver Line and the Purple Line.