Located in Williamsburg Village, the Veterans Affairs Regional Office is home to over 230 VA employees and four other service organizations.  The 66,000 SF office building had to meet very restrictive covenants and fulfill the requirements of multiple government agencies.  The construction manager, Hampton Construction, quickly recognized that by using precast concrete they could meet all of those various needs.  The superstructure consists of precast beams, columns, and hollowcore.  The building exterior is load bearing precast walls with integral thin brick which incorporated traditional colonial revival architectural details such as quoins, rolok sills and limestone keystones.  The exterior precast walls also meet the blast requirements as set forth by the GSA.

According to the Project Manager, Scott Lockard, “There were several factors that contributed to the decision on using precast.  Using precast allowed us the ability to get a fully enclosed building in a short amount of time and not have to endure extra costs of trying to put up masonry walls through the winter.  By having the super structure be precast as well, we were able to meet the floor live loads that this tenant was requiring.  Additionally, this project was a LEED project and this system contributed many credits for our certification.  Precast was the right decision for this project and we would not hesitate to use it again.”

John Owens, Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington D.C. had this to say about the project: “The building itself is exceptionally well designed and well built; high quality materials and workmanship are evident, as well as good coordination of trades and attention to detail.  Even with the high quality construction, client-driven design changes, and energy-saving technology, the construction costs component funded by VBA was significantly lower than costs incurred on similar projects across the nation.

Hampton Construction was the contractor on the project.  Concrete Industries, a NEBCO, Inc. company, supplied the structural and exterior precast products for the build.