Tarlton's fast-track hospital back-up facility wins award

Tarlton Corp., a St. Louis-based general contracting and construction management firm, recently received a 2020 Award of Merit in the 'Best Projects' category from ENR Midwest for completion of a COVID-19 alternate care facility in Florissant, Mo. for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).

Tarlton Corp. assisted USACE and coordinated with multiple government and health agencies to transform the Quality Inn at 55 Dunn Road into an alternate healthcare facility for patients referred by St. Louis-area hospitals for non-acute COVID-19 treatment.

The conversion was completed April 11, 2020 – less than 80 hours after construction work began. After opening several days later, the facility was staffed by members of the U.S. National Guard.

Tarlton led the design-build team in this unprecedented fast-track project, building in two shifts around the clock with more than 100 employees from four firms. Design-build partners were Ross & Baruzzini, Rock Hill Mechanical Corp. and Guarantee Electrical Co. Subcontractors included C&R Mechanical’s Plumbing Division, Collins & Hermann, Dynamic Air Solutions, Flooring Systems Inc., Jos. Ward Painting Co., Midwest Elevator, Stanley Steemer, Tech Electronics, Waterhout Construction and Woodard Cleaning and Restoration.

“I’m proud of the quick and thorough response our team put together and executed on this project,” said Tracy Hart, president of Tarlton. “We feel honored to be trusted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for this mission-critical project for our community.”

The project yielded more than 100 patient rooms on the four floors of the 130-room hotel. Scope included stripping down and deep-cleaning individual rooms and placing extra beds and furniture in storage; changing door hardware for rooms and bathrooms to disable locking mechanisms; cleaning carpet throughout; removing and replacing carpet in specific areas; repainting certain walls and ceilings; building a nurse station and storage area on each floor; and converting the phone system into a nurse call system.

Tarlton’s award is one of only two projects selected from St. Louis, with 32 Best Projects selected from a slate of 112 entries received this year by ENR Midwest, which covers an 11-state region. The 2020 award-winning projects and firms will be featured in the November edition of ENR Midwest, with a virtual awards presentation scheduled for Dec. 3, 2020.