Apple, faced with a string of delays and increasing costs on the construction of its new Campus 2 headquarters, has reportedly fired two general contractors off of the project.
Skanska and DPR, who won the bid in a joint venture, “will transition completely off the project in the next several weeks,” according to an internal email seen by the Silicon Valley Business Journal. The companies were “unable to come to an agreement during negotiations for the revised scope of work,” Skanska USA chief Richard Cavallaro wrote.
Reports of problems surfaced last week, when a trade magazine reported that Skanska would be leaving the project, following the completion of the core and shell of the main building. That setback reportedly will cost the Swedish firm nearly $800 million in revenue.
Apple’s switch in mid-stream to Rudolph & Sletten for the interior build-out indicates there may be deeper problems with the project, which is more than a year behind schedule and $2 billion over budget.
Apple originally planned to complete the project – employing first-ever construction methods, and one of the most ambitious and expensive private office developments ever attempted by a corporation – in late 2015, and now says it will be ready for occupation in late 2016. Rumors suggest the actual timeline for the project may have already slipped into 2017.
“It’s challenging when you’re doing first-of’s,” David Shields, director of the construction management program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, told the Journal last month. “They certainly have a lot more schedule and cost risk associated with them.”
The Silicon Valley Business Journal report indicates oversight of the project may be awarded to Atlanta-based Holder Construction, which was responsible for building Apple’s North Carolina datacenter. Holder is currently working on the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems for the new campus project.
