St. Louis-based McCarthy Building Cos., in a joint venture with HITT Construction, has completed Next NGA West, a $1.7 billion federal campus that now serves as the new headquarters for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) in St. Louis, the company announced Jan. 21.
Spanning 97 acres, the sprawling design-build project represents the largest federal investment in St. Louis’ history and marks a major milestone for both the region and the federal government’s long-term intelligence infrastructure strategy.
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The facility will house NGA, a combat support agency that provides geospatial intelligence to the U.S. military, national security leaders, policymakers and first responders. The agency, which has maintained a presence in the St. Louis region for more than seven decades, employs more than 3,000 local workers, according to the announcement.
Oversight for the project was provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District, which managed the design and construction process for the secure federal campus.
The newly completed development includes a 700,000-square-foot office building, two multi-level parking garages, a secure visitor center, a delivery inspection facility, and multiple secured access points. Project teams incorporated advanced building technologies and constructed the campus to meet stringent safety, security and sustainability standards, McCarthy said.
Planning and groundwork for the project began more than a decade ago. According to NGA, work officially started in 2014 with an environmental impact statement, followed by site logistics and preparation beginning in 2019. The new headquarters replaces NGA’s previous facility located south of downtown St. Louis.
“This project reflects a remarkable collaboration between federal agencies, the design-build team, and the local community,” Josh Gaghen, St. Louis business unit leader for McCarthy and former project manager for construction of the new campus, said in the release.
The completion of Next NGA West adds to McCarthy’s growing portfolio of large-scale projects in the St. Louis region. In December, the firm wrapped up construction on the Plaza West Tower at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, part of the fifth-largest hospital system in the United States.
Originally reported by Matthew Thibault, Reporter in Construction Dive.
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