James A. Cummings Inc.

Sunshine State construction┬áIn 1981, three men came together to form James A. Cummings Inc., a company constructed with the right stuff, learns Brendan A. Smith.  If you have been to Miami International Airport in the past twenty years you will have seen the FAA Air Traffic Control Tower that James A. Cummings Inc. built as its first official construction project as an incorporated company. The commanding tower, reaching high into the Miami skyline, could have been a symbol of what was to come for James A. Cummings Inc. ┬áWhen the company started with the original three, James A. Cummings, Rick Derrer and Pete MacEachron, a typical work week looked like a calendar month and the trio had barely time to spare for sleep.┬á Today, however, Cummings has blossomed into one of FloridaÔÇÖs premier general contractors with more than 170 employees and $2 billion in completed projects. With headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, the company also has satellite offices in West Palm Beach and Orlando, offering a broad range of expertise to include everything from pre-construction services like design review, estimating, and budgeting to full time construction services like project management. One of JACÔÇÖs most recent highlights is State School JJJ, or Hialeah Gardens High School in Hialeah Gardens, Florida. JAC won the $87.5 million contract from the Miami-Dade County Public School System, which often looks to Cummings Inc. to deliver quality, on-time, on budget construction. CummingsÔÇÖ task is to build a 350 thousand square foot, seven building senior high school on 56 acres of land, off Okeechobee Road and Hialeah Gardens Boulevard. Construction began in 2006, as the contractors began extensive site work clearing, grubbing, and removing more than 200 thousand cubic yards of unsuitable soil, or ten thousand truck loads, and replacing it with 700 thousand cubic yards, or thirty-five thousand truck loads, of the mandatory structural fill support. According to Jim Rhinehart, JACÔÇÖs project manager, the site-prep was a huge challenge not only because of the material volume involved, but also because the site was designated wetlands, without existing infrastructure. While installing the necessary utilities, JAC restored two acres of natural Florida wetlands, which will be used for educational purposes for HialeahÔÇÖs student body.┬áIn the spring of 2007, Hialeah Gardens High SchoolÔÇÖs Media Center, Administration, and Science Labs were all built using tilt-up panel construction. Much of the High School is built using this method, where the buildingÔÇÖs concrete walls are poured on the jobsite and put directly in place. By the fall of 2007, all major building was right on schedule. The Media Center, two story Administration and Laboratory buildings were dried in, and drywall was installed. As site work progressed, construction on the 150,000 sq. ft. gymnasium/cafeteria neared completion, and the roof deck for the auditorium was wrapping up. In the winter of 2008, the finishing touches to the high school were underway. Flooring, marker-boards, and ceiling tile were all installed. In the gymnasium, lockers and bleachers were installed and the cafeteriaÔÇÖs kitchen began to take shape.┬á┬á┬á┬áIn addition to the Hialeah High School project, James A. Cummings Inc. has several other important construction projects underway including seven other school projects, and one government facility. Like the structures it builds, JAC has become part of the communities it operates in as it demonstrates a lasting dedication and commitment to its community. ÔÇô Editorial research by Dan Finn┬á