HKS WSP JV Wins $100 Million John Cochran Medical Center Design Contract

HKS WSP JV of Dallas has won a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery contract worth up to $100 million to provide architect-engineer services for the Department of Veterans Affairs’ John Cochran Division Medical Center in St. Louis. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Kansas City District awarded the contract for planning, design and construction-phase support as VA prepares a major expansion and overhaul of the operating campus. Work locations will be determined by individual orders, and the estimated contract completion date is Oct. 26, 2036.

John Cochran Medical Center Contract Details

Under the John Cochran architect-engineer solicitation, HKS WSP JV will support designs for a seismically designed inpatient tower of approximately 480,000 square feet, a 90,000-square-foot engineering building, an 83,000-square-foot central energy plant and a parking structure with about 1,300 spaces. The planned campus work also includes a water-storage structure, a combined information-management and facilities-support building of roughly 30,000 square feet, utilities and site improvements.

The design must account for construction beside an operating hospital. According to the project synopsis, approximately 115,000 square feet of existing facilities are slated for demolition. The team will develop a phased approach that transfers existing facilities to the new energy plant before the current plant is demolished and connects new buildings to the hospital. Existing inpatient functions are planned to move into the tower, which would also add types of inpatient care not currently available at the John Cochran campus.

The contractor will start from VA’s existing 15%-complete schematic design rather than a blank plan. Anticipated orders include reviewing that design and its cost estimate, completing further schematic and design-development stages, producing construction documents and providing construction-phase support. The work may require condition assessments, geotechnical studies, surveys, commissioning support and reconciled cost estimates. Design development is expected to begin in April 2027, with construction awards anticipated beginning in 2029.

The Corps plans to use its Integrated Design and Construction approach, under which the designer works with VA, the Corps and a construction contractor as plans advance. HKS WSP JV may need to incorporate the construction team’s recommendations into shared models, specifications, cost estimates and phased construction packages. Design deliverables will use building information modeling and follow VA standards; later orders could include shop-drawing reviews, site visits and on-site engineering support.

Award and Contractor Background

The Corps received 11 responses to its internet solicitation. The procurement sought a single architect-engineer firm selected on demonstrated qualifications, including experience with large health care facilities, bed towers, central plants and collaborative design. The contract’s $100 million ceiling covers architect-engineer services, with the work and funding for each assignment established through task orders; it is not the construction cost of the campus overhaul.

VA describes the broader John Cochran Major Program as an effort to renew a medical center that has served veterans since the 1950s while keeping the existing hospital operational. VA’s construction budget submission estimated the total project cost at $1.763 billion. VA projects completion of the overall campus program in 2035, ahead of the architect-engineer contract’s estimated completion date.

This award was disclosed by the DoW in its daily press release. Additional contract details will be available on HigherGov in approximately 90 days under W912DQ27DA004 after the contract is formally disclosed by the government.