A unique blend of talent and experience has come together to design and construct PCOM South Georgia, an approximately 75,000-square-foot facility in Moultrie, Georgia, where a projected class of 55 students will pursue DO degrees to prepare for careers in osteopathic medicine.

Sasaki, a global design firm based in Watertown, Massachusetts, and founded in 1953 by a Harvard University professor who chaired the landscape architecture department, led the site selection for PCOM South Georgia and is serving as the principal architectural firm for the project. Sasaki has hired the Sextant Group, a consulting firm headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to focus on technology to support goals for learning, collaboration and communication.

 JCI Contractors of Moultrie, Georgia, is the construction manager for the project. Founded in 1989 by Lynn Jones and his son, Lyndy Jones, an Auburn University civil engineering graduate, the company has developed a solid reputation for delivering high-quality commercial projects across Georgia.

In addition, NBP Engineers in Macon, Georgia, is providing mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering work for the job.  NBP Engineers was founded more than 55 years ago by George Nottingham, Jr., a member of the Georgia Tech Engineering Hall of Fame. The firm has working relationships of several decades with the University System of Georgia Board of Regents, Mercer University, the Technical College System of Georgia and Emory University.  

An onsite meeting was held in Macon recently between the architect, the engineers and PCOM representatives to discuss the project, while weekly conference calls between the entities provide a time for collaborative planning. And as the meetings occur for this fast-track project, Jim Boyd Construction of Albany, Georgia, has been carefully performing the site preparation work since April 30.

The city of Moultrie has approved a contract to provide water, sewer and electricity for the facility. Structural foundation concrete, steel and glazing packages are out for bid, and JCI’s preconstruction department will soon release packages to subcontractors with a bid date of July 12.

The Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) project director is Chief Facilities Officer Frank Windle of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who has 20+ years of construction experience, along with significant and varied experience in facilities management. John Khan, the associate director of plant operations at GA-PCOM in Suwanee, is assisting with oversight of the project. He has 18+ years of facilities management experience and has recently managed a 20,000 square foot expansion at GA-PCOM.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on April 26 at the 31-acre site of the new facility which is located off Veterans Parkway and Tallokas Road. The new institution will include classrooms, an anatomy lab, a Simulation Center, and a group study porch. A camera located at the construction site is capturing images each day and the feed is featured on the PCOM website.

Construction of PCOM South Georgia has a hard deadline - orientation for the inaugural class of students is set for Monday, August 12, 2019. Stay tuned for continuing progress reports.