City officials defend and detail expansion of design‑build program; MWBE gains highlighted

New York City officials on Aug. 6 told the Council Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure that the city’s growing use of design‑build contracting has sped delivery on several major projects, increased participation by minority‑ and women‑owned businesses and will be applied to large programs including the borough‑based jails. Committee members pressed the Department of Design and Construction and the Department of Transportation for more detailed timelines, stronger protections for post‑completion defects and clearer accounting of MWBE outcomes.

The most direct account came from Thomas Foley, commissioner of the Department of Design and Construction, who told the committee that design‑build teams let designers and builders “work together from the start of the design process” so “we can start the work before the design is even finished.” Foley said the agency’s early projects under the authority granted by Albany have cut schedule time substantially and improved MWBE results on specific contracts.

Why it matters: Council members framed the hearing as oversight of how design‑build — a procurement method that bundles design and construction under a single contract and selects teams by "best value" rather than lowest bid — is performing for New Yorkers. The questions focused on promised time and cost savings, quality controls once construction ends, community engagement and whether small MWBE firms are being protected and given paths to become prime contractors.

Officials described a portfolio of active projects and recent completions they say show design‑build’s advantages. Foley highlighted completed projects that he said finished far faster than under traditional methods, including a DOT‑led Queens parking and community facility completed in about 22 months (the presentation identified the project as Queen’s Garage) and an Orchard Beach maintenance facility that he said saved roughly 2.5 years. He also listed large projects currently using the method, including the $141 million Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center in Brooklyn, a $92 million project on Staten Island, and a $128 million Brownsville Multi‑Service Center.

Foley told the committee the city is managing dozens of design‑build projects: he cited an estimate that the city is managing 22 projects in one part of the portfolio with an estimated combined value of about $14.2 billion, and elsewhere the agency described 14 ongoing projects and other jobs in earlier phases. The department also cited a reported aggregate schedule reduction figure — a combined total of about 50 years of project time saved across the city’s initial pilot portfolio — and told the committee it estimates roughly 10% cost savings on some completed pilot projects.

Borough‑based jails and timelines

Foley and his team told council members that the borough‑based jails program is being delivered with separate design‑build contracts for each site and that early works have achieved high MWBE participation. Foley said early‑works MWBE participation for the jails’ initial dismantling and preparatory contracts was about 51% and that the Brooklyn site already has hundreds of union workers on site. He gave a rough delivery sequence: Brooklyn’s facility is expected to open first (he said starting in 2029, with other boroughs following and Manhattan the last, around 2031). He described those dates as the department’s current expectation.

DOT projects and federal funding

Paul Joach, who identified himself as executive deputy commissioner for the Department of Transportation, said DOT has a smaller but active design‑build portfolio — he said DOT has four design‑build projects totalling about $400 million, including three bridge projects and one ferry terminal resilience project estimated at about $45 million. Joach and Don Harrison, DOT’s director of design‑build procurement and planning, described coordination with federal agencies and anticipated procurement schedules for the Belt Parkway bridge work and Metro‑North overpass projects, with notices to proceed expected in 2026 for some projects.

MWBE participation and safeguards

Committee members pressed officials on minority‑ and women‑owned business (MWBE) participation, payment protection for MWBE subcontractors, and whether subcontractors are being given a viable path to prime contracts. Foley and DDC staff said they set separate goals of 30% MWBE participation in both the design phase and the construction phase, that suppliers and subtiers can count toward goals on design‑build contracts, and that early‑works contracts for the borough‑based‑jails program hit roughly 51% MWBE participation.

DDC said it monitors payments (reporting an average of about 31 days to pay approved invoices) and has new payment processes and outreach programs intended to reduce late payments. The department also said recent awards include MWBE prime vendors: DDC named the Roy Wilkins Rec Center contract (about $120 million) awarded to a TriNet JV with Elite Construction Company and a $23 million public restroom bundle awarded to Armand Corporation, which DDC described as MWBE firms.

Quality, warranties and oversight

Council members raised concerns about completed facilities that have experienced defects and asked how the city enforces warranties and pursues remedial action. Foley said typical warranty periods are about 18 months for systems, and that for structural defects the city pursues legal remedies regardless of age: “If I have a structural problem, then they should be sued. A 100%,” he said. DDC described internal oversight tools — on‑site professional engineers, site safety teams, commissioning reviews and coordination with the Department of Buildings for sign‑offs — and said those oversight steps apply whether a project used design‑build or traditional delivery.

Community engagement and project selection

Officials said community outreach is conducted early in the design‑build process because public input must inform design at the start. Foley and Evie McEvilly, DDC’s assistant commissioner for alternate delivery, said DDC holds regular industry meetings and “meet the prime” events to encourage MWBE teaming and early community engagement. DDC said projects best suited for design‑build are new, well‑defined builds with tight timelines; renovation projects without a “clean slate” can be harder to deliver under design‑build.

Council scrutiny and policy questions

Council members repeatedly asked for clearer schedules and for follow‑up data on how many projects are fully funded, how many have been initiated and what will be completed in the coming year. Members also pressed Albany policy questions: DDC officials said certain tools that affect cost and delivery — for example, joint bidding authorities — require state action and that the agency is continuing to advocate in Albany for longer authorizations.

Public testimony and outside voices

Richard Thomas, director of state and local government affairs at the Design Build Institute of America, told the committee that DDC’s program is among the country’s most fully implemented municipal design‑build efforts and urged the council to support permanent, expanded authority. A public speaker urged DDC to help advance a separate “hub” project and called for higher MWBE ratios.

What the committee asked for next

Council members requested detailed follow‑up materials, including contractor lists for each borough‑based jail early‑works package, project‑level MWBE participation breakdowns (by race/gender if available), and schedules showing which fully funded projects have been initiated and which will reach completion in the year ahead. Officials agreed to supply additional information to the committee.

The hearing was oversight and informational; no formal vote on legislation or contracts was recorded during the meeting.