Our Design-Build Process & Collaborating with Cook County

We recently completed tenant improvements for Cook County, Ill. at Cicero Business Center in Cicero, Ill. Our partnership with Cook County was a great experience for all of us. Curtis Florence, project director for Cook County, had great things to say about our work.

On our design-build approach:

"I’ve been managing projects at Cook County for ten years and this was one of the best projects that I’ve worked on because Opus’ design-build approach allowed the County to save time and money. Opus managed the project as if it was their money."

"Through Opus’ design-build approach, they were able to manage the bid process and save the County hundreds of thousands of dollars. That in turn, allowed us to cover costs on some unforeseen items that we had not included in our original budget."

"Having the design team and builder under one roof and on the same page from day one streamlined everything. They knew exactly what they could build and how they could build it, which expedited the process."

On challenging schedules:

"Opus really stepped up to meet the challenging project schedule we gave them. They used existing plans from the County to come up with a final design for the new building quickly and were proactive about seeking input from all the necessary parties and agencies within the County – which can be a challenge by itself."

On our collaboration with clients:

"We definitely felt like a team with Opus. They were flexible with the design process and combined our input with their knowledge of the budget to give us exactly what we needed."

"Throughout the design process there were several opportunities to voice our input and Opus listened to and addressed all of our ideas and concerns while helping us make decisions"