Hill International Receives Three ENR Awards of Merit for Astir Palace, ISEC Pedestrian Crossing Bridge, and Boeing V-22 Osprey Future Factory

PHILADELPHIA and BOSTON and ATHENS, Greece, Aug. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hill International (NYSE:HIL) (Hill), the global leader in managing construction risk, announced today that Engineering News-Record (ENR) magazine has recognized the Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens, Northeastern University’s Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex (ISEC) Pedestrian Crossing, and Boeing’s V-22 Osprey Future Factory with Awards of Merit.

The Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens

ENR Global Best Projects Award of Merit, Residential/Hospitality

The Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens is an iconic hotel near Athens, Greece. Since the 1960s, the Hotel has been the crown jewel of the Athenian Riviera and a landmark for Greece’s tourism sector. The owner’s vision for the project respected Astir’s established history and identity while elevating the hotel to contemporary, world-class standards. Astir Palace Vouliagmenis S.A. invested more than $120 million into refurbishing and upgrading the facilities as part of a holistic, environmentally friendly, and master-planned approach.

The project involved transformative renovations for the hotel buildings (Arion and Nafsika) with 303 rooms and 58 luxury bungalows, spa and recreational facilities, conference and event spaces, infinity pools, beaches, a unique beachfront promenade, signature restaurants, a helipad, and more. The historic reopening of the hotels in March 2019 brought Four Seasons’ signature service to Greece for the first time. In its first year of operation, Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens became an award-winning, top luxury destination, featured on the 2020 Conde Nast Traveler Global Hot List.

"This award is a testament to the distinctive challenges, innovations, quality, and safety performance of the Astir project and a recognition of its special status as a hospitality project of global reverence," says Hill Vice President & Managing Director for Southern Europe Manolis Sigalas. "Congratulations to the investors and to the wider project team. It has been our privilege and honor to work alongside them through each step of this journey. We are proud to have helped win this prestigious award for Hill, the whole project team, Astir, and Greece."

Northeastern University ISEC Pedestrian Crossing Bridge

ENR New England Award of Merit, Highway/Bridge

The $39 million, 320-foot-long Northeastern University ISEC Pedestrian Crossing Bridge links the university’s north and south campuses and, by extension, the Roxbury and Fenway neighborhoods of Boston, MA. Traversing five Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and Amtrak rail lines, the bridge required a Manitowoc MLC-650, one of the largest cranes on the East Coast, to be set into place. The team achieved this over two consecutive night shifts, carefully coordinated with the MBTA and Amtrak to minimize disruptions to railway operations. Realized on time and on budget, the project has also been recognized with several awards from other industry organizations, earning the 2020 Design Honor Award by the Boston Society of Landscape Architects and the 2020 Envision Bronze Award by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure.

“We are proud to have supported Northeastern University with owner’s representative services for this award-winning project,” says Hill Vice President Peter Martini. “In addition to being a functional and safe means of addressing campus and neighborhood traffic, this bridge was beautifully designed with glass panels that allow for excellent views of downtown Boston and special weathering steel, which will age in a controlled and deliberate way to protect the structure with a corrosion-resistant layer of rust. This material gives the bridge a unique industrial color and prevents the need for regular repainting—limiting disruptions to the railway operations beneath. The final product is a testament to the hard work of the whole project team.” Martini specifically mentioned Skanska USA Civil, King Fabrication LLC, Atlantic Bridge & Engineering Inc., Arup, Payette Associates Inc., STIMSON, Coghlin Electrical Contractors, North American Crane and Rigging, Xquisite Landscaping, and J.A.J. Co., Inc.

Boeing V-22 Osprey Future Factory

ENR Mid-Atlantic Award of Merit, Manufacturing

In a Philadelphia suburb, the Boeing Company converted a vacant 350,000 SF warehouse into a $115 million factory to manufacture V-22 Osprey military aircraft. At the new facility, employees will build fuselages for the specialized aircraft and modernize the existing V-22 fleet. Hill provided a full audit for the design-build project, which spanned only 12 months from design through construction. The team worked directly with Boeing to define priorities for analysis on a weekly or as-needed basis. In addition, Hill evaluated contractor estimates, verified all submitted documentation, and produced reports at the client’s request. The Future Factory was submitted to ENR Mid-Atlantic’s Best Projects by project partner STV.

“We’re very proud to see Boeing’s project recognized with an Award of Merit,” says Hill Senior Vice President & Regional Manager for the Mid-Atlantic Region Vic Spinabelli Jr., PE, LEED AP. “This new facility will provide a source of jobs to residents of the Philadelphia area and allow those employees to work safely and efficiently on the Ospreys. Congratulations to Boeing, our project partners, and the Hill team that helped to deliver the new factory successfully.” 

Raouf Ghali, Hill’s Chief Executive Officer, says of the achievements: "These projects are among the best that Hill has had the opportunity to support over the past year. The trio set benchmarks in their respective market sectors. We are extremely proud that ENR has recognized the efforts of our teams, our clients, and our partners with Awards of Merit. I would like to congratulate all of the Hill professionals and our partner firms that contributed to the success of these incredible, award-winning projects.”

ENR is a leading provider of engineering and construction news, analysis, commentary, and data. ENR reports on the top design firms, both architects and engineers, and the top construction companies as well as projects in the U.S. and around the world. For more information, please visit ENR’s website at .

About Hill International

Hill International, with approximately 2,700 professionals in more than 65 offices worldwide, provides program management, project management, construction management, and other consulting services to clients in a variety of market sectors. Engineering News-Record magazine recently ranked Hill as the eighth-largest construction management firm in the United States. For more information on Hill, please visit our website at .

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Hill International, Inc.

Elizabeth J. Zipf, LEED AP BD+C

Senior Vice President

(215) 309-7707

The Equity Group, Inc.

Devin Sullivan

Senior Vice President

(212) 836-9608