The Associated Builders and Contractors Connecticut chapter (CT ABC) recognized Fairfield University among its 2023 Excellence in Construction Award winners for its new 85,000 square foot Leo D. Mahoney Arena. The Excellence in Construction awards program honors the state’s most innovative and high-quality Merit Shop* constructions projects  and the teams behind them. An awards ceremony was held last month at Aqua Turf Club in Southington, Conn.

Led by Vice President of Facilities, Campus and Auxillary Services David Frassinelli, the team that designed and constructed Mahoney Arena included Centerbrook Architects and Gilbane Building Company.

The CT ABC 2023 Excellence in Construction Award winners (and submitting firms) are as follows:

• Arrigoni Bridge Rehabilitation and St. John's Square Intersection Improvements - Mohawk Northeast, Inc.
• Belimo Americas Expansion Project - Macri Associates, Inc.
• Bradley International Airport Ground Transportation Center - KBE Building Corporation
• Choate Faculty Housing - LaRosa Building Group, LLC
• Fairfield University Convocation Center - Modern Mechanical Systems, Inc.
• Grand Avenue Bridge Rehabilitation - Mohawk Northeast, Inc.
• Hole in the Wall Gang Camp Arts & Crafts Building - Associated Construction Company
• Miss Porters Sarah Lane - E.A. Quinn Landscape Contracting, Inc.
• The Russell Chapel at Indian Hill - Kronenberger & Sons Restoration, LLC.
• The Vero at Orange - KBE Building Corporation
• Veranda Street Bridge Replacement - Cianbro Corporation

Mahoney Arena, which opened in fall 2022 and replaced Alumni Hall, is home to Fairfield’s Division I basketball and volleyball programs, and serves as a convocation center for University and community events.

About Associated Builders and Contractors of Connecticut:
*Associated Builders and Contractors of Connecticut (CT ABC) is a membership association representing Merit Shop contractors. Merit Shop Contractors account for over 80% of the construction industry in Connecticut and 86% of the industry nationwide. As a Chapter of ABC National, more than 220 members are afforded an effective voice in the political system at the local, state and federal levels.

Merit Shop is free enterprise — the belief that all construction contracts should be awarded to the lowest responsible, qualified bidder based on merit, regardless of the company's non-union or union affiliation. CT ABC was chartered in 1976 as a Chapter of the national Associated Builders and Contractors, however, it originally began in 1972 as a part of the Yankee Chapter with 112 members.