Renderings provided by Neumann Monson
ANKENY, IOWA, April 8, 2025 – On Monday, April 6, the City of Altoona, IA approved a $39.8 million contract to construct a new 4 MGD (expandable to 8 MGD) water treatment plant, which will become the City’s fourth active water treatment facility. The project will be delivered using the Construction Manager at Risk (CM at Risk) method, marking the first public water treatment plant in Iowa funded through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program, administered by the Iowa Finance Authority, to using this project delivery approach.
McClure Engineering Company is serving as the lead design professional for the project, supported by architectural design partner Neumann Monson Architects and mechanical/electrical design partner IMEG Corp., and Story Construction is serving as Construction Manager at Risk. Together, the team is delivering an integrated approach that emphasizes collaboration, cost certainty, constructability, and schedule efficiency while meeting the City’s long-term water supply and treatment needs.
In May 2025, the City of Altoona published a Notice of Intent and Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for CM at Risk services. Following a qualification review and interview process, Story Construction was selected by the City’s selection committee based on its treatment plant experience and approach to collaboration.
“We sought to take up CM at Risk delivery on this project because of the ability to collaborate with the construction and design teams during the design process,” said Dan Scott, Utilities Manager at the City of Altoona. “We ultimately selected Story Construction because of their specific project experience related to treatment plant work and their solid reputation in the industry overall.”
The new water treatment plant is a key component of Altoona’s broader water system improvements. In addition to the treatment facility, the overall program includes enhancements to raw water source capacity, raw water transmission mains, finished water transmission mains, and supporting infrastructure. Throughout design and preconstruction, McClure worked closely with Story Construction, Neumann Monson Architects, and IMEG Corp. to align architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, and process systems with construction logistics and long-term operational needs.
During preconstruction, the team prepared cost opinions at 60% and 90% design milestones, evaluated site layout and construction sequencing, and incorporated constructability input into the design. Early coordination allowed the team to optimize layout and logistics, shorten the anticipated construction duration, and lower overall construction costs. In collaboration with McClure, Story Construction also facilitated early bid packages for sitework and utilities issued in January, enabling early construction activities and providing schedule flexibility to accommodate a required settling period prior to major building construction.
“Having the Story team on board during design helped us maximize the effectiveness and constructability of design, ultimately so we could deliver the best value for the City of Altoona,” said Alex Potter, Team Leader at McClure.
Story Construction led strategic packaging of bid scopes and managed the prequalification process for interested subcontractors. Bid documents were released to prequalified bidders in January, with bids received on February 26. The bids ultimately came in approximately 4.5% under the anticipated cost.
The new facility will include a 220-foot by 160-foot treatment building housing three 12-foot-diameter by 42-foot-long pressure filters, four 12-foot-diameter by 16-foot-tall ion exchange softeners, and associated pumping systems capable of delivering 4 MGD of treated water, with future expansion to 8 MGD within the building and site footprint. The project also includes a new 1.5-million-gallon ground storage reservoir, a new 2,530-foot-deep Jordan aquifer well located on-site, and associated low- and high-service pumping infrastructure. Construction began in March, with the new plant scheduled to be operational by Spring 2028.
“Because this is the first CM at Risk delivery of a water treatment facility using SRF financing in the State of Iowa, it has been invaluable to have a dependable and knowledgeable team capable of overcoming challenges along the way,” added Scott. “Having the combination of Story Construction and McClure has been tremendously helpful in working through this process, and we truly have experienced the collaboration that we were hoping for.”
About McClure
Founded in 1956, McClure has grown into a firm of more than 285 professionals across eighteen offices. McClure is driven to make lives better by turning clients’ visions into reality. The team thinks like owners, contractors, developers, leaders, and stakeholders, adding value at every stage, from securing funding to building public support. McClure’s expertise spans aviation, site development, transportation, water, wastewater, structural, survey, real estate, construction, and more.