Tampa’s McKay Bay peninsula had a complicated history: it was formed from dredged materials — layered with decades of industrial activity — and home to an aging solid waste transfer station that hadn’t kept pace with the rapid growth of the Tampa Bay region. The original facility, built in 1983, was running out of room. The City needed something built for the next chapter, and the site posed a serious construction challenge from the outset.
Kokolakis delivered the full expansion and modernization of the McKay Bay Solid Waste Transfer Station, constructing a new 53,000 square foot pre-engineered metal transfer station with a reinforced commercial tipping floor, dual loading tunnels, integrated landfill gas mitigation, truck scales, knuckle-boom cranes, and a 1,000kW backup generator. A separate 5,600 SF two-story employee and administration building was constructed adjacent to the station, along with a dedicated citizen drop-off area featuring a cast-in-place concrete Z-wall and prefabricated attendant office. Beneath it all, more than 2,300 rigid inclusions were drilled up to 60 feet below grade to stabilize soils compromised by decades of ash deposits and prior landfill activity — all while the existing transfer operations stayed open. The project was delivered during the onset of COVID-19 and required continuous adaptation to supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, and material delays to maintain momentum.
The project took home the ABC Gulf Coast Excellence in Construction Award.
