Known for deploying design-build capabilities to construct efficient, cost-effective HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems, Southern Air is ENR MidAtlantic’s Specialty Contractor of the Year for the second time. 

The Lynchburg, Va.-based mechanical contractor, which also won the ENR MidAtlantic Specialty Firm of the Year award in 2018, credits success to its approach to project delivery that the firm says ensures project owners use a single contact for their design and construction services. Southern Air says its success has been driven by its long reputation of bringing value to the project team with its highly trained and skilled craft workers. The firm’s benefits and pay help attract and retain top talent. In addition, the contractor has a long-standing state approved apprenticeship program that trains young talent to become journeymen in their selected trade.

Southern Air currently employs and trains more than 100 licensed apprentices throughout Virginia, using the latest technology for management and coordination. In recent years, the firm has focused its charitable giving toward nonprofit organizations that sponsor or help with Career Technical Education in the MidAtlantic, including Central Virginia Community College. 

Southern Air will be featured in the September print issue of ENR East, which will also include the ENR East Top Specialty Contractor rankings.

The ENR East ranking of specialty contractors includes firms doing business in Connecticut, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia. Rankings are based on total regional revenue of construction services of participating companies, and also include breakouts by state revenue and various specialties and disciplines, as applicable.

The new ranking follows the 2025 consolidation of ENR regional editions into five new regions to reflect an ongoing commitment to deliver the most relevant and timely coverage to readers, in alignment with the evolving landscape of the construction industry. Regional surveys will follow these new boundaries going forward. You can read more about the regional consolidation here.

The Specialty Contractor of the Year demonstrates success in the region from a growth and revenue standpoint as well as innovation, creativity and a commitment to giving back to its community. 

Some of Southern Air’s top projects include: 

Lifepoint Hospitals – New Behavioral Health and Rehabilitation Hospitals

Construction Manager – JE Dunn; Owner – Joint venture between Centra Health and Lifepoint

The new hospitals are two buildings on Centra’s new Simons Run campus. They are part of a large modernization project for Centra which also includes a major addition to the main Lynchburg General Hospital building. The Behavioral Health Hospital encompasses 60,000 sq ft and will expand mental health services for the region by adding 36 patient rooms and all the support treatment areas for advanced psychiatric treatment. The Rehabilitation Hospital will encompass 61,000 sq ft and add 41 new patient rooms with modern rehabilitation equipment and training areas. Southern Air will rely heavily on the BIM planning process to meet the demanding construction schedule of these two buildings.

The projects have used prefabrication of the underground plumbing and electrical utilities to manage quality and productivity. The entire electrical room underground infrastructure for both buildings was fabricated off site in one piece and installed using our Trimble Total Station. The quality control aspect ensures all stub ups will be in the exact location required once the slab is placed. Most of the above ground rough in material has been prefabricated and will be installed shortly. The firm also partnered with JE Dunn to build some mockups of key building elements in its shop to ensure every sub understood the sensitivity of their own means and methods to guarantee success of prefabrication and required finishes. 

Liberty University Champions Center

Construction Manager – Vannoy Construction; Owner – Liberty University

The Champion Center is a 34,000 sq ft addition to the existing Hancock Visitors Center. As an extension of the welcome center, the Champion Center will regularly host prospective students and their families. Creative displays, videos and interactive content will contextualize Liberty’s history and growth in light of its mission and share how Liberty has remained a distinctly Christian institution committed to the Great Commission. The building will rely extensively on audio visual technology to convey the message of the university. The building includes a new theater with an 1800-sq-ft curved screen, an interactive Hall of Champions and a large multipurpose room with 360 display screens. The state of the art computer-controlled audio and visual system will require several miles of data cabling to make it work.

East Campus Power Plant

General Contractor – Nielsen Construction; Owner – James Madison University

This project involves the construction of a replacement steam plant for the East Campus side of James Madison University. It is a multiphase project including the demolition of the old power plant and the construction of a new steam plant and chiller plant at the same location. This project showcases Southern Air’s industrial construction capabilities and experience. The two new B&W steam boilers can produce 80,000 lb per hour of steam at 250 psig each. The completion of this project will secure the campus heating and cooling capacity for the University for decades to come. The construction will require Southern Air to draw on previous experience from other large utility projects. The piping will require several areas of the plant to have ASME code rated assemblies to be fabricated under the firm’s ASME U and PP code program.

Last year, Southern Air ranked No. 7 on the ENR MidAtlantic Top Specialty Contractor survey with $158 million in revenue. To find out where Southern Air ranks on this year’s list, and to learn more about the firm, check out the September issue of ENR East.

Justin Rice is Editor for ENR East.