By the Southern Air Team
May has been a month of momentum across Southern Air. From historic hotel renovations in Danville to new boiler plants powering universities, our crews have been at work on projects that span every trade we touch: HVAC, plumbing, electrical, building automation, BIM, and industrial service. Here's a look at where we've been working — and the people behind the work.
Featured Projects This Month
The Laurel Hotel — Danville, VA
A century-old building in downtown Danville reborn as a boutique hotel. Our Special Projects, HVAC, plumbing, and Building Automation Systems teams worked inside walls up to 28 inches thick to install a Variable Refrigerant Flow system, cast iron plumbing, and integrated controls — all while preserving the structure's historic character to qualify for Virginia Department of Historic Resources tax credits.
→ Read the full Laurel Hotel project story
James Madison University Central Boiler Plant — Harrisonburg, VA
Our Industrial Service Department, led by Fred Burton Jr., is helping power JMU's next generation. The project includes installing the building's boilers, steam and water piping, de-aerator tanks, cooling towers, chillers, and two 50,000-gallon underground fuel tanks set into a 32-foot-deep excavation.
→ See the JMU Boiler Plant project
JMU Dormitory — Harrisonburg, VA
A 330-room dormitory built for 650 students, with Southern Air serving as full MEP design engineer from day one. Our shop pre-built wet walls and electrical assemblies for every room, and our BIM and BAS teams programmed over 5,000 individual control points.
Hotel Madison — Harrisonburg, VA
A first-class hotel adjacent to JMU where Southern Air served as full MEP design engineers from conception. The project compressed a 17-month build by two months to open in time for JMU graduation weekend, integrating VAV, LG VRF with ERV systems, and Honeywell controls.
→ See the Hotel Madison project
Liberty University Commons IV Dormitory — Lynchburg, VA
A major dormitory build for Liberty University, executed with full MEP scope.
Reber-Thomas Dining Hall
A new dining hall facility with the full MEP scope our institutional clients have come to expect from Southern Air.
→ See the Reber-Thomas Dining Hall project
The People Behind the Work
This month we also spotlighted the people who make these projects possible.
Employee Spotlight: Alex Tibbs, Commissioning Foreman — At 23 years old, Alex helped commission the Laurel Hotel's VRF system. A licensed journeyman trained through Southern Air's apprenticeship program, he represents the next generation of skilled tradespeople.
How Two Southern Air Innovators Rewired the Flow of Information — Richmond Service Branch Manager Jake Huffines and Computer Programmer Dicky Tyree spent more than a thousand hours building an in-house platform that connects field technicians, sales teams, and customer equipment data into a single system.
Recognition for Our Safety Culture
May also brought national recognition for the way we work, not just what we build.
Southern Air Earns National Recognition at AGC's Highest Level — Second place in the Specialty Division at the AGC Construction Safety Excellence Awards. Our fourth top-three national finish in five years.
Q1 Safety Excellence Award Winners — Meet Robert Milton, Jake Riddle, and Noe Flores — the three team members recognized this quarter for going above and beyond to keep their coworkers safe.
What's Next
These projects represent just one month of work across Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. To see more of what our teams are building, explore our full commercial construction portfolio or learn how to join the Southern Air team.