Lydig Construction Inc., of Spokane Valley, and Seattle-based McKinstry Co., which has an office here, have teamed up to win a $33 million construction contract to upgrade mechanical, electrical, and control systems in the Thomas S. Foley U.S. Courthouse downtown, the U.S. General Services Administration says.

The GSA also says it has awarded a $1.9 million contract to MTM Contractors Inc., of Spokane, to install a new roof on the nearby Federal Building and U.S. Post Office, at 904 W. Riverside.

The project at the 44-year-old courthouse, at the northeast corner of Riverside Avenue and Monroe Street, will include replacing steam boilers, air-handling equipment, and automated climate controls, says Ross Buffington, a GSA spokesman at the agency's Auburn, Wash., office. It also will include upgrading or replacing electrical and lighting systems throughout the nine-story, 300,000-square-foot structure.

The courthouse project is in the design stage, and construction is expected to start this fall, Buffington says. It's scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2013.

Integrus Architecture PS, of Spokane; DEI Electrical Consultants Inc., of Spokane Valley; and Power City Electric, of Spokane, are subcontractors on the Lydig-McKinstry team, Buffington says.

The GSA expects the project to meet Leadership in Environmental Energy and Design (LEED) silver certification for the building, Buffington says. LEED certification ratings include silver, gold, and platinum, and are awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council, a nonprofit national organization of design leaders that emphasizes conservation of resources, environmental awareness, and sustainable design.

The project also will include an expansion and relocation of the U.S. Marshals Service office to the second floor of the building from the eighth floor.

Hill International Inc., a Marlton, N.J.-based construction-management company with an office in Spokane, was awarded a $2 million contract last year to represent the GSA throughout the construction process.

The courthouse project, like the post office roofing replacement, will be funded through the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Buffington says. The GSA had said earlier this year it planned to commit $5.5 billion in stimulus funds toward such projects nationwide soon.

Toward that goal, the GSA expects to award contracts in the next 60 days for government-facility improvement projects in Richland, Wenatchee, and Yakima to bring the total stimulus funding awards in Eastern Washington to more than $50 million, Buffington says.

In addition to U.S. District Court, the U.S. Attorney's Office, and related services, other federal agencies and services housed in the federal courthouse include the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Citizen and Immigration Services, and the Food and Drug Administration.