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Strategic Blueprint
As the City’s leading capital construction agency, DDC builds infrastructure and public buildings for more than 20 sponsoring City agencies, plus numerous non-profits that receive funding from the City. First released in January 2019, A Strategic Blueprint for Construction Excellence is DDC’s comprehensive plan to improve capital project delivery for the City of New York. The Strategic Blueprint lays out our plans to deliver projects faster and within budget through effective partnership with our sponsors, consultants, and contractors.
The Strategic Blueprint is DDC’s comprehensive plan to improve capital project delivery for the City of New York. We reflect on the measurable improvements DDC is making towards planning, designing and building better for all New Yorkers and our goals for the future. And we lay out our plans to deliver projects better, faster, and cheaper, partnering with city agencies, AEC industry leaders, and State and local elected officials and legislators to transform the process.
Strategic Blueprint 2025
With the newest release of the Strategic Blueprint, DDC is proud to share recent successes, including groundbreaking improvements through our Alternative Delivery program and Advanced Capital Planning. We update our stakeholders and the public on our progress on Strategic Blueprint goals, and share the agency’s future objectives. DDC continues to make significant strides to cut through red tape, listen to the industry, become better partners, and advocate for the necessary reforms to improve the capital delivery process.
Download the Strategic Blueprint 2025 here
2025: Advocating for Reforms
DDC faces the urgent task of upgrading our city’s aging infrastructure and serving New Yorkers with extraordinary public facilities, yet outdated tools and requirements make it notoriously slow and expensive to build public works. We are advocating for key reforms in Albany to get critical facilities into the hands of their communities faster, while saving taxpayer dollars.
Reauthorization of the Joint Bid statute to avoid delays on infrastructure projects
Delivering underground infrastructure, including water mains and sewers, requires coordinating with the utility companies whose electric, gas, and communications lines run beneath the street. With Joint Bidding, the City bids public work and utility work under one contract, improving efficiency and avoiding extensive pitfalls. First authorized in 2004, Joint Bidding saves years on DDC public infrastructure projects. The existing authorization sunsets in 2026, and it needs to be reauthorized for effective delivery of essential public infrastructure in NYC.
Expanding our toolbox of project delivery methods
City agencies have long been limited to using traditional low-bid contracting methods under most circumstances. In 2020, the Public Works Investment Act (PWIA) transformed project delivery for DDC and other capital agencies by authorizing two-step design-build, in which a single contract is awarded through best-value selection to an integrated design and construction team.
DDC completed our first design-build project in 22 months from the time of award—3 years faster than with traditional design-bid-build delivery. Our design-build pilot program includes over $500 million already awarded on significant community facilities, with more in the pipeline. DDC needs a full toolbox of project delivery approaches so we can always use the best tool for the job. DDC seeks broad expansion of the authorization for Construction Manager-Build (CM-Build or CMGC) and Progressive Design-Build without project-type limitations.
DDC authority – reconstitute DDC as a new state authority
Creating a State authority would eliminate many of the administrative constraints that slow down projects, allowing DDC to deliver vital public buildings and infrastructure more efficiently for NYC. A DDC Authority would speed projects by streamlining procurement, removing duplicative rules, and reducing certain oversight steps. It would modernize how City government manages capital projects and use proven tools to deliver projects faster and more cost-effectively.
Past Strategic Blueprint
Download the 2024 Strategic Blueprint Progress Update .
Download DDC 2020: Delivering Innovation in a Challenging Year.
Download the March 2020 Strategic Blueprint Progress Update.