Historic San Juan Custom House to undergo $44.1M renovation
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection has awarded a $44.1 million contract to Framingham, Mass.-based Perini Management Services Inc. to repair and renovate the historic San Juan Custom House, the company announced.
Perini Management Services Inc. is a subsidiary of Tutor Perini Corp., a civil, building and specialty construction company.
The San Juan Custom House, built in 1924, is a Spanish Colonial Revival style building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Architecturally, it is one of the nation’s most distinguished custom houses. The exterior and interior terra cotta ornamentation is especially notable.
The two-year project involves complete renovation and restoration of the historic two-story building. The project scope entails exterior façade (including terra cotta) repair and restoration, interior structural concrete repairs, interior building renovation, mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, communications, fire protection system, and site restoration and improvements.
“All renovation work will follow strict guidelines with regard to preservation of historical fabric for this project,” the company said.
CBP in seizes $530K of counterfeit electronics, jewelry
In related news, the CBP’s Puerto Rico office seized a number of packages sent from Hong Kong containing counterfeit electronic cables, adapters, Apple Air Pods as well as copies of Cartier bracelets and other high-end jewelry brands.
The counterfeit and pirated goods that were purchased online by consumers. If the items had been genuine, they would have had an estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail price of more than $530,000, agency officials said.
“Consumers and small resellers purchase these products knowing the intrinsic value that these brands represent,” said Leida Colon, assistant director of the CBP’s Field Operations for Trade. “Consumers are tricked into believing they are buying an original product at a significant discount.”
CBP officers discovered the counterfeit goods while conducting enforcement examinations on courier packages at the Air Cargo Facility located at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport.
In Fiscal 2020, the CBP San Juan Field Office seized 2,443 shipments containing goods that violate intellectual property rights worth $46 million.
The majority of the counterfeit items seized in the San Juan Field Office are illegitimate goods in the jewelry, handbags, electronics, footwear, clothing and prescription drugs product categories. The source countries for most of these items are Hong Kong and China.
