At Denver International Airport, Mortenson leads a tri-venture team with Hunt Construction and Saunders Construction to deliver the 370,000-sq-ft Westin Hotel and south plaza. They will be integrated with the airport terminal and connect to a future light rail station. The $365-million project includes 500-plus guest rooms, each with a bathroom that was BIM prefabricated off site.

At the Exempla St. Joseph Hospital, Mortenson uses BIM and virtual modeling to coordinate the multi-trade prefabrication of hospital components, including 450 patient bathroom pods, 350 exterior wall panels, 250 overhead utility racks and 400 bed "head" walls. Using an offsite warehouse to assemble these components will help the project meet the state-imposed deadline to transfer patient care from the existing hospital to the new one by January 2015.

"The collaboration has been critical to implementing successful prefabrication plans and staying on schedule," says William Gregor, Mortenson's construction executive for the hospital project.

A key to compressing the schedule into 30 months was prefabrication of exterior wall panels, Gregor says. "By having the exterior walls on site and ready for installation, we were able to follow closely behind the lead floor and buttoned up the building as we moved up. We covered far more square footage on any given day than we would have if the panels were site built."

Old & New Clients

Mortenson's new commercial work includes the Charles Schwab Corporate Campus in Lone Tree, Colo. The 467,000-sq-ft campus marks the contractor's first project with the investment firm. With $160 million of new construction to be completed in 14 months, the campus is the fastest project Mortenson Denver has ever taken on, Hodge says.

"To meet the fast-track schedule, we used 4D modeling to determine the best sequencing and get as many crafts working on site as possible," he adds.

Later this summer, Mortenson is expected to start construction on the corporate and manufacturing headquarters for new client Woodward Inc., an aerospace and industrial parts manufacturer based in Fort Collins. Farther south, Mortenson continues its relationship with the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, leading a design-build team to deliver a four-level parking structure with a rooftop athletic field. The $21-million project is being built into the side of a hill.

Nearby, at Fort Carson, Mortenson is preparing to break ground on the $94.9-million, 370,000-sq-ft barracks for the 13th Combat Aviation Brigade. This will be the 30th project Mortenson has completed at the army base since 2006.

A critical element of Mortenson's long-term strategy is a continued push into renewable-energy markets, mainly wind, solar, hydroelectric and biomass. Since the early 2000s, renewable-energy projects have accounted for 20% to 30% of the company's annual revenue, says Tim Maag, Mortenson's vice president and general manager of U.S. Wind. Maag anticipates groundbreakings for more than a dozen wind and solar projects in the coming months.

Since its first wind power facility in Adair, Iowa, in 1995, the company has built 123 wind projects, nine in the Mountain States, including two wind farms in Colorado and the 189-MW Rim Rock Wind project completed last year in Kevin, Mont. Mortenson's regional solar installations include the 30-MW concentrated photovoltaic powerplant in Alamosa, Colo., completed in 2012 for Charlotte-based Cogentrix Energy LLC.

Mortenson's commitment to sustainability extends beyond its renewable-energy groups. In January 2012, the company launched its Center of Sustainable Energy, a three-person business unit that advances Mortenson's expertise in energy-reduction strategies and sustainability. The Minneapolis-based center consults on Mortenson projects nationwide.

"We're really focused on the energy side of the equation," says Jim Bradburn, director of Mortenson's Center for Sustainable Energy. "We have a lot of upfront discussions with customers where we talk about long-term operating savings, energy reduction design and the value of efficiency."

The center developed the proprietary Energy CompassSM tool, which generates cost estimates and data for accurate life-cycle cost analyses.

Mortenson now has 129 projects that are either LEED certified or pursuing certification, including 1800 Larimer Office Tower, the first LEED-Platinum high-rise in downtown Denver.

Mortenson also embraces sustainability within the workplace. Energy use in all of its offices is 100% offset by wind power. Each location implements energy efficiency as part of a company-wide energy reduction plan. The Minneapolis headquarters is upgrading its mechanical and lighting systems to prepare for wind and solar installations in the coming years.

"We're setting a stretch goal to take the campus to net zero," Bradburn says.