ORRA Keystone Investments will construct a $322-million ski resort and housing development in Keystone, Colo., in partnership with the Colorado Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program. Engineering support for the project was provided by Group 14 of Denver.

The 231,000-sq-ft mixed-use resort and housing development will include 95 private residences. The project also includes a 107-room hotel with a pool, meeting rooms, laundry service, restaurant and 89,300 sq ft of covered parking.

The property features many energy-efficient and sustainable design elements, such as high levels of insulation, a high-efficiency water source heat-pump system and condensing boilers and cooling towers equipped with variable frequency drives.

U.S. 36 Intersection Upgrade Design Gets Underway

The Colorado Dept. of Transportation, Boulder County and the town of Lyons, Colo., are partnering to improve intersection safety on U.S. 36 north of Boulder between Lefthand Canyon Drive and Apple Valley Road west of Lyons.

In addition to repaving a section of U.S. 36, the project aims to improve safety and reduce crashes by creating more space and visibility for bicyclists traveling along the busy corridor. Design is underway, with construction planned to start in the spring.

Atkins Selected for $571M Railroad Administration Project

Atkins will help update the Federal Railroad Administration Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colo. The firm is part of the team led by ENSCO Inc. that was selected to provide research and development, testing, engineering and training services at the center and help establish it as a hub for integrating rail, ground and air transportation innovation.

EYP Joins Page to Create Integrated Design Firm

Two large multidisciplinary design firms are integrating to expand their services and geographic reach. Page, ranked in the top 25 of Architectural Record’s 2022 list of top 300 U.S. design firms, has acquired EYP, which was ranked among the top 40 firms.

The combined company says it now has 1,300 employees in 16 offices in the U.S., Dubai and Mexico City, adding that its architects and engineers are set to deliver high-performance designs that help clients measure, reduce and offset carbon emissions, among other services.

GRIT Program Celebrates First Group of Graduates

The Green Infrastructure Training Program (GRIT) celebrates its first group of graduates. GRIT’s curriculum includes a combination of virtual and in-person training in subject areas such as tree care, clean water, hazardous waste management and emergency services.
Photo Courtesy of Groundwork Denver

The Green Infrastructure Training Program (GRIT) for ethnically and economically diverse youth ages 18 to 24 recently announced its first group of graduates. The employment-driven job skills program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is managed by Groundwork Denver, a nonprofit 503(c) organization that partners with youth to build a healthy, equitable and sustainable environment.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that while environmental and natural resource jobs are growing nationwide, there are fewer opportunities for those in BIPOC communities, which are more likely to be near toxic facilities and less likely to receive adequate protection from disasters or to get an immediate response when emergencies occur, according to Green America. To combat this, Groundwork Denver has identified a specific green infrastructure curriculum focused on recruiting Black and Indigenous youth of color.

Pinkard Lands Denver Affordable Housing Project

Pinkard Construction has been awarded the Sun Valley Infrastructure project by the Denver Housing Authority. It is the basis for the agency’s Sun Valley Neighborhood Transformation Plan that includes replacement of 333 obsolete public housing units with more than 900 mixed-income units.

The scope of work restores the historical street grid, updates sitewide civil infrastructure and develops the first phase of a new Riverfront Park along the Platte River trail.

The Denver project site is located between 11th Avenue on the north, 9th Avenue on the south, Decatur Street on the west and the Platte River on the east.

The Sun Valley Neighborhood currently consists of a disconnected street grid and an island of concentrated poverty, which isolates Sun Valley from economic opportunity and area amenities, says the agency.

The neighborhood has the lowest income in Denver, with 80% of residents living in poverty.

Goettsch Partners Opens Denver Office

Global architecture firm Goettsch Partners has opened a new office in Denver’s Triangle Building to assist clients on five buildings currently in design and construction. The firm is designing a mix of commercial office and multifamily projects in the LoDo, RiNo and Cherry Creek neighborhoods in collaboration with developer clients that include Riverside Investment & Development, Golub & Co. and Schnitzer West.

Work includes the 30-story, 700,000-sq-ft 1900 Lawrence office tower and the first phase of the Denargo Market complex. The Denver office will allow Goettsch Partners to support more local and regional work while expanding potential for additional firm core specialties in hospitality and mixed-use developments.

First Phase Planned for Sun Empire Business Park

The Opus Group announced plans for the first phase of a 316-acre, 3.9-million-sq-ft master-planned industrial development called Sun Empire. The project is a joint venture between Opus and Principal Real Estate Investors. It is located in Denver’s airport submarket at the southeast corner of 56th Avenue and Harvest Mile Road in Aurora, Colo. The master plan proposes speculative buildings ranging in size from 200,000 to 625,000 sq ft, with the ability to expand to 1 million sq ft.

McAlvain Completes Grocery Store in Meridian, Idaho

McAlvain Construction, a subsidiary of Big-D Construction, recently celebrated the opening of a new Albertsons in Meridian, Idaho. Located at Eagle Road and Amity Road, the 58,000-sq-ft facility features a pharmacy with drive-thru window, Starbucks coffee bar with indoor and outdoor seating and scan-and-pay kiosks.

Terracon Foundation Awards Grant to Colorado State University

The Terracon Foundation announced a $10,000 grant to Colorado State University for its ENPower Bridge and Peer Mentoring program. For the past two years, the foundation has offered support that has enabled the university to operate its program through the pandemic. It develops and leads underrepresented and first-generation students through the many challenges they face in their first years of college. To date, the foundation has granted more than $3.7 million to community organizations, universities, dependents of employees and disaster relief efforts.