Denver's Metro Wastewater Reclamation District is nearing peak construction on its $212-million PAR 1085 South Secondary Improvements project at the district's Robert W. Hite Treatment Facility north of the city. The construction cost is nearly $135 million. Related Links: Nitrogen Diet Reduces Arizona County's Drinking Water Threat How We Can Afford to Fix American Infrastructure The project will continue the process of upgrading the aging 1960s-era treatment facility by adding capacity, improving operating capability and upgrading treatment methods to meet more stringent effluent requirements for nitrogen and ammonia removal, as required by the district's discharge permit. To meet the new

Even with the myriad of obstacles preventing a full-scale recovery for the overall U.S. economy, the design and construction industry appears to have reasons to be at least modestly optimistic in the coming months and into next year. A sharp spike in demand for industrial facilities so far this year, along with sustained demand for hotels and retail projects factors into what projects to be a 4.4% rise in spending this year for nonresidential construction projects—up from a projected 2.1% increase in the January Consensus Forecast.  The American Institute of Architects semi-annual Consensus Construction Forecast, a survey of the nation’s

Denver’s Design Concepts has the landscape architect and planning partner for nine high-profile school projects funded by the Colorado Dept. of Education’s BEST Program for capital school construction. The Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) Program is a competitive grant program available to public school districts and other educational institutions in Colorado. Administered by CDE’s Division of Public School Capital Construction Assistance, the BEST Program aims to alleviate school health and safety concerns and provide first-class, high-performing 21st -Century facilities.Since it was enacted in 2008, the BEST Program has funded 147 projects in 94 Colorado school districts, with $674 million in

Denver-based hotel developer and manager Sage Hospitality celebrated the grand opening of its 150-room SpringHill Suites Denver Downtown at Metro State on Aug. 8. Photo by Mark Woolcott/Mark Woolcott Photography The Aug. 8 grand opening of the new SpringHill Suites hotel and HLC included, from left: Adam Sherer, SpringHill Suites by Marriott; Callette Nielsen, vice president and global brand manager, Springhill Suites by Marriott; Tye Turman, senior vice president of development for the Western Region, Marriott International; Janice Sinden, chief of staff, Denver Mayors Office;Dr. Stephen Jordan, president, Metropolitan State University of Denver; Walter Isenberg, co-founder, CEO and president, Sage

Denver's new $36-million Police Crime Laboratory will soon take its place among the country's most high-tech evidence-handling and analysis facilities, far surpassing in size and complexity the city's decades-old lab space. Related Links: Colorado Owner of Year: City and County of Denver City of Denver's Central Platte Campus The 60,000-sq-ft facility at 14th and Cherokee streets replaces an existing 14,000-sq-ft lab, currently housed on the sixth floor of the Police Administration Building. With the additional space, the Denver Police Dept. (DPD) can offer improved forensic, fingerprinting and DNA resources to scientists and investigators.The building features three levels of lab and

Southwest of Salt Lake City, the communities of Kearns, Taylorsville, West and South Jordan are home to around 250,000 people, making it a major population center in the Salt Lake Valley. The communities are also gateways to expected development farther west in Herriman and Eagle Mountain. Related Links: I-15 CORE Project Kennecott Buidling New Autoclave Facility West of Salt Lake City Other than growth, the thing these communities have in common is a heavy reliance on the Bangerter Highway. The roughly 25-mile-long, north-south road runs parallel to Interstate 15 to the east and stretches from Salt Lake International Airport on

People living in mountainous states like Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho and Montana aren't accustomed to things that are flat. Flat hats. Flatland. Flatlanders. And, especially, flat economic forecasts. Related Links: Regional Designers Seeing Some Improvement in Work Opportunities U.S. Construction Spending Reaches Post-Recession High This is boom-and-bust country, where the skyline is filled with hills and valleys. But the plot twist to the regional contractors' story of 2012 is a mostly flat forecast for the remainder of the year—with a few bumps on the horizon.At first glance, the healthy 2011 revenue reported by the larger regional firms looks promising. But

Salt Lake City-based Big-D Construction landed the top spot in this year's Mountain States ranking of the Intermountain area's largest general contractors with an impressive $555.2 million in 2011 revenue, pushing the firm up from its No. 6 spot a year ago. Related Links: Intermountain Owner of Year: Utah Transit Authority Mountain States Designer of Year: CH2M Hill Much of that surge can be attributed to the firm's role in building the state's largest ongoing project, the $1-billion-plus Utah Data Center, but it is also evidence of a contractor that has found success during the downturn and slow recovery by

The Regional Transportation District Board of Directors has formally approved a proposal by Kiewit Infrastructure Co. to complete the I-225 Light Rail Line to Peoria by November 2015. The line would open in mid-2016 after about six months of testing. With a vote of 14-0 and one member absent, the RTD Board’s decision paves the way for the agency to complete another complete FasTracks rail line. On July 3, RTD staff recommended the proposal to the board after finding that it offered the best value, with a financially sound solution that allows RTD to take advantage of the current market.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock recently joined the Denver Housing Authority in launching a landmark public-private partnership to bring renewable energy to 387 affordable housing buildings throughout the city. Courtesy of DHA Denver Mayor Hancock helps launch the DHA solar partnership at affordable housing buildings throughout the city. The ambitious Solar Power Purchase Agreement spearheaded by DHA and several renewable energy leaders—including Oak Leaf Energy Partners, Enfinity America Corp. and Namasté Solar—makes DHA one of the first housing authorities in the country to implement such a complex, large-scale residential solar-electric project.“The Denver Housing Authority continues to serve as an aggressive leader