Contractors and government agencies in Arizona and Nevada are testing the public-private partnerships with mixed results in delivering buildings and roadways. Arizona has led the way in vertical P3 development. Alternative project delivery legislation that allows certain P3 projects goes back to 2000. The $455-million Arizona Cardinals stadium in Glendale was design-built by Phoenix-based Hunt Construction Group. It is owned by the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority and was paid for in part by the Cardinals as tenant. That joint venture is considered an early role model for P3. “P3 is a practical extension of design-build,” says Gary Aller, director
Las Vegas and North Las Vegas are similar but different, neighbors yet independent. The two cities are currently building dueling city halls, and both projects promise to make big civic statements. There are more similarities. Both are pursuing LEED silver, and they have the same general contractor: Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. of Baltimore, which declined to comment about the projects because of a company no media policy. The city of Las Vegas broke ground on its new downtown digs this year. The $146.2-million project is a public-private partnership, lease-purchase agreement between Cleveland-based developer Forest City Enterprises and the city, which enables
Despite a recent stumbling block, work is progressing on the $447-million design-build contract to build a third raw water intake tunnel at Lake Mead—the Las Vegas Valley’s water lifeline. The Southern Nevada Water Authority awarded the contract in March 2008 to Vegas Tunnel Constructors LLC, a joint-venture of S.A. Healy Co., Lombard, Ill. and Impreglio S.p.A., Sesto San Giovanni, Italy. The additional intake is needed because lake levels have dipped 110 ft since 2000. Lake Mead now operates at 1,087 ft, or about half of its capacity. One or both of the existing water inlets will be forced to shut
Our annual survey of subcontractors in the Southwest shows revenue totals plummeting in 2009. Last year, we ranked 160 companies totaling $6.13 billion based on their 2008 revenue. This year, the responses fell to 113 firms with revenue totaling just $3.58 billion in 2009. Photo Courtesy Carollo Engineers Crews pour concrete for a clarifier floor during construction on the third phase of the $60-million Casa Grande Water Reclamation Facility. Related Links: Top 113 Specialty Contractors State/Worldwide Market Sectors Safest Subcontractors Even with the drop in participation, the largest firms remain fairly consistent year to year. All but five of last
UniSource Energy Corp. kicked off construction of the company�s new headquarters building on a two-acre downtown Tucson lot. The nine-story building will provide 170,000 sq ft of office space for more than 425 employees of Tucson Electric Power, the company�s principal subsidiary. The building also will include nearly 11,000 sq ft of ground-floor retail space as well as a conference center, meeting rooms and about 500 parking spaces. Developer and general contractor Ryan Cos. is expected to complete construction before the end of 2011. The building has been designed by DAVIS and Swaim Associates from the ground up to conserve
PROJECT COST: $20.2 Million PHOTO: MCCARTHY BUILDING COS. Valley High School The project includes mechanical, plumbing, electrical, structural and architectural upgrades to Valley High School, which is approximately 300,000 sq ft. The work is being completed in four phases to allow students to attend classes while the renovation is being completed. The project adds 581 tubular day lighting units to bring in natural light to help students focus and learn more efficiently, while conserving energy. The existing mechanical penthouses are being removed, along with the existing multizone air handlers and are being replaced and modernized. Location: Las Vegas, NVStarted: June
PROJECT COST: $188.9 Million PHOTO: KIEWIT/SUNDT JV Loop 202 Widening, SR 51 to Loop 101 This design-build project, one of ADOT�s largest, widens approximately 9.8 mi of the Loop 202 freeway from four to six lanes, adding new HOV and auxiliary lanes from the I-10/SR-51 interchange in downtown Phoenix to the Loop 101 in Tempe. The project also includes 22 bridges (including the 1-mi-long Salt River Bridge over the Salt River and Tempe Town Lake); reconstruction of ramps, noise and retaining walls; modifying the drainage system; landscaping; and installing an updated freeway management system. Location: Phoenix/Tempe, Ariz.Started: December 2008Target Completion:
PROJECT COST: $32.3 Million IMAGE: JMA 9. Windmill Library & Operations Center The new Windmill Library and Operations Center facility will be constructed on a 15-acre site located along Windmill Lane and Rainbow Boulevard. This facility encompasses a 44,380-sq-ft branch library, 9,390-sq-ft auditorium, 20,395-sq-ft service center and 66,225-sq-ft office/administration space. The project team will seek LEED gold certification and will be utilizing sustainable design and construction practices through passive design, optimized energy 35% above ASHRAE standards, use of daylighting, improved indoor air quality and high water efficiency. Additionally, a 103.5 KW DC photovoltaic system will produce 12.5% of the structure�s
The 44 projects featured in the following pages are among the largest projects that broke ground in 2009 and beyond. In total, these projects will provide over $3.5-billion in construction activity for Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada over the coming years. Photo: Patti Reznik Photography The steel-framed Maricopa County Court Tower building rises 14 stories above downtown Phoenix and two levels below grade. The target LEED silver building is the second largest Arizona project on this year�s top starts ranking. Top starts from the past six years, as well as an electronic version of this year�s ranking, are available on
PROJECT COST: $28.4 Million PHOTO: EAGLESEYEPHOTO.COM 7. I-25, Tramway to Bernalillo div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" Spanning from the Tramway Interchange up to N.M. 473 in Bernalillo, this roadway reconstruction and widening project on Interstate 25 will expand the roadway to six lanes (three in each direction) and will also include a drainage structure extension, concrete box culvert underpass in Sandia Pueblo connecting the pueblo with the Sandia Casino and full replacement of the Sandia Wash Bridge. With daily traffic flow estimated at 64,300 cars, the project is phased so that two lanes northbound and two lanes southbound will
RSS
