THOMAS The American Institute of Architects granted honorary membership to Dr. Gail Thomas, president and CEO of The Trinity Trust Foundation in Dallas. It is one of the highest honors the AIA bestows on a person outside the profession of architecture. Thomas’ efforts to improve cities and her support of the arts and architecture were keys to her election. LEO A DALY in Dallas named John Kraskiewicz its new COO. He is also a vice president of the firm. Kraskiewicz holds a bachelor’s of architecture, a master’s of architecture and a master’s of business administration with a specialization in real
The Pascua Yaqui Tribe in Southern Arizona is expanding its Casino Del Sol in Tucson with a $98-million Sol Casinos Hotel and Convention Center. Image: Leo A Daly The Pascua Yaqui tribe chose Leo A Daly to design the new 10-story hotel tower and conference center at Casino Del Sol in Tucson. The tribe worked with both the architect and project general contractor McCarthy Building Cos. on the original phases of the casino complex. Related Links: Native American Construction on the Rise: Unique Market Sector Poses Challenges, Benefits for Builders Play Ball!: First U.S. Spring Training Facility Developed on Indian
The Tohono O�odham Nation is moving forward on development of a new $500-million resort and casino in the West Valley of Phoenix despite opposition from several fronts. Image courtesy Hnedak Bobo Group The $500-million West Valley Resort�s design includes a hotel, casino, spa and convention center. The Tohono O�odham Nation is awaiting Department of Interior action to place the project�s site into a land trust in order to proceed. Related Links: Native American Construction on the Rise: Unique Market Sector Poses Challenges, Benefits for Builders Here Comes the Sun: Pascua Yaqui Tribe Starts Work on Sol Casinos Expansion Play Ball!:
In last year’s ranking of general contractors, the Top 100 reached a record high of $19.6 billion of work performed in Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico in calendar year 2008. This year’s Top 100 (ranked with 2009 revenue) only managed to bring in $14.2 billion, a drop of 27.7%. At no other point in the 14-year history of Southwest Contractor’s ranking has there been as precipitous of a drop. Photo: David Huff Austin Bridge & Road crews pour concrete for Arizona’s $100.8-million Loop 303 Happy Valley Road to Lake Pleasant Parkway project. Related Links: Top 112 Contractors Top Contractors by
Work has started on the $41-million, 15-mi ACE Green Line, a new commuter transit line connecting Henderson, Nev., with downtown Las Vegas. Image: RTC/IBI Group The Green Line’s 23 open-air stations will each feature double-helix-shaped, steel shade canopies above metal seats plus ticket and vending machines. The platform is elevated so that passengers will be able to enter and exit the buses without navigating a gap. Image: RTC The transit system uses 104-passenger, electric/diesel-powered buses manufactured by Northern Ireland-based The Wright Group. The 33-ton StreetCar RTV model has a design reminiscent of light-rail vehicles. Related Links: Building in the Fast
The Tohono O’odham Nation is moving forward on development of a new $500-million resort and casino in the West Valley of Phoenix despite opposition from several fronts. Image: Hnedak Bobo Group The $500-million West Valley Resort’s design includes a hotel, casino, spa and convention center. The Tohono O’odham Nation is awaiting Department of Interior action to place the project’s site into a land trust in order to proceed. The tribe selected Memphis-based Hnedak Bobo Group as the lead architect firm, which has produced the initial renderings for the West Valley Resort, located near the University of Phoenix Stadium and Glendale’s
One cool dawn about 20 years ago, architect Douglas Stroh sat horseback at the top of an 8-mi trail descending into the western Grand Canyon. He’d left home in Prescott, Ariz., hours before, driving in darkness north to the trailhead near tiny Peach Springs. Though he hadn’t been on a horse since age 12, he mounted up and joined colleagues for the three-hour descent to Supai village, located 2,000 ft below the rim and home to about 500 Havasupai Indians. Stroh wasn’t sightseeing. He was on the job, headed to a Havasupai Tribal Council meeting to discuss design of a
The first Major League Baseball spring training facility in the U.S. to be built on Indian land will be ready for business early next year. Photo: Patti Reznik Photography Mortenson Construction began preparing the 140-acre site at Indian Bend Road and Loop 101 in November for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community’s new Spring Training Facility. Image: HKS/SRPMIC The placement of the multipurpose facility and this 11,000-seat capacity ballpark on tribal land is historically significant because ball games have been played by Native Americans for over 2,000 years. More than 200 semicircular to oval-shaped courts (surrounded by earthen embankments for
The State Route 202 expansion project in Phoenix and its suburbs is heading for early completion. The $188-million reconstruction of SR 202—an integrated joint venture of lead partner Kiewit Corp.’s Phoenix office and Sundt Construction of Tempe for the Arizona Dept. of Transportation—adds a 10-mi eastbound through-lane and auxiliary lanes between Interstate 10/State Route 51 and State Route 101 and a 2-mi westbound through-lane and auxiliary lane between SR 101 and Scottsdale Road. Photo: Visions in Photography, courtesy Kiewit/Sundt JV A massive undertaking for Arizona Dept. of Transportation, the $188-million SR 202 expansion project adds lanes between SR 51 and
The new $364.9-million hospital is the VA�s largest contract ever awarded. Image: RTKL/JMA As its first new hospital in over 20 years, the VA is pulling out all the stops with a nearly 1-million-sq-ft building in North Las Vegas. Photo: Clark/Hunt JV The seven-story hospital will be skinned with blast-proof laminated glass and Trespa-brand smooth finish insulated metal panels. The ground-level will be skirted with a resilient concrete masonry block. Related Links: A Banner Year for Hospitals The U.S. Dept. of Veteran’s Affairs is betting big on Southern Nevada. The federal agency in charge of soldiers’ health is building its
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