On Feb. 8, the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada granted Techren Solar a Utility Environmental Protection Act permit for a project that involves a solar power facility, substation, and transmission line.

 

Techren Solar has been vying for the opportunity to lead the Techren Boulder City Solar Project since April 2012 when it filed an application for a permit to begin construction with the commission. As reported by ELP, the project consists of a 300-MW photovoltaic solar-powered electric generating facility; a substation with 34.5-kV to 230-kV step-up transformers; roughly four miles of a 230-kV transmission line or three miles of a 500-kV transmission line; and associated facilities to be located in Boulder City, Nev.

 

Additionally, in November 2016, Techren filed a second amended application which asked to modify the project description of the proposed facility in order to make changes to the original transmission line so that it would also include a path to the Nevada Solar One (NSO) substation, a new access road, and two water pipelines to the solar field. While Techren has stated it will only build a 100MW and a 230-kV transmission line, the company has decided to retain the 300-MW capacity originally proposed for the project simply so they have the option of expanding.

 

The Department of Justice issued a press release announcing that Joseph Dubois of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty in federal court last week for “evading federal taxes and fraudulently presenting a fictitious surety bond.” Dubois, the owner of Regency Development Group, must now pay $410,520 in restitution.

 

Information presented in the case explains Dubois evaded his federal corporate tax obligations from November 2011 to October  2013 by opening and then hiding a series of bank accounts to avoid tax liens, and conceal assets to avoid their seizure. Dubois also made a habit of creating fake surety bonds as well as other documents and then presenting them as authentic.

 

The case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of IRS Criminal Investigation and Department of the Interior, Office of Inspector General, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Pena. Dubois will faces a statutory maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

 

Cardon Children’s Medical Center’s fifth floor toy closet has been dedicated for the second time to Audrey Jane Murphy, former patient and daughter of Willmeng Construction Inc.’s President, James Murphy.

 

Audrey was born 1 lb., 10 oz and spent the first five months of her life in the NICU unit at Cardon Children’s and was later the first baby ever to be discharged with an oxygen requirement of just two liters per minute. In January, six-year-old Audrey had her final medical procedure, the removal of her feeding tube, and while nervous prior to the appointment, she stated in a press release that she felt better to have the tube out—and a toy right after.

 

Mortenson Construction announced it has broken ground on the Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton at the intersection of 1st and Polk Streets in Downtown Phoenix, immediately south of the downtown campus of Arizona State University. The company expects to complete construction in summer 2018.

 

Designed by PK Architects and Design Force, the 11-story, 210-key hotel will be the second Hampton Inn & Suites that Mortenson has developed in the past three years.

 

Says Nate Gundrum, director of real estate development at Mortenson via press release, "Our site is strategically located to capture hotel demand from the city’s core central business district as well as from ASU and the Phoenix Biomedical Campus.” Gundrum believes that the location is a great “strength” that will enhance Phoenix’s downtown lodging options.

 

Studio Ma announced that it has won a contract to design a new infill housing development called Hollyhock in the Arcadia neighborhood in Phoenix. Studio Ma, Arizona’s current AIA Firm of the Year, is already known for being innovative as demonstrated in its multiple award-winning housing concepts such as artHAUS and PRD 845.

 

Hollyhock will include 11 one and two-story energy efficient/low water living units with private gardens, lush walkways, and a community commons with a total area of 12,964 sq ft. The primary materials will be glass, faux stucco, galvanized metal, natural wood and exposed concrete floors.

 

Studio Ma is a female-owned firm led by Christiana Moss, AIA; technical expert Christopher Alt, R.A.; and architect Jason Boyer, AIA, LEED AP.  

 

McCarthy Building Companies Inc. recently completed a three-year, $115-million expansion and campus renovation project at Regional Medical Center in Yuma, Ariz. According to a press release, the 35-acre expansion is part of YRMC’s effort to better support the community’s future growth as well as meet patient care needs and improve the patient experience.

 

The press release explains that the overhaul, which began in 2013, was part of the hospital’s design and construction team’s 13-phase approach to the project that includes a new 71,118-sq-ft ED expansion that increased ED bed capacity from 37 to 72, and accommodations for up to 109,000 visits annually. The buildings also account for the future with a shell-floor allowing room for a future dietary kitchen department, two additional shell-floors totally 100,000 sq ft to accommodate future medical, surgical or ICU beds, and new parking structures.

 

The construction schedule was complex and included multiple crews working at once so that staff and patients were not bothered by the project. ARCHSOL LLC served as the architect and interior designer on the project. Other project team members included PK Associates (structural engineer); Dahl, Robins & Associates (civil engineer); Norris Design (landscape architect) and Bridgers & Paxton Consulting Engineers (MEP)