Texas Architects Set to Gather in Austin

The Texas Society of Architects holds its sixty-eighth annual convention Oct. 18-20 in Austin. Also, from flooring to construction firms, businesses expand and grow.

The original NorthPark Center, designed by Harrell & Hamilton (now Omniplan) for developer Raymond D. Nasher, is the winner of the 2007 TSA 25-Year Award. Henry C. Beck Co. was the general contractor.

TSA Honors Projects, People

The Texas Society of Architects will hold its sixty-eighth annual convention Oct. 18-20 in Austin. As the state component of the American Institute of Architects, TSA’s membership includes 4,200 resident architects registered to practice in Texas.

Among the highlights of this year’s convention will be the presentation of the 25-Year Award to the original NorthPark Center in Dallas, designed by Harrell & Hamilton for developer Raymond D. Nasher and opened in 1965. The annual award recognizes significant works of architecture completed between 25 and 50 years prior to that year which have retained the integrity of their original design.

Also during the convention, the architects will celebrate 14 projects cited in the 2007 TSA Design Awards program. In addition, TSA will bestow Honor Awards on several individuals and organizations for their contributions to TSA and the state’s built environment. The TSA Lifetime Achievement Medal will be presented to Ronald L. Skaggs, FAIA, chairman of HKS in Dallas. The TSA Firm Award will go to Gideon Toal of Fort Worth.

The TSA Design Products & Ideas Expo will run concurrently with the convention. More than 200 companies have reserved exhibit space for the Expo.

Access more information by visiting texasarchitect.org. or contact TSA at 512-478-7386 for more information

Alterra Raises $23 Million for Acquisitions

Miami-based Alterra Capital Group, a privately held real estate investment firm, recently raised $23 million in private equity with the concentration of the funds to be used to invest in approximately $80 million worth of stable and distressed B and C class multifamily housing in and around Houston, Dallas and Atlanta before the end of the year.

The projected annual returns for the fund are between 30% and 50% over three years. The firm is also currently working with Cohen Financial, a Miami-based national real estate company, offering debt and equity placement, investment brokerage, loan servicing, and financial advisory services, to raise an additional $50 million in institutional equity to begin another fund with similar projections early next year.

Callison Opens Dallas Office Through Acquisition of AGI West

Callison of Seattle recently opened an office in Dallas through the acquisition of AGI West - Architectural Group International Inc. - a full-service architecture and design firm based in Dallas with a staff of 60 staff. AGI West is a wholly-owned and independently operated firm.

The Dallas office specializes in retail, mixed-use and corporate markets with an emphasis on multiple project delivery. Callison, ranked the top retail design firm in the world by World Architecture, 2003-2007, plans and designs retail, hospitality, mixed-use, health care, and corporate projects worldwide.

Adolfson & Peterson Construction Earns AQC Designation

Dallas-based Adolfson & Peterson Construction recently became an Accredited Quality Contractor member. Issued by Associated Builders and Contractors Inc.

ABC started its AQC program in 1993 to recognize construction companies that show a commitment in four areas of corporate conscientiousness: safety, training, employee benefits, and community relations. A&P Construction joins about 800 AQC members in 40 states, including 21 members in the North Texas Chapter. Last year, A&P marked two million man hours with no lost time.

Florida Company Enters Texas Market with Austin Acquisition

Tampa Bay, Fla.-based King Engineering Associates made its first entry into the Texas market with the acquisition of Austin-based civil engineering firm, Googins and Associates, LLC.

Aaron Googins, P.E., founder and president of Googins and Associates will join King Engineering as vice president for the Texas market. King was ranked 21st on the Zweig Letter 2006 list of fastest growing engineering firms in the United States, and is one of the largest full-service consulting engineering firms in the Tampa Bay area.

Engineering Economics, Inc. Opens EEI Healthcare

San Antonio-based Engineering Economics, Inc. recently opened EEI Healthcare, designed to help hospital and medical care professionals tackle facility issues. In partnership with the owner, the design team, and the construction trades, EEI is helping medical clients reduce facility costs by tackling hospital environmental issues across the country from total system failures to more specific crises such as lack of proper pressure relationships, mold and mildew, excessive corrosion and all too frequent failures on high-dollar equipment. 

EEI Healthcare will serve as a special consultant, owner’s representative, construction manager, constructor, commissioning authority, or other quality assurance provider. 
The senior members of EEI Healthcare include: Pete Sabeff, president, PE, LEED AP; Lisa Doughty, PE, LEED AP, mechanical project manager; and Ross Hansen, PE, electrical project manager.

Intertech Flooring Opens Rio Grande Valley Location

Commercial flooring firm Intertech Flooring of Austin expanded its company with the addition of a third Texas location in Mission.

Leading Intertech’s Rio Grande Valley operations is longtime Intertech employee Scott Richter. Intertech Flooring opened its first office in Austin in 1988 with 12 employees. Today the company has more than 150 employees in its Austin, San Antonio and Rio Grande Valley locations and has seen steady year-over-year sales growth. In 2006, sales totaled nearly $26 million, up from $20 million the previous year. 

CB Richard Ellis Wins 2007 International TOBY Award

First City Tower at 1001 Fannin in downtown Houston received the 2007 International TOBY (The Office Building of the Year) for “Office Building of the Year” in the Renovation Category from the Building Owners and Managers Association International.

The award recognizes excellence in office building management and operations in specific categories of building size and type.     First City Tower won top honors at both the local and regional levels before moving on to the international competition in New York. The 49-story, Class A building earned the award based on its recent capital improvement program to enhance the location with renovations to the lobby, exterior plaza and retail mall that’s situated in the Houston pedestrian tunnel system.  

The building’s management team from Houston-based CB Richard Ellis’ Asset Services is composed of General Manager Dave Johnson, Real Estate Manger Jeff Greensage, Assistant Real Estate Manager Donna Will, Sr. Accountant Sarah Sutton, Real Estate Services Coordinator Toni Fields, Real Estate Services Assistant Martina Salazar and Chief Engineer Ray Bailey.

NCTCOG Honors Development Excellence with CLIDE Awards

The North Central Texas Council of Governments presented its 2007 Celebrating Leadership In Development Excellence (CLIDE) Awards. CLIDE Award recipients are selected by a panel of national jurors for illustrating 10 principles of development excellence. The projects draw upon a palette of techniques from planning to design and preservation to construction, painting a picture of a sustainable future filled with inspiring places.

Among the new development winners was Montgomery Farm in Allen presented to the Montgomery Farm Company of Allen and Dallas-based Sustainable Structures of Texas; Nevada Court of Denton presented to the Denton Affordable Housing Corporation and Dan Fette Builders Inc., both of Denton; and Urban Reserve in Dallas presented to DSGN Associates and Urban Edge Developers Ltd., both of Dallas.

Redevelopment award winners include Cityville Greenville in Dallas presented to James, Harwick + Partners Inc. of Dallas and FirstWorthing Co. of Atlanta;  Gables Republic Tower in Dallas presented to RTKL of Dallas; Montgomery Plaza in Fort Worth presented to Weber and Co. of Philadelphia; and Sundance Square in Fort Worth presented to Downtown Fort Worth Inc. and Sundance Square of Fort Worth.

Public Policy and Planning winners went to the city of Plano Urban Centers Study in Plano to the city of Plano; Dallas’ Trinity Plans in Dallas to the city of Dallas and The Trinity Trust Foundation of Dallas; Lancaster Campus District Plan in Lancaster to the city of Lancaster; Spring Valley Station District/Centennial Park in Richardson to the city of Richardson and Winston Property Development of Dallas; and Trinity Uptown in Fort Worth presented to the Trinity River Vision Authority, a partnership of the city of Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Tarrant Regional Water District, and Streams and Valleys, Inc. all of Fort Worth;

The Special Development award was presented to Texas Instruments Richardson Fabrication Facility, or RFAB, to the city of Richardson and Texas Instruments Inc. of Richardson; and The Old Stone Dam at Allen Station in Allen presented to the city of Allen, Halff Associates Inc. of Richardson and Allen Community Development Corp. of Allen.