Educational Facilities Top Building Projects Statewide

Industrial and business parks as well as company headquarters and municipal and arts projects span the state from the Houston area up to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex..

Skanska Wins Two Educational Facility Projects

Skanska USA Building Inc. of Houston has been selected by the Alamo Community Colleges as construction manager for the college's new $43.5 million building on the St. Philip's College campus in San Antonio.

Saldana and Associates Architects, Inc. and Pfluger Associates Architects, both of San Antonio, will serve as the architects of record for the project, which will include a new three-story concrete frame structure with 215,000 sq ft of space.

The building will house the Nursing and Allied Health Career Center, Learning Resource Center, and the One Stop Enrollment Center. Construction of the project began in February. Alamo Community Colleges projects a scheduled completion date in fall 2008.

Skanska USA Building Inc. was also selected by La Joya Independent School District (ISD) as general contractor for the district's new La Joya High School, located near Mission. The new 390,000-sq-ft high school campus is part of a 2006 bond program aimed to reduce classroom overcrowding.

ERO International of Austin is the architect of record for the project, which includes four new buildings and a central plant. Construction of the project began in March and has an estimated completion date of January, 2009.

Adolfson & Peterson to Build First Geothermal School in Dallas

Adolfson & Peterson Construction of Richardson broke ground on a first-of-a-kind Dallas Independent School District pilot project middle school which will draw on a geothermal well system for heating and air-conditioning.

The Francisco “Pancho” Medrano Middle School will be part of the ISD’s sustainability initiative. Adolfson & Peterson will partner with program manager, Jacobs/Pegasus of Dallas, Camargo Copeland Architects of Dallas, and GSR Andrade Architects of Dallas to construct the first DISD urban school to use geothermal systems, in the spirit of green building.

Adolfson & Peterson will also be the first construction company in Dallas to erect a DISD school that will employ the geothermal well system to heat and cool the school’s facilities. This sustainability feature will result in utility cost-savings of about 24% to 28%.

Cadence McShane Announces New Projects

Cadence McShane, Houston recently announced two new commissions. Pasadena Independent School District (PISD) selected Cadence McShane to construct its new Hughes Road Middle School. The new 121,326-sq-ft Hughes Road Middle School serve as an additional educational facility to meet the district’s growing enrollment. The school will be complete by summer 2008 for the 2008-2009 school year. Randall-Porterfield Architects, Inc. AIA of League City is providing architectural services for the project.

Jones Development Company of Kansas City in a partnership with Industrial Works Investment Fund selected the Dallas office of Cadence McShane to construct I-45 Tradeport I, a new 520,000-sq-ft industrial facility. The speculative facility is the first development in the new 327-acre Sunridge Business Park in Wilmer. Situated on a 30.5-acre site, I-45 Tradeport I will feature a 32 ft clear height, 107 truck docks and two drive-in doors. Cadence McShane will construct the speculative facility of painted tiltwall panels. The project is scheduled for a January 2008 delivery. Architect for the project is Gromatzky Dupree and Associates of Dallas.

Koll Development Expands Denbury Headquarters

Dallas-based Koll Development Company started construction on an expansion to the corporate headquarters for Plano-based Denbury Resources, Inc., an independent oil and gas company. The new 100,000-square-foot, build-to-suit corporate office building will be developed adjacent to the current headquarters facility in Plano at the corner of Tennyson and Windcrest in the Legacy Business Park.

The project will include a three-story building and a parking structure. Approximately 350 employees will eventually be housed in the new facility. The building shell is slated for completion in December with move-in set for the second quarter of 2008.

Gensler Architects of Dallas has been selected as the architect for the project and Furstenwerth Bagley Design of Dallas will serve as the interior design architect. Riis Christensen with Transwestern in Dallas and Jeff Ellerman with The Staubach Company in Dallas represented Denbury Resources in the transaction.

Manhattan Begins Construction on Pasadena Police Complex

Construction on the new Pasadena Police Complex started in June after a ceremonial ground-breaking in early May. The new Pasadena Police Department facility will be approximately 81,550 sq ft. The two story building will include 13,600 sq ft of jail space with the remaining space used for offices and common areas. Ron Garrett, the project executive for Houston-based Manhattan Construction, will oversee the completion of design and the start of construction on the $19 million project. Houston-based Morris Architects designed the facility. Targeted completion date is August 2008.

Ascension Group Completes First Phase of Baylor Frisco Project

Baylor Medical Center at Frisco’s first phase of its $65 million expansion, designed by Arlington-based Ascension Group Architects, was completed and opened earlier this summer.

The first phase adds 58,890 sq ft of space to Baylor Frisco, more than doubling the size of the hospital. The new phase includes five operating rooms, expansions to the emergency department and the preoperative and post-operative departments, and a medical education teaching lab.

The second phase of expansion, located on the second floor, is slated for completion soon. Phase II includes a $20 million labor and delivery unit, which is a new service line for Baylor Frisco. The new unit will include nine labor and delivery suites, eight antepartum suites, 15 postpartum suites, an eight-bed neonatal intensive care unit, a 16-bed well-baby nursery and three operating rooms.

Morris Architects Designs Performing Arts Center

The John Cooper School in the Woodlands will add a new performing arts center designed by Morris Architects of Houston on its 43-acre campus. The 38,000-sq-ft Performing Arts Center, estimated between $12 and $ 14 million, will feature a 500-seat main stage theater, a 125-seat black box theater, a fully appointed dance classroom, choir, drama and band classrooms, a scene construction shop and a foyer.

The John Cooper School project team also includes Brookstone, LP of Houston as the general contractor, Walter P. Moore of Houston as the civil and structural engineer, CHPA of Houston as the MEP engineer, HFP of Houston for acoustical consulting, and Bill Conner Associates of Oak Park, Ill., for theatrical consulting.

Trammell Crow Breaks Ground at East Belt Business Park

The Houston office of Trammell Crow Company started construction on the second phase at East Belt Business Park in Pasadena. The 12-acre light industrial development will feature two dock-high, concrete tilt-wall buildings totaling 170,000 sq ft.

TCC’s Houston office will oversee the development of the park while Garner along with Faron Wiley of CB Richard Ellis in Houston will serve as the primary contacts for the leasing effort. Powers Brown Architecture of Houston was hired to design the project and Rosenberger Construction of Sugar Land is the general contractor. The project is scheduled for completion in December.

South Central Transit Center Construction Begins

Austin-based Journeyman Construction began construction in mid-May on Austin’s new $4.3 million South Central Transit Center, a key facility in the ‘All Systems Go Long-Range Transit Plan’ for Austin’s Capital Metro facility located at South Congress and Ben White.

Targeted completion is August 2008. The South Central Transit Center is strategically placed to serve as a major crossing point for east-west and north-south routes, including Capital Metro’s busiest route.

The facility, with 13 dedicated bus bays, is designed to accommodate several existing and planned fixed routes, including future Rapid Bus service..