Hoar Begins Resort Construction on Galveston Island

The Houston office of Hoar Construction has begun construction on a new resort in Galveston. Slated to open in 2005, the resort, Escapes! to the Gulf at Galveston, marks an unprecedented public-private partnership between Galveston County and Escapes! in which the two entities are sharing resources to construct a beachfront public park and a private mid-rise condominium on Galveston Island.

The joint projects, on Galveston's West End, include a $16 million, approximately 75-unit resort, a new 3,314-sq.-ft. public beach pavilion, an educational wetlands preserve, beach access points and public and private parking. Pavilion amenities include an additional 7,299 sq. ft. of outside decking, picnic facilities and more.

"Escapes! is developing in new markets with Galveston representing our third Gulf Coast resort," said T.L. Spencer, the resort's president. "We are delighted to work in partnership with Galveston County in building this resort."

Escapes! Inc, headquartered in Rogers, Ark., has developed resorts in Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, Alabama and Florida.

Cadence McShane Expanding Fort Worth Prison

Dallas-based Cadence McShane has been selected for construction of an $11 million expansion and improvement program of the existing 121,244-sq.-ft. Green Bay Confinement Unit in Fort Worth.

The company will construct more than 66,000 sq. ft. of new construction and renovate more than 24,000 sq. ft. within the facility. Architectural services are provided by burns fletcher gill for the project scheduled for completion in September 2005.

The maximum-security jail will add 528 new beds arranged in 48 eight-bed, multioccupancy units and six 24-bed, dormitory-style units. Construction of common facilities such as multipurpose rooms, exercise areas and a new full-service kitchen is also planned. The exterior of the new facilities will be constructed of precast concrete insulated panels.

The assignment includes more than 24,000 sq. ft. of renovation throughout the facility. New and enlarged visitation areas will be completed along with renovations to the existing exercise areas, multipurpose rooms and library. An enlarged security control area also is planned.

Since the jail must remain in full operation throughout the 15-month schedule, Cadence McShane has organized the project into 11 phases to accommodate the shifting of inmates and services while construction is under way. Each utility service/system will be upgraded or replaced, and redundant power sources will be incorporated to ensure continuous operation throughout construction.

Industry leaders recently gathered in Dallas at Topping Out 2004 to recognize outstanding building projects in the Metroplex area. Of the nominated projects, 22 were award finalists.

The Nasher Sculpture Center received the top award, a project in which the Dallas-based Beck Group served as both associate architect and contractor.

The Nasher Sculpture Center in downtown Dallas encompasses indoor and outdoor sculpture exhibits. The unique building and landscape treatments have brought the project worldwide attention and acclaim. Other Beck projects that were top 10 winners were the Westlake corporate campus and the Sabre headquarters building.

The Westlake corporate campus for the Fidelity Corp. was designed to resemble a country ranch and integrates a 650,000-sq.-ft. office building and parking garage with a forest, meadow and ponds on a 30-acre site. Sabre's new 500,000-sq.-ft. headquarters is one of largest facilities in the United States to receive a silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED program.

The only other firm to win more than one top ten award was Austin Commercial. Topping Out is a program that honors the total building team, including owner, developer, architect, engineer, contractor, building-material suppliers and other consultants and subcontractors.

Beck Group Gets Back to Nature

The Austin office of The Beck Group recently announced that the Stark Foundation has awarded pre-construction and construction services to Beck for the Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center in Orange. The construction schedule, which will begin in February, is approximately 18 months for the $15 million project.

Shangri La is a unique ecosystem possessing not only wetlands, but a mixed deciduous forest, cypress tupelo swamp and a large lake that attracts ducks and migratory birds.

"We will have the opportunity to do many great things on this project that will continue to boost our LEED experience," said Kathy Zarsky, Beck's project manager. "This is a very site-sensitive project due to the wetland environments and wildlife habitat it currently maintains. We will be using 'light' construction practices and will also get to explore the use of photovoltaic systems and renewable energy sources."

The gardens first opened to the public in 1946. After the 250-acre private reserve was heavily damaged by a hard freeze in the mid-1950s, it was closed to the public and maintained on a limited scale.

The project design team includes Mesa Design Group of Dallas, Lake Flato Architects Inc. of San Antonio and Jeffrey Carbo ASLA of Alexandria, La.

Hunt Construction Group Awarded City of Cedar Hill Bond Program

Hunt Construction Group's South Regional Office in Dallas has been awarded program management services for the $27.1 million city of Cedar Hill Bond Program. The Program includes a new Municipal Government Center, new Public Safety Facility, addition to the Library, and renovations to their existing facilities. Hunt Construction Group will assist with architectural selections, which will begin in May 2004. Construction of the first facility will begin in early 2005, with completion of all work anticipated by the end of 2007.

Hunt Construction Group and Bovis Lend Lease Form Alliance

The newly formed HuntBovis Strategic Alliance will operate as a business unit combining the specialized sports construction expertise of the Hunt Construction Group with the local knowledge of Bovis Lend Lease, construction specialists based in New York.

Both companies operate regional offices in Dallas. The Strategic Alliance will expand the breadth of construction services Hunt traditionally provides to its sports clients to include the New York metropolitan area, where Bovis Lend Lease's portfolio includes projects such as the Time Warner Center, Bloomberg Tower, Trump World Tower and the Ritz Carlton Hotel & Residences.