Austin Commercial Completes New Wishing Place

The $3.4 million, 13,500-sq.-ft. project may be small for one of Texas' largest commercial contractors, but its mission is big.

Small Project, Big Purpose

Boka Powell LLC designed the new 13,500-sq.-ft. Wishing Place in Las Colinas. Austin Commercial LP is performing general contracting for the $3.4 million project. More than 50 percent of the construction budget was donated. (Rendering courtesy Austin Commercial.)

The Make-A-Wish Foundation of North Texas will soon have a new home in Las Colinas. Austin Commercial LP of Dallas is performing the general construction of the office building, including associated site work, structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and civil systems.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation of North Texas is dedicated to granting wishes for children that are diagnosed with life-threatening medical conditions. The Wishing Place, designed by BOKA Powell LLC of Dallas, is a 13,500-sq.-ft. building with space for future expansion. It is scheduled for completion next month. Of the $3.4 million budget, 53 percent of the construction value was donated.

The Wishing Place will be used for various functions such as wish presentation, wish making, volunteer training and gatherings. The design of the building combines fantasy and residential features to help create a fun and comfortable environment for families to come together. The exterior features a patio with a garden and fountain.

The design of the Wishing Place was influenced by children living with life-threatening medical conditions. The North Texas chapter grants more than 270 wishes a year. Nationally, the Make-A-Wish Foundation has granted more than 110,000 wishes since its inception, and currently grants more than 12,000 wishes a year.

McCarthy to Construct Two Schools for Dallas ISD

McCarthy Building Cos. Inc. was recently awarded the new $24 million Jack Lowe, Sr. Elementary School and Vickery Meadows middle school for the Dallas Independent School District.

The new two-school project is expected to be completed in June and is McCarthy's third project currently underway for DISD. McCarthy is also constructing the new $40 million Emmett J. Conrad High School in Dallas and completing the $9 million renovation of Sunset High School.

Jack Lowe, Sr. Elementary School is named for the community leader who helped draft the Dallas School desegregation plan adopted by the federal courts and who played a key role in the creation of the DISD Adopt-a-School program. A final name for Vickery Meadows middle school has not been decided.

The 218,000-sq.-ft. project encompasses two schools within one building. The elementary and middle schools will share some amenities but will be two separate facilities with separate entrances from adjacent streets. The two-school facility will feature a concrete-pier foundation, structural steel framing and a brick-veneer exterior highlighted by stucco and metal panels.

The architect for the project is Brown Reynolds Watford Architects Inc. of Dallas, and the program manager is Jacobs/Pegasus of Dallas.

David M. Schwarz to Design Expansion of Western Art Museum

The Sid W. Richardson Foundation has approved design development by David M. Schwarz/Architectural Services Inc. for the renovation and expansion of the Sid W. Richardson Collection of Western Art in downtown Fort Worth.

Updates to the museum, which houses Western art and boasts more than 60 paintings by renowned artists including >> Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell, will involve erections of a new granite, brick and glass façade; reconfiguring gallery spaces; and expanding the current building by 1,800 sq. ft. to include a group entrance and more educational space for the museum's expanding programs.

Construction is slated to begin mid-summer and the collection will re-open one year later as the Sid Richardson Museum.

The project also includes the renovation of 4,000 sq. ft. of second-floor office space for the Sid W. Richardson Foundation.

What A Field!

AG/CM Inc. completed Corpus Christi's AA Minor League Baseball Stadium, Whataburger Stadium, in time for a mid-April season-opening game of the Corpus Christi Hooks.

AG/CM Inc. served as construction manager of the project providing cost estimates and constructability reviews to the design team in the early planning stages and oversaw the construction of the project through its completion.

The facility was built in just one year and involved demolition of many existing cotton warehouses and presses dating back to the early 1900s. Certain elements of the warehouses were implemented into the final construction and design of the stadium and remain on the property. In addition to demolition, the scope also included site work, a professional playing field, 19 luxury suites, 9 concession areas, a 5,000-plus seating bowl, batting cages, player facilities and on-site administrative offices. Fulton-Coastcon joint ventured with Hunt to provide the general contracting services for the project. Architectural services were provided by the Dallas based firm, HKS.