AGC of Colorado 2007 ACE Awards

The Associated General Contractors of Colorado announced the winners of the 2007 Awards of Construction Excellence at the association’s 20th annual awards banquet in Denver on Oct. 19.

Contribution to the Community

Photo by Jackie Shumaker

ACE – Fransen Pittman General Contractors Anchor Center for Blind Children

Denver’s Anchor Center for Blind Children has served 400 visually impaired children from birth through age 5 every year since 1982. For the past 15 years, Anchor Center has occupied a former boys’ dormitory on the Clayton Campus for Youth of the former Clayton College. In September, construction completed on the center’s new 16,290-sq-ft facilities, located in the Stapleton neighborhood.

The $5.2-million, state-of-the-art facility is packed full of sensory elements to make learning intuitive for children with a wide range of visual impairments, enabling them to “see” the world with all the senses available to them. Designed as a teaching tool, the school is acoustically suited to the needs of blind and partially-sighted children, who often have sensitive hearing. Classrooms feature colors and textured walls to help with wayfinding. Tapered walls and varying floor textures keep the children from getting lost. Outside, a cane walk features wood, flagstone and pavers to help the children experience different textures.

Silver – Swinerton Builders
Cougar Construction Club

Meeting the Challenge of a Difficult Job (Subcontractor)

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ACE – Encore Electric Inc. University of Colorado Hospital Leprino Office, Building & Parking Garage.

At the heart of the University of Colorado Hospital Health Sciences Center in Aurora lies the Leprino Office building, a 276,655-gross-sq-ft, $102-million, 10-story complex that includes clinical lab spaces, administrative offices, two enclosed pedestrian bridges connecting to a 1,450-sq-ft parking garage and the inpatient pavilion.

Encore completed the work on this project in seven months, despite disruptions by the weather in December 2006. The fire alarm installation for the office building and parking garage was completed in 90 days. In the project’s seven-month duration, 54,460 total man-hours were worked with no lost-time incidents. A total of 222,700 ft of conduit and 233 mi. of wire was installed in the office building and parking garage.

Silver –Trautman & Shreve Inc.
Porter Adventist Hospital Additions & Renovations

Bronze – MTech Mechanical Technologies Group Park Hyatt Beaver Creek

Meeting the Challenge of a Difficult Job (General Contractor)

ACE – Drahota Highmark, Steamboat Springs

The Highmark at Steamboat Springs, located near Gondola Square, offers boutique-style living and state-of-the-art amenities. In 2003, Drahota negotiated a contract to act as the general contractor for the Chadwick, a mixed-use, luxury condominium building. The six-story, 23-unit mountainside development included an indoor/outdoor heated pool, fitness center, underground parking and a first-floor dedicated to retail.

In March 2007 construction was complete on the 83,000-sq-ft, $18-million project, despite difficulties faced with a change in ownership, a record snowfall and the project’s high profile.

Silver – BleekerVigesaa General Contractors
Water World Eight Way Turbo Racer Slide

Bronze – Heath Construction Inc.
Wiest Plaza – Riverwalk, Estes Park

Design-Build (All Projects) Subcontractor

ACE – Trautman & Shreve Inc.

University of Colorado Hospital Anschutz Inpatient Pavilion—Clinical Core Expansion
Located at Fitzsimons, the University of Colorado Hospital Anschutz Inpatient Pavilion has been built and open in phases while the existing hospital at the Colorado Boulevard campus remained open and operating. The latest phase of construction was the Clinical Core Expansion, which allowed the hospital to move entirely from the Colorado Boulevard location. Trautman & Shreve led the mechanical and plumbing design and installations for the four-story, 270,000-sq-ft addition.

The Clinical Core Expansion consists mostly of surgery suites, ICU beds and the support facilities for these two hospital entities. Construction began in December 2005 and was completed in June 2007. In order to meet the schedule, the mechanical and plumbing installations needed to be set before building design was finalized. To meet this challenge, Trautman & Shreve, in constant communication with the design team, was able to determine locations for the underground utility stub-ups, which allowed for the installation to begin months before construction documents were complete.

Silver – Encore Electric Inc.

GSA Invasive Species Research Building Design-Build (All Projects) Prime Contractor

ACE – Gerald H. Phipps Inc. GSA Invasive Species Research Building

As international trade and travel increase, invasive species post a growing and serious threat to native animals and plants in the United States. In 2004, government organizations including the General Services Administration, National Wildlife Research Center, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Wildlife Services proposed construction of an indoor animal research facility to study invasive species and how to control their spread and ecological impact.

The ISRB is a 50,549-sq-ft, two-story facility on the NWRC campus in Fort Collins. Moe than 85% of the space is dedicated to animal housing, labs and support facilities. The biggest problem the design-build team faced was isolating the environments in various animal rooms from the outside world and from each other. The solution was dubbed the “superwall”—engineering by the team to prevent one habitat from affecting the temperature of another.

Silver – Hensel Phelps Construction Co.
Denver International Airport’s United Airlines Jet  Facility

Project of the Year (Under $2 Million) Subcontractor

ACE – J.R. Butler Inc. Denver Mattress Warehouse

J.R. Butler was selected as the glazing contractor for the headquarters for Denver Mattress and Furniture Row Cos., located near I-70 in eastern Denver. The custom nature of the Denver Mattress project allowed few efficiencies to be realized in the construction process. As a result of the unique geometry, nearly every piece of glass was a unique size or shape, and dimensional adjustments during design revisions resulted in changes with significant repercussions. With the glass acting as a skin over the complicated steel structure, the slightest discrepancy between shop drawing, architecturals and completed work could result in problems.

This project included utilizing the space in the existing warehouse and integrating the existing 1960s-era warehouse with the architects’ vision of a modern glass cube.

Silver – Rocky Mountain Prestress LLC
Yuma District Hospital

Bronze – Quality Electric Inc.
Wellington E. Webb Center for Primary Care—Denver Health

Project of the Year ($2-$6 Million) Subcontractor

ACE – Metropolitan Glass Inc. The Children’s Hospital Art Glass

The design of the new state-of-the-art Children’s Hospital at Fitzsimons boasts an atrium infused with color, light and whimsically-themed glass murals. Metropolitan Glass was challenged with the task of bringing artist Larry Kirkland’s imaginative designs to life in the form of enormous panels of art glass that line the east atrium wall. Seven themed walls made up of 300-lb glass and plywood panels angling at various heights in the entry set the tone for the hospital’s unique design.

Silver – Ludvik Electric Co.
Denver Newspaper Agency Washington Street Project

Bronze – J.R. Butler Inc.
Southlands Lifestyle Center
           
Project of the Year ($6-$10 Million) Subcontractor

ACE – Mtech Mechanical Technologies Group. EPA Region 8 Headquarters

When the 1959 U.S. Postal Service Annex near Union Station in downtown Denver was razed, a premier site for commercial development became available—one that is served by all surface modes  of transportation, a pedestrian mall and access to bike paths. It became the best location to support the logistical requirements of the EPA Region 8 headquarters office.

The urban location presented challenges with the requirements for enhanced structural framing and setbacks for blast protection; aggressive onsite parking requirements; restrictions for placement of outdoor air intakes and separate street-level retail spaces, one of which had to support a food service tenant with a full kitchen. Add to that a mandate of achieving LEED-silver certification; completing comprehensive third-party commissioning process, obtaining LoDo architectural design review committee approval—along with that of the General Services Administration and the EPA on both local and national levels—and the blueprint was created for a project that would test the design, construction and management capabilities of all design-build project team members.

MTech Group built the HVAC systems for the project.

Silver – Greiner Electric LLC
The Glass House

Bronze – Encore Electric Inc.
RE/MAX International Headquarters

Project of the Year (Over $10 Million) Subcontractor

ACE – ADK Electric Corp. TIAA-CREF Data Center

Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association—College Retirement Equities Fund hired ADK Electric to design-assist in the build-out of a 93,500-sq-ft facility requiring 6.6-million watts of power for a data center, command call center, offices and technical support. What made this project unique was the exacting coordination required for the electrical phasing because TIAA-CREF has a very complex electrical operation.

The client wanted all systems operational so it could have functional occupancy for a portion of the project within 90 calendar-days of the permit release, with total completion within 150 calendar-days. TIAA-CREF also required six distinct and separate sources of electrical power available for its equipment so that if any combination of the six power sources should fail, the equipment would continue to run.

The entire project took 48,612 man-hours to complete, and there was no time lost due to accidents.

Silver – ISEC Inc.
The Children’s Hospital

Bronze – Sturgeon Electric Co. Inc.
Medical Center of the Rockies

Project of the Year (Under $5 Million) Prime Contractor

ACE – Starker Construction Co. Reno Place

Starker was contracted to assist in the development of a 10,000-sq-ft, two-story, mixed-use infill project located on the corner of Grandview and Olde Wadsworth in Arvada. With a zero-lot line, the Reno Palace project, named after a nearby neighborhood, would require flexibility, creativity and efficient execution of construction to minimize disruptions to existing Olde Town neighborhood shops.

Starker’s role went beyond general contracting, with the development of a “Good Neighbor” program, where representatives met with shop owners and neighbors who would be impacted during construction. But on top of taking care of neighbor relations, this project faced challenges with space for equipment, staff sizes and trash disposal. The crew also had to take into consideration safety, given the heavy pedestrian and vehicular traffic around the jobsite.

Project of the Year ($5-$15 Million) General Contractor

ACE – Heath Construction Inc. Magic Sky Ranch

Magic Sky Ranch, built for the Girl Scouts Mile High Council, is the largest outdoor resource for girls in Colorado. The $8.2-million, multi-building, 750-acre environmentally friendly mountain campus is located near Red Feather Lakes northwest of Fort Collins. Heath Construction built 14 ADA-compliant structures under extreme conditions and met all architectural requirements demanded by the mountain setting.

The 10,000-sq-ft dining center presented the greatest structural challenge. An immense 53-ft-high stone fireplace and chimney anchors the building’s southwest corner. The walls are raked and non-parallel, creating a vaulted ceiling and corner that rise to accentuate the fireplace.

Experienced in mountain construction, the Heath team used a variety of construction techniques, and weathered one of the worst winters on record to meet the demands of the remote mountain location at 8,200 ft.

Silver – Calcon Constructors Inc.
Lakewood Country Club

Bronze – Taylor Kohrs
Heritage Todd Creek Golf Clubhouse

Project of the Year ($15-$30 Million) General Contractor

ACE – JE Dunn Construction. The Residences at Belmar Plaza

The 185,023-sq-ft, five-story Residences at Belmar Plaza is located at the core of the Belmar development, neighboring the Plaza and Events Center. The building consists of ground-level retail and four upper levels with 62 residential units. The structure includes 16 one-bedroom units, 29 two-bedroom units with dens, six three-bedroom units, two three-bedroom units with dens and eight fifth-floor penthouses.

Coordination was the foundation of the project. From preconstruction through construction, the team implemented a process ensuring constant communication through regular project meetings. Design challenges with ceiling heights and space for utilities between floors and the fact that Belmar is an occupied site left the team with some logistical constraints. Safety and accident prevention were considered the most important aspect of the project during construction.

Silver – Hensel Phelps Construction Co.
SkyWest Hangar

Bronze – Taylor Kohrs
Country Club Village

Project of the Year ($30-$60 Million) General Contractor

ACE – Haselden Construction LLC. Education II Facility/Academic Office East Building

The Education Facility II/Academic Office East project at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center involved a new facility complex designed to bring together campus faculty, students and programs in two interconnected physical structures. The project includes two 5-story instructional and office facilities connected by an enclosed second-floor bridge that functions as a pedestrian passageway.
Comprised of 275,376 gross sq ft, this project faced many challenges, including budget constraints and funding problems. However, Haselden created an options list that included $3 million in potential add-backs and successfully trimmed another $6 million. The team achieved a 20-month schedule and finished three weeks early. This project was the only COP-funded project on the Anschutz Medical Center Campus to finish as scheduled.

Silver – PCL Construction Services Inc.
Colorado Army Aviation Support Facility at Buckley Air Force Base

Project of the Year (Over $60 Million) General Contractor

ACE – Haselden Construction LLC. University of Colorado Hospital Anschutz Inpatient Pavilion—Phase II

The Anschutz Inpatient Pavilion Phase II hospital expansion involved constructing a 304,000-sq-ft, four-story clinical core expansion to house the central utility plant, operating rooms, ICU beds, cardiovascular, neonatal ICU, imaging, pharmacy, materials management, sterile processing, food-service prep and gourmet cafeteria; 65,000 sq ft of predesigned remodeling and upgrades in the Phase I tower; and 202,000 sq ft build-out of floors seven through 12 for medical/surgical, rehabilitation, pulmonary, bone marrow transplant, oncology, cardiac and another 369 beds.

The aggressive 22-month schedule was a challenge for the size, scope and complexity of the project.

Silver – Hensel Phelps Construction Co.
North Colorado Medical Center Second Century Project

Bronze – Gerald H. Phipps Inc.
Platte Valley Medical Center.

2007 AGC ACE Awards Judges

• Stuart Monical, MKK Consulting Engineers Inc.,
   ACEC Colorado;
• Kin DuBois, klipp, AIA Colorado;
• Shauna Mozingo, City of Westminster,
   Colorado Chapter of the International Code Council;
• Dean Leschak, Pro-Coat Systems, CSI;
• Dr. Scott Schuler, Colorado State University,                        
   University Construction Program

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