Progressive Breaks Ground in Colorado Springs

Progressive, whose companies comprise the country's third-largest auto insurance group, recently broke ground in Colorado Springs to develop a three-building, 300,000-sq-ft campus on more than 30 acres in Northgate Corporate Village. The campus will nearly double the company's current capacity in the area and will allow it to consolidate its sales and customer service call centers. Move-in is scheduled to start in early 2004.

In the past year, Progressive has grown 30 percent and hired more than 6,014 people throughout the United States. In Colorado Springs, the company added 308 new people in 2002, bringing to 887 the number of employees in the sales and customer service call centers.

The campus will include a number of amenities, including a cafeteria, a primary care center, a fitness center, a wellness program featuring a variety of health screenings and educational opportunities and an employee assistance program providing counseling services to Progressive people and their families.

Holder Construction Co. of Atlanta is the general contractor on the project, Gensler of Denver is the architect and Hines is acting as the development manager. Hines, an international real estate firm, is responsible for overseeing project construction and providing advice and guidance to the development team on all aspects of the project during pre-development, construction and commissioning.

Steam Plant at Lowry Becoming Lofts

Steam Plant Lofts & Patio Homes has announced the opening of its sales office at 7756 E. 4th Ave. The redevelopment of the 63-year-old landmark Steam Plant and surrounding patio homes at Lowry will be available for occupancy in 2004.

When complete, the Steam Plant Lofts will consist of 13 custom-designed loft-style condominiums with scenic views, oversized windows, high ceilings, spacious exterior decks and patios, elevator access and private two-car garages. The lofts will range from 1,700 to 4,500 sq ft and will be priced fro the $300s to the $900s.

Located around an urban courtyard adjacent to the Steam Plant Lofts will be nine detached, single-family, low maintenance patio homes. Each patio home will include dramatic open floor plans, a full basement, a two-car garage and a private yard. The homes will range from 1,800 to 2,800 sq ft and will be priced from the $400s.

The lofts offer a wide variety of layout and custom-design choices, allowing buyers to make the space uniquely their own while keeping an element of industrial flare. The patio homes will complement the architecture of the original Steam Plant. Both the lofts and homes are within walking distance of Lowry retail shops, restaurants, open space parks and walking trails.

Steam Plant Partners LLC, is a joint venture between Jim Hartman of Hartman Ely Investments LLC, and John Keith of Harvard Communities Inc.

Land Acquired for State's Largest Retail Project

Real estate development firm Jordon Perlmutter & Co. recently announced that it has contracted to purchase an additional 120 acres in Thornton for a total of 240 acres, creating the largest single retail project in Colorado. The mixed-use retail project, called Lark Ridge, could accommodate more than two million sq ft of retail space along I-25 between 168th Avenue and the newly completed E-470. Roughly the size of 180 football fields, construction could begin as early as next year for a 2005 opening.

"This destination is visible from two major highways and will draw from Front Range cities, including Loveland, Longmont, Greeley and Fort Collins to the north, Brighton and the DIA corridor to the east, and the northern suburbs to the south," said Jordon Perlmutter, president of Jordon Perlmutter & Co.

Perlmutter anticipates that the property will house major national retailers, some form of enclosed shopping center, restaurants, entertainment and a hotel. Additionally, an agreement was reached with the City of Thornton on a performance-based incentive plan, reaching a major milestone in launching the first grand-use retail project to serve the northern corridor. In December, Jordon Perlmutter & Co. announced the purchase of the first 120 acres at the location.

Bovis Lend Lease, project manager for the new 102,426-sq-ft Thornton Justice Center and General Contractor Swinerton Builders, recently began construction on the new Thornton Justice Center.

The project, designed by Brinkley Sargent Architects of Dallas, consists of a 92,826-sq-ft police administration and city court building and a 9,600-sq-ft parking structure on eight acres of land west of the existing Thornton Civic Center. Construction is slated to finish in fall 2004.

For 20 years, Thornton's Civic Center has been home to the police department and the majority of the City's other departments. When the Civic Center opened in 1983, the city's population was approaching 40,000 people and the department had about 65 officers.

Now the city has about 96,000 people and the number of police officers and support personnel has more than doubled, making space a premium within the Civic Center. Currently, it's not uncommon to see several police officers sharing the same desk and Thornton's courts division is also feeling the squeeze. The same is true for almost every department in the Civic Center.

"Currently, we're at maximum capacity in both work areas and locker room space. The new Justice Center will provide some much needed space and also allow the City to have its own dispatch center for both police and fire," said Deputy Chief of Police Tom Manka. "The Justice Center will also be big enough to accommodate years of planned growth for the police department. We'll also have more room to conduct training for our officers."

When the police and courts move into the new Justice Center, the City will remodel the 40,000 sq ft of space currently used by the police department and courts division, then move some of the other operations into that area.

Pinkard Construction has announced the start of a remodel for Certified Financial Planners at 1670 Broadway in Denver.

The project is a 20,000-sq-ft remodel of the entire sixth floor, which includes limestone floor tile with water jet lettering, granite counter tops, custom millwork and doors, glass sidelights with custom filming and the complete renovation of two bathrooms. Chris Drohosky is Pinkard's project manager and Todd Kowalski is the project superintendent.

Pinkard is working with RNL Design as the architect and the owner's representative is The Staubach Co. The project will be done in a seven-week schedule with the tenant occupying the space in early June 2003.

The Neenan Co. has announced that it has been selected to provide design-build services for several new school projects in Colorado. Grey Wolf Architecture is working with Neenan on the design of projects for the Lamar, Hanover, Telluride and Montrose county school districts this year.

Hanover School District: Design and construction of the new Midway Elementary School; renovations and improvements to Hanover Elementary School; and design and construction of the new junior high and high school.

Lamar School District: Design and construction of a new library media center at Washington Elementary; design and construction of a new library center at Lincoln Elementary; design and construction of a new library center at Parkview Elementary; building improvements at Savage Stadium; and renovations and improvements at Lamar High School.

Telluride School District: Design and construction of a new classroom and auditorium addition to the high school/middle school campus.

Montrose School District: Classroom addition to Montrose High School.

Sun Construction & Design Services Inc. of Longmont has been selected by Hunt Sales Co. to be the constructor of its new 60,000-sq-ft sales and distribution facility in Frederick.

Hunt Sales Co., presently located at 1400 Kansas Ave. in Longmont, is the Anheuser-Busch distributor for the area, including Longmont, Boulder, Louisville, Lafayette, Broomfield and parts of the northern metropolitan Denver area. Completion is scheduled for early spring 2004.

Located in the Bear Industrial Park at the intersection of Weld County Road 20 and the East I-25 Frontage Road, the new facility will consist of office space, shipping and receiving areas, and a state-of-the-art controlled environment warehouse that provides a precise temperature controlled environment for the product.

The facility is being designed by Zeiler-Pennock Inc./OHA Architects-Engineers of Denver. Sun Construction will provide pre-construction services during the design phase of the project as well as acting as general contractor for the construction of the facility.

Ground Broken for New Aurora Fire Station #3

The City of Aurora and Commercial Building Services has officially broken ground on a replacement for Fire Station #3. The station is the third of three that Commercial Building Services has built for the City of Aurora under a design-build contract.

The new station is a much-needed replacement for the existing facility built in 1962. The community was instrumental in obtaining the funding for the project. It will accommodate four full-time firefighters who currently service the neighborhoods around the station at 32nd and Peoria.

GE Johnson Awarded Pulpit Rock Church Contract

awarded a $1.5 million, phase 1 contract by Pulpit Rock Church in Colorado Springs.

Designed by Higgenbotham/Briggs & Associates of Colorado Springs, the project includes construction of a 13,500-sq-ft multipurpose venue. Future phases will include a 1,500-seat auditorium, a Sunday school wing and a two-story administration wing. Construction will begin in May 2003 and be complete by May 2004.

J.E. Dunn to Build 17 Banks
J.E. Dunn Construction has announced that it has been named as the general contractor for an expansion project with Compass Bank that will more than double Compass Bank's presence in the Denver and Colorado Springs markets over the next two years.

J.E. Dunn will construct 17 full-service bank buildings throughout the metropolitan areas - nine of the new buildings are scheduled for construction in 2003. In addition to the projects in Colorado, J.E. Dunn will be building another 32 Compass Banks throughout the western United States.

The banks will be constructed from four designed prototypes. Each building will be 3,500 sq ft with a brick and stone exterior and metal roofing. The banks will also feature a drive-through with four bays, a parking lot and full landscaping. J.E. Dunn is also providing extended services to facilitate the planning and zoning reviews for each project and assisting in obtaining building permits. Each building is scheduled to be constructed within 120 days of start.

Click here for more News >>