TAXI2 Launches in Central Platte Valley

Ground was broken in late November for phase two of TAXI, a non-traditional office complex located north of Coors Field on the west bank of the South Platte River at 34th and Ringsby Court. TAXI2 will add 60,000 sq ft of office and commercial space to TAXI's first phase.

Upon completion, the entire project will total more than 300,000 sq ft of space in central Denver's longest office building.

Zeppelin Development selected three nationally prominent architects to work with its own architect, Alan Brown, on TAXI. San Francisco's David Baker, Arizona's Will Bruder and Aspen's Harry Teague collaborated to design a single 550-ft-long, work/live building.

The building's open bay environment includes 17-ft ceilings and a 30-ft-high lobby, gourmet café, wine bar, fitness and high-tech conference room. TAXI2 also offers individual storefronts and a variety of flex workspace ranging from 400 sq ft to 10,000 sq ft.

Onsite amenities include access to bike paths, a café, Pilates studio, yoga classes and a gym. The TAXI café - designed by Will Bruder - will feature a specially chosen chef who will prepare a handmade breakfast and lunch.

The first phase of TAXI features 40,000 sq ft of non-traditional office space filled with 10 different companies. Outside the TAXI complex, along the banks of the South Platte, paths have been built with benches and meditation spots. Zeppelin also plans to construct a pier into the river.

Denver's M.A. Mortenson is the contractor and architect-of-record on this design-build project.

Harvard Creates Architect Collection for Stapleton

The Architect Collection by Harvard Communities will bring high-style new homes to Denver's Stapleton neighborhood.

A team of architects collaborated to create three models that blend contemporary and traditional designs. Since its 2001 groundbreaking, most of the Stapleton neighborhood's 2,000 homes have featured neotraditional design inspired by historic Denver homes from1890 to 1920.

The eight homes under construction in the Architect Collection all face Stapleton parks.

The three models are the Courtyard, Tower and Atrium. Each home will also meet stringent energy-saving standards of the Environments for Living Program sponsored by Masco Contractor Services and two of the nation's leading building-science companies.

Brighton Rec Center Expansion Completed

Bleeker & Vigesaa Construction Co. has completed child care area expansion and renovations to the Brighton Recreation Center.

The work also provided the center with two additional multipurpose rooms and included reconstruction and expansion of the front desk area and renovation of the locker room showers. The center remained open and fully operational throughout the five months of construction.

The project was directed by the Brighton Parks and Recreation Department. Ohlson Lavoie Collaborative was the architect. Bleeker & Vigesaa also served as construction manager.

Nolte Working on Sterling's Bike Paths

Nolte Associates is working with the city of Sterling to design and provide construction management assistance for a $500,000 project that includes a four-mile-long pedestrian bike trail, bike lanes and pedestrian route improvements.

Sterling's bike lane and pedestrian route is designed to create a continuous route from Columbine Park to Jerry Wisdom Park, formerly known as Charmony Park. Additionally, the pedestrian and bike route connect to a proposed 10-ft, multi-use path adjacent to the junior high and high schools - making it safe for children and families. One side of the route was also designed so it's ADA accessible. Nolte began work on the project in spring 2003; completion is expected next summer.

Work Begins on Northglenn's New Century Theatres

Opus Northwest began construction last fall on a new movie theater complex at 120th Avenue and Grant Street in Northglenn, adjacent to Interstate 25.

The 16-screen, 64,000-sq-ft Century Theatres complex will feature a mezzanine and accommodate 3,000 patrons. Besides the movie theater, plans for the 12-acre parcel include high-end shops and restaurants. Construction is scheduled to finish in fall 2006.

Sky Ridge Medical Center Expands RidgeGate Presence

Sky Ridge Medical Center has acquired an additional 15 acres of land to add to its already significant presence at RidgeGate, a 3,500-acre, mix-used, environmentally smart development at East Lincoln Avenue and Interstate 25.

Sky Ridge Medical Center opened at RidgeGate in August 2003 and has already added 30 beds for a total of 138. The hospital's additional land purchase means it will own 57 acres at RidgeGate and can expand its bed base to an eventual 335.

Sky Ridge has also integrated access to light rail into its plans, which voters approved as part of the RTD FasTracks system. RidgeGate will have three light rail stations, including an "end-of-line" station at the new RidgeGate Parkway Interchange on I-25.

Home Building Begins This Year at Arista

Trammell Crow Residential and Hibernia Holdings will begin construction on the first phase of residences at Arista, a 209-acre, mixed-use, transit-oriented development located along U.S. Highway 36, beginning in late summer as soon as the site's infrastructure is in place.

Trammell Crow Residential will build for-sale lofts, rental apartments and affordable-housing units while Hibernia Holdings will build a mix of townhomes and flats, all within Arista's urban village, which will also include parks and public spaces
Arista project members include klipp, Norris Design, Martin/Martin, Taylor Kohrs and the Trammell Crow Co.

Taylor Kohrs Finishes Best Buy at Centerra in Loveland

Taylor Kohrs has completed construction of the new Best Buy store in Loveland at the Shoppes at Centerra. The 30,000-sq-ft store was designed by C.M. Architecture of Minneapolis.

Taylor Kohrs also completed the new Low Point Waste Water Treatment Plant in Johnstown and broke ground on the new 85,000-sq-ft Furniture Row retail center in Dacono.

J.E. Dunn Completes Hospital Expansion

J.E. Dunn Construction's Rocky Mountain Region team completed the $3.8 million Thayer County Health Services hospital expansion project in Hebron, Neb.

The 24,760-sq-ft, two-story project included construction of new laboratory, radiology and patient rooms and a new mechanical room to support the facility's growth.

Cross Community Center Dedicated

The Cross Community Coalition held a dedication for its new Family Resource Center in November with Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper joining more than 150 guests who attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The Abo Group Inc. designed the 9,500-sq-ft facility; Evan Miller, AIA, LEED-AP, was the project manager.

Sustainable design played a big role in the center's creation. The final design implemented several green building elements, including daylighting, no-VOC paints, cementitious siding and cork flooring.

Several local companies and contractors also contributed to the projects by donating time and materials to complete the facility. The team included Turner Construction, JVA Consulting Engineers, Milestone Engineering and Denver Urban Gardens.

KB Home Will Build Upscale Homes in Golden

KB Home will build a new community southeast of the intersection of Highway 93 and Golden Gate Canyon Road in Golden. Canyon View will launch KB Home's entry into the upscale home market in metropolitan Denver.

Canyon View will offer 60 single-family homes with ranch and two-story plans. The homes will range from 2,297 to more than 3,700 sq ft and feature three to five bedrooms, two to four bathrooms, multiple fireplaces and three-car garages.

Homes will start in the high $400s, be built with energy-efficient materials and offer views of Lookout and Table mountains.

MW GOLDEN Wins Eagle Ridge Elementary Project

Castle Rock-based MW GOLDEN CONSTRUCTORS was awarded a $1.8 million project for Douglas County Schools.

The project, which involves an addition and remodel to Eagle Ridge Elementary School in Lone Tree, began in December. Denver's Yon Tanner Architecture PC is the architect.

The work includes a two-classroom addition, reconfiguring and reconstructing the parking lot and adding a segregated bus line to the facility. New data cables will also be installed, as well as a significant mechanical retrofit to the existing school.

Riviera/PCL Partnering on Memorial Hospital

Work has begun on the new Memorial Women's and Children's Hospital, a 277,000-sq-ft hospital that will provide additional women and children services and much-needed emergency service support for the Colorado Springs community.

Riviera Electric and PCL Construction Services are working together on the project.

The addition to the Memorial Hospital campus encompasses five stories with a basement and provides new levels of service in radiology, as well as nine new labor delivery and recovery post-partum rooms, two new C-section rooms, one PED OP room, neonatal intensive care units, prenatal intensive care units and EM services.

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