Construction resumed in late January on Denver’s 41-story Spire, on hold since September when funding for the high-rise condo building was withdrawn.

Hypo Real Estate Capital Corp., a German-based lender, backed out of its $160-million construction loan in late August, forcing Denver developer Nichols Partnership to suspend work on the project. General contractor JE Dunn Construction of Denver had completed the first four floors of the building before construction was halted.

The new $173-million financing package secured by Nichols includes $118 million in a construction loan provided by Corus Bank; $19 million in mezzanine financing from Colonnade Properties and Madison Capital Co.; and $36 million in equity. Fisher Capital also provided key subordinate debt for the project. Nichols is suing Hypo for the delay.

When complete, the $175-million project, located in downtown Denver, will include 503 one- and two-bedroom condos with prices starting at $200,000, and 7,633 sq ft of street-level retail. The building was designed by Denver’s RNL. JE Dunn estimates completion in December 2009.

Alex S. Palmer & Co. of Nashville announced it was awarded the new $100-million Federal Bureau of Investigation building project to be built on a 10-acre FBI campus at Stapleton.

Palmer will be the developer/owner of the 216,322-gross-sq-ft office building, with expansion rights up to 292,034 sq ft, and an adjoining parking garage.

After more than six months of competition, Palmer was selected from a national short list of five companies vying for the assignment. Competitors included Hines International Inc., Houston; OPUS Group, Minneapolis; Highwoods Properties, Raleigh, N.C.; and CB Richard Ellis, Los Angeles.

The FBI has signed a 20-year lease with Palmer, and construction is slated to begin in the second quarter of this year. Peter Ruggiero, design partner with Skidmore Owings & Merrill in Chicago, will lead the architectural design team. Ruggiero has designed many high-profile commercial buildings, including 7 World Trade Center in New York. Bovis Lend Lease of Australia will serve as the contractor for the project, scheduled for completion in December 2009.

Haselden Construction of Centennial began construction on the $111-million Science Building addition and renovation on the Auraria Higher Education Center campus in downtown Denver.

The four-story project will add 197,000 sq ft of space and feature new teaching and research labs, support space, classrooms and research lab offices. The 142,000-sq-ft renovation of the existing science building will house offices, nonmajor teaching labs, computer labs and general classrooms.

The addition will be one of the largest projects to be built during the 32-year history of the campus.

The design by Denver’s Anderson Mason Dale focuses on sustainability with a goal of achieving LEED-silver certification from the USGBC.

The expanded and updated facility, which serves the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, Metropolitan State College of Denver and the Community College of Denver, will meet the academic needs of an increasing student population on the campus.

The Ritz-Carlton Denver opened with much fanfare to the public in late January. The new five-star hotel was built by Denver’s Mortenson Construction, including the complete renovation of the street level, plaza level, mezzanine and the first 19 floors of the 1881 Curtis St. building.

Work completed by Mortenson included:

• Renovation of the main level of the hotel building, as well as the first 19 floors; all work was done while residents continued to live in and had access to their current homes on the 20th through the 37th floors of the building;

• The renovation of 10 existing elevators and the addition of an eleventh;

• The addition of a new 8,000-sq-ft grand ballroom;

• A completely redeveloped interior, including the installation of Spanish marble, doors from Asia, light fixtures and other features;

• The installation of a new fire alarm and sprinkler system;

• Upgrades to the building’s mechanical and electrical systems.

Earlier this year, Denver’s Hyder Construction topped out the $15-million, 104,000-sq-ft Zi Lofts project, located across from Coors Field at 2229 Blake St.

The last concrete pour on the seven-story, poured-in-place concrete structure was completed on Dec. 31. The mixed-use development includes traditional lofts, townhouses, retail and office space. Zi Lofts features 30 loft-style condos, 9 two-story townhouses and 5,500 sq ft of retail. The living spaces range in size from 850 to 3,000 sq ft.

Construction began in July 2007, with completion scheduled for this summer. OZ Architecture of Denver designed the project, and Infineum Properties LLC is the developer.

Denver’s JE Dunn Construction topped out SugarCube, a 10-story, mixed-use building near Market Street Station and the historic Sugar Building in downtown Denver.

The 195,405-sq-ft project at 16th and Blake streets will include retail on the street level, three levels of office space and six levels of luxury apartments. The 37 apartment units will range in size from 812 to 2,150 sq ft, with one or two bedrooms. The building will also feature a three-level, below-grade parking structure with 136 spaces.

Nearly 200 people attended the topping out, including representatives from the developer, Urban Villages Inc.; Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects, OZ Architects and JE Dunn Construction. The SugarCube project encompassed more than 348 days of construction and approximately 139,000 man-hours from its groundbreaking in 2006 to the topping out.

The project is scheduled for completion in June.

The Erie Community Library—the first for the town of 17,000 and the newest branch in the Weld Library District—opened in mid-January on a 5.5-acre site at 400 Powers St. in Erie.

Designed by Denver’s klipp, the 29,900-sq-ft facility features a dramatic entry canopy of metal and heavy timber detailing, an outdoor patio and Peace Garden, and a host of environmentally friendly elements designed to save the district thousands of dollars annually.

The library was designed and built to meet a LEED-silver rating based on the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED for New Construction Version 2.2. Green efforts are centered on mechanical, electrical and water-saving systems that will perform at least 15% better than non-LEED buildings.

The general contractor was Adolfson & Peterson Construction of Aurora.