World’s Largest Wind Tower Plant Comes to Colorado/CH2M Hill Completes Ford’s Theatre Rehabilitation/DU Soccer Complex Construction Under Way

PCL to Build World’s Largest Wind Tower Manufacturing Plant

Denver’s PCL Construction Services Inc. has been awarded the contract to build the Vestas Wind Turbine Tower Manufacturing Campus in Pueblo.

Once it’s complete in mid-2009, the tower manufacturing campus will be the largest of its kind in the world, occupying more than 600,000 sq ft and representing one of the largest single investments in Vestas’ history. When combined with its existing facilities in Windsor and the newly planned facilities in Brighton, Vestas will add 2,500 new jobs to Colorado.

The new campus on the southern edge of Pueblo will include a 400,000-sq-ft production facility for the tower sections, a 140,000-sq-ft surface treatment plant for finishes, a 43,000-sq-ft internals building for hardware installation, and administrative offices.

Vestas opened its first North American facility earlier this year in Windsor. The new Pueblo project will be one of four total production facilities in Colorado, amounting to millions of dollars in capital investment by Vestas. Other facilities include two planned for Brighton—one for wind blade production and another for nacelle assembly.

TwentyOne 01 on Market Opens in Denver Ballpark Neighborhood

Alliance Residential Co. recently opened TwentyOne 01 on Market, a Broadstone Community in downtown Denver, the newest apartment building to open downtown and the first since 2006.

TwentyOne 01 on Market is located in the Ballpark Neighborhood at the corner of 21st and Market streets just one block east of Coors Field and four blocks north of the city’s central business district.

In total, TwentyOne 01 on Market offers 226 rental units in a mixed-use development encompassing the rehabilitated, historic 60,000-sq-ft Piggly Wiggly warehouse and a new eight-story midrise. Alliance acquired the land in June 2006 and worked closely with city officials to preserve the existing Piggly Wiggly warehouse and incorporate it into the new development.

The project also contains 6,600 sq ft of neighborhood retail space. Ivins Design Group of Denver is the architect. The contractor is GE Johnson Construction Co. of Colorado Springs and Denver.

Ford’s Theatre Rehabilitation Complete

CH2M Hill, a global full-service engineering, procurement, construction and operations firm headquartered in Denver, completed construction management services for the 17-month rehabilitation of Washington, D.C.’s historic Ford’s Theatre, site of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.

The $13.5-million project was completed on time, enabling the theater to reopen in time for scheduled performances and the bicentennial celebration of Lincoln’s birthday on Feb. 12.

The historic theater needed major rehabilitation to bring it into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and to modernize facilities and infrastructure while maintaining its historical integrity.

CH2M Hill also completed the design for a $4-million rehabilitation of the Lincoln Memorial’s east plaza, which transformed an aging asphalt roadway into an attractive pedestrian plaza and installed permanent infrastructure to addresses 21st Century security concerns. More than 14,000 pressed concrete pavers were installed to create a public gathering area that limits vehicle access.

New DU Complex Marks GTC’s 1,000th Project

The start of the University of Denver’s new soccer complex and the Art Department annex, which broke ground in February, marks Longmont-based Golden Triangle Construction’s 1,000th project.

Designed by DU campus architect Mark Rodgers and Denver’s Tryba Architects, the new $6.3-million soccer complex will include a stadium that can hold 2,000 fans. It will be constructed just east of the Denver campus’ current soccer field, on the west side of the Daniel L. Ritchie Center, and will have lights for night games, an advanced drainage system and a synthetic turf practice field.

The new complex will also include a 14,000-sq-ft training facility that will offer first-rate strength and conditioning amenities like warm-up, weight lifting, cardio and rehabilitation areas, including 12 Olympic lifting stations. It will also have a video room and a 60-yd turf field that can be used for speed and agility exercises. In addition to the men and women’s soccer teams, the new facility will serve all of DU’s varsity athletic programs.

The Art Department annex will be a new 12,000-sq-ft building housing classrooms, art studios and some offices. The soccer stadium is scheduled to be complete in August, in time for the DU men’s home game against Stanford on Aug. 29. The strength and conditioning facility and art annex are both scheduled to open a few months later in November.

Centerra’s Rangeview Three Awarded LEED Certification

Centerra’s Rangeview Three in Loveland has been awarded LEED Silver certification under the LEED for Core & Shell by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Rangeview Three is McWhinney’s first LEED-certified building at Centerra, a 3,000-acre master-planned community located at the intersection of Interstate 25 and Highway 34.

McWhinney planned Rangeview Three, a 61,000-sq-ft, Class A office building, with an emphasis on tenant health, comfort, productivity and preserving the surrounding natural environment. Temperature, humidity and ventilation comfort design, use of low-emitting volatile organic compound materials, maximum natural lighting and outdoor views, bicycle storage, showers and changing rooms all contribute to healthy, productive tenants.

The project team for Rangeview Three included RNL, Drahota Construction, Adonia Professional Services, BHA Design and Tait Engineers.

Hirschfeld Tower Completed 60 Days Ahead of Schedule

Pinkard Construction Co. of Lakewood, working with Parikh Stevens Architects of Denver, completed the $15.3-million Hirschfeld Tower affordable-housing high-rise renovation in February.

The nine-story, 143,070-sq-ft facility was a complete gut and renovation for the Housing Authority of the City and County of Denver. Pinkard completed the project 60 days ahead of schedule.

The interior build-out included new framing, furring, ACT, drywall and painted concrete ceilings, carpet, tile and sheet vinyl. The facility also received a new main lobby, community room, laundry, common areas and storage area expansions, all constructed with structural steel, glass, and EPDM roof system.

Exteriors received new paint, brick and metal-panel skin. Site demolition and reconstruction included new asphalt parking, landscaping, sidewalk, curb and gutter, and concrete areas. New electrical and mechanical systems include a geothermal water-source heat pump system.

This project included Davis-Bacon wage rates and strict MBE/WBE goals. Pinkard originally built the structure in 1967 for $1.9 million.

Construction Complete on Brighton’s Kiddie Academy

BleekerVigesaa General Contractors Inc. of Brighton has completed construction on a new state-of-the-art childcare center in Brighton that offers care for up to 162 children, ages six weeks to 12 years old.

This first-of-its-kind childcare learning center occupies 9,504 sq ft with nine classrooms.

Throughout the center, all materials, fixtures, finishes and equipment have been designed specifically by Kiddie Academy with children in mind. Everything within the center is meant to encourage learning and meet the needs of children, with a focus on their safety and well being.

For child protection, a state-of-the-art electronic access door-lock system requires authorized codes for child check-in and check-out. A closed circuit security camera and a Web-based monitoring system allow parents to observe their children at the center online while the parents are at work.

Three playgrounds that total 6,000 sq ft are age appropriate-one for toddlers, one for ages 3 to 5, and a third for ages 5 and above. For additional safety, the ground cover is poured-in-place, bonded rubber mulch.

New Johnstown Town Hall Designed to Serve the Public

Construction is complete on the new 17,600-sq-ft, $3.5-million town hall in Johnstown, southwest of Greeley, bringing the town’s municipal employees under one roof.

Andrews & Anderson of Golden worked with staff members and the town council to design the building based on a 20-year growth plan.

Johnstown, which was platted in 1902, has tripled its population in the past decade, according to town records.

The new town hall design is based on a triptych-a composition of three integrated sections that serve the community, the council and the staff. The two-story lobby space welcomes the community into the building with a stone fireplace and clear paths to administrative services. On the east side of the lobby, a new state-of-the-art council chambers serves as the forum for public meetings. The lobby’s west side is flanked by a two-story office wing, which houses the town’s support services.

Located at 450 S. Parish St., near the police facility and library, the new town hall provides a centralized location for administrative services. The project was entirely paid for by house funds, keeping the city from incurring debt.

Mark Young Construction Inc. of Frederick served as the general contractor for the project.

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