HIALEAH GARDENS, FLA. — Tilt-Con Corp. has completed tilt-up work for the Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ 326,726-square-foot Hialeah Gardens Senior High School. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based James A. Cummings serves as general contractor of the project, which spans 56 acres on Okeechobee Road in Hialeah Gardens. Coral Gables, Fla.-based architect Spillis Candela designed the project.
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA. — Hampton Roads Church of Christ has purchased a 3,200-square-foot former church property from The Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia for $950,000. The building sits on 4.5 acres at 2520 Holland Rd. in Virginia Beach. Robert Thornton of Thalhimer’s Virginia Beach office brokered the sale.
ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Community College has broken ground for the new Harrison Education Center, a two-story, 30,265-square-foot facility located at 3140 Cass Ave. in St. Louis. The $7.5 million project will include an art studio, a general science lab, a multi-purpose community room, computer labs, classrooms, a bookstore, a commons area, an outreach center and administrative offices. It will replace the current, smaller Harrison Education Center that is located on Natural Bridge Road. The project is seeking LEED-Gold certification. Completion is scheduled for May 2010. Locally based KAI Design & Build is serving as project architect, interior designer, project manager and engineer. Locally based Kwame Building Group is serving as construction manager and owner’s representative.
FISHERS, IND. — Indiana Tech, a Fort Wayne, Ind.-based private university, has added a new campus located in Fishers. The campus is located at 10765 Lantern Rd. and will primarily house an extension of the school’s College of Professional Studies, an accelerated program that caters to working adults. The Fishers campus is also being positioned as the center for Indiana Tech’s graduate studies program in the greater Indianapolis area. Yumi Prater with Indianapolis-based Resource Commercial Real Estate assisted with site selection and lease negotiations on behalf of Indiana Tech. The facility is expected to open in June.
FORT HOOD, TEXAS — The federal economic stimulus package will provide $621 million for the construction of a new military hospital at Fort Hood. The base’s current hospital, the five-story Carl R. Darnell Army Medical Center, was constructed in 1964. It has the capacity to accommodate 30,000 troops but serves almost twice that amount, as well as military families and veterans. The new medical center is expected to be able to serve 55,000 soldiers, 67,000 military families and 52,000 veterans. Construction plans were not released.
DALLAS — The Woodall Rodgers Park Plaza Foundation is set to receive $16.7 million in federal stimulus funds toward the construction of a deck plaza over the Woodall Rodgers Freeway in downtown Dallas. The Texas Department of Transportation Commission awarded the funds. The project will connect downtown, the Arts District, Uptown, and Victory Park, and a 5-acre urban park called The Woodall Rodgers Park will be built on top of the deck plaza structure. Plans for the $80 million deck park include jogging trails, a dog park, a children’s playground, a restaurant, a performance pavilion, a water sculpture, and an area for games. The Office of James Burnett, in conjunction with engineering firm Jacobs Carter Burgess, is designing the park. Bjerke Management Solutions is project manager. The Woodall Rodgers Freeway Deck Plaza is funded and developed through a public/private partnership including the Texas Department of Transportation, the City of Dallas, the North Central Texas Council of Governments, and the private sector’s Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation. Utility construction began in February; deck construction is slated for late summer or early fall. The shovel-ready transportation enhancement project is estimated to create 1,000 immediate jobs and stimulate additional economic development and job growth …
EL CAJON, CALIF. — Ledcor Construction Inc. has been selected as general contractor for the development of a Public Safety Center, which will be located at 100 Civic Center Way in downtown El Cajon. The five-story, 119,392-square-foot facility will feature 12 detention cells, evidence storage space, an indoor shooting range, administrative offices, an emergency operations center, a communication center and crime scene investigation laboratories. Construction is slated to begin in May with completion scheduled for May 2011. KMA Architecture & Engineering is providing architectural services for the $40 million project, which is being developed by the city of El Cajon.
ATLANTA — The Durham, N.C.-based architecture firm The Freelon Group has been selected to partner with Atlanta-based HOK to serve as the architect of record for the $125 million Center for Civil & Human Rights. The 100,000-square-foot property, located at the intersection of Ivan Allen Boulevard and Centennial Olympic Park Drive in Atlanta, will feature museum exhibits spanning from the pre-Civil Rights days to the modern struggle for equal opportunity. The Freelon Group’s design was picked by the center’s board of directors from a finalist panel of five renderings. The selection took into account functionality, aesthetics, cost and public feedback. Groundbreaking is scheduled for this winter, and the center will open in 2012.
WICHITA, KAN. — Lawrence, Kan.-based Princeton Children’s Center has expanded into the Wichita market with the opening of a 15,720-square-foot facility. The day care center will cater to children from ages 6 weeks to 5 years. Greg Cromer with the Lawrence office of American Real Estate & Investments arranged the transaction; construction financing was provided by Nulty Construction. The day care chain plans to expand into other Midwest cities.
FARMERS BRANCH, TEXAS — Groundbreaking has occurred for the new Workforce and Continuing Education Building at Brookhaven College in Farmers Branch. The $6 million project, which was designed by Dallas-based SHW Group, consists of a 28,500-square-foot education facility. It will feature more than 15 classrooms, a computer lab, four multipurpose rooms, two conference rooms, a lobby area, break stations, offices, and outdoor patios and gardens. The building will also contain sustainable elements, including the use of local construction materials, low VOC paints and sealants, a reflective rooms and north-facing glass windows. Completion is scheduled for January 2010.