DETROIT — Governor Jennifer Granholm has signed legislation for the expansion and renovation of the Cobo Conference Center located at One Washington Blvd. in Detroit. The legislation transfers ownership and operation of the facility from the city of Detroit to an undisclosed regional authority, and provides funding to pay for the expansion. Funding for the expansion extends taxes on statewide liquor sales and metro Detroit hotel/motel rooms until 2039 unless bonds to finance the project can be paid off before that date. Before construction can begin, a five-member governing authority must approve the project. All five members of the committee will have individual veto power over decisions in building and operation of Cobo Conference Center. Additionally, the Detroit City Council has 45 days to reject the plan before control transfers to the authority 90 days after the legislation becomes a law. Plans for the $279 million project call for an approximately 166,000-square-foot expansion to the existing 700,000-square-foot facility. Cobo Arena would be converted as part of the expansion project. The plan will also add meeting rooms and other improvements to the exhibition facility.
NAPERVILLE, ILL. — Rosemont, Ill.-based McShane Construction Co. has completed the multi-purpose Public Works Service Center on behalf of the city of Naperville. Situated on a 22-acre site, the 213,067-square-foot facility is located at 180 Fort Hill Dr. in Naperville. The building houses administrative and office areas; storage areas; welding, paint and sign shops; community meeting rooms; and a state-of-the-art fleet services center. Additionally, storage and office components were constructed within the building for Naper Settlement, the city’s living history museum. The building was constructed and designed to achieve LEED certification. Areté 3 provided architectural services for the project. The estimated cost of completing the project was not disclosed.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Construction has commenced for the $150 million Meadowlands Rail Station located in East Rutherford. Designed by Hasbrouck Heights, N.J.-based DMR Architects, the project is part of The Meadowlands Railroad and Roadway Improvement Project, a multi-agency effort to provide better mass transportation access to the New Jersey Meadowlands Sports & Entertainment Complex, which is currently under construction. The train station will allow passengers to travel from northern New Jersey, Midtown Manhattan and Long Island through the Secaucus Junction Transfer Station to the new stadium, as well as Meadowlands Xanadu, a $1.3 billion entertainment and office complex also under construction in the area. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is overseeing the project, which is scheduled for a June 2009 completion.
INDIANAPOLIS — Tikijian Associates has brokered the sale of Forest Manor Apartments located near 38th Street and Sherman Drive in Indianapolis. Hoosier Veterans Assistance Foundation (HVAF) has purchased the 40-unit property from Indianapolis-based Meridian Management for an undisclosed amount. The multifamily community has been converted into the Donald W. Moreau, Sr. Veterans House. Operated by the HVAF, the property provides housing, as well as a transitional program, for homeless Indiana veterans to help them become self-sufficient. The facility has been renovated, furnished and decorated, and is now equipped to house 40 veterans in need.
BOSTON — Construction has reached the halfway point for a five-story vertical addition to the existing, 10-story Tufts University School of Dental Medicine building, located at One Kneeland Street in the Chinatown neighborhood of Boston. The $64 million project will total 95,000 square feet; it will include two new clinical patient floors, an expanded simulation lab, teaching facilities, a continuing education conference center and administrative offices. It is also being constructed in anticipation of LEED certification. ARC/Architectural Resources Cambridge designed the project, and Boston-based Shawmut Design & Construction is serving as general contractor. Completion is scheduled for the end of the year.
PITTSBURGH, CALIF. — Sundt Construction Inc. has been selected by the Judicial Council of California to construct a $48.9 million courthouse building in Pittsburgh. The three-story, 75,000-square-foot Antioch Courthouse will feature seven courtrooms, judges’ chambers, administrative space, a library, conference rooms and a prisoner holding cell. The property will also feature a 2,900-square-foot green roof, which will be planted with a variety of native grasses. Designed by HOK, the building is slated to receive LEED Silver certification. Construction is scheduled to begin in February.
PITTSBURGH, CALIF. — Sundt Construction Inc. has been selected by the Judicial Council of California to construct a $48.9 million courthouse building in Pittsburgh. The three-story, 75,000-square-foot Antioch Courthouse will feature seven courtrooms, judges’ chambers, administrative space, a library, conference rooms and a prisoner holding cell. The property will also feature a 2,900-square-foot green roof, which will be planted with a variety of native grasses. Designed by HOK, the building is slated to receive LEED Silver certification. Construction is scheduled to begin in February.
DEDHAM, MASS. — Construction had begun for the new campus of The Rashi School in Dedham. Rashi is a Reform Jewish day school currently located in Newton, Mass. Its new 82,000-square-foot building will be located on 17 acres along the Charles River, adjacent to Hebrew SeniorLife’s NewBridge on the Charles continuing care senior housing project, which is also currently under construction. The new school will be home to approximately 300 students in grades K-8. It will feature classrooms with smart boards, wireless Internet access throughout the school, a fully equipped science lab, a 10,000-volume library, an art studio, a dedicated music room, community spaces for prayer and holiday celebrations, a performing arts auditorium, a regulation-size gymnasium, sports fields, two playgrounds, a room dedicated to before- and after-school programs, and outdoor classrooms and assembly spaces. The project is applying for LEED certification, and is scheduled to open in fall 2010. The project was designed by HMFH Architects, and Suffolk Construction has been selected as general contractor. The Rashi School was able to secure $23 million in tax-exempt bond financing for the project, which was issued by MassDevelopment and purchased from Century Bank. Zions Bank structured the tax-exempt bond issue on the …
DETROIT — A $145 million redevelopment of Detroit’s historic Argonaut Building is nearing completion. The 760,000-square-foot facility was donated by General Motors to the College for Creative Studies (CCS). The college will use the updated facility as a second campus site. Additionally, the project calls for the reorganization of the college’s existing campus in Midtown Detroit’s Cultural Center. Beginning this fall, the Argonaut Building will house undergraduate and graduate programs in design; community outreach activities; student housing; research and professional activities in the design fields; and a charter middle school and high school with a special focus on art and design. CCS programs and departments will occupy approximately 70 percent of the building, which was originally constructed by General Motors for its first research facility. The new campus will house all of CCS’ design-based majors, including transportation design, product design, interior design, graphic design and advertising design. Highlights of the renovation include the addition of a 300-bed student housing area, a conference center with a 400-seat auditorium and a 360-seat dining hall. The project began in May, and is being led by project architect Albert Kahn Associated. Eric Larson of Larson Realty Group is leading the development team, which includes …
HOUSTON — Groundbreaking occurred yesterday for the expansion of the historic Julia Ideson Library building, located at 500 McKinney, adjacent to Houston’s City Hall. The Spanish Renaissance-style building was constructed in 1926, but the Great Depression put plans for a south wing and rear garden on hold. New construction will complete these plans, comprising a three-story, 24,500-square-foot archival wing and a new garden that will include an outdoor reading room. In addition, the property’s existing landscaping will be upgraded and the public spaces of the original 61,7000-square-foot building will be restored. Existing space scheduled for renovation includes the second-floor reading room, meeting rooms, library offices and workspaces. The project is being completed in anticipation of LEED-Silver certification. Completion of the addition is scheduled for the end of 2009, and the restoration of the existing building is scheduled to begin in 2010. Houston-based Gensler is serving as project architect; Austin, Texas-based TBG Partners is serving as landscape architect; and the Houston office of SpawMaxwell is providing construction management services. Financing for the project was obtained by the non-profit group Julia Ideson Library Preservation Partners. The group launched a $38 million capital campaign in late 2006 to fund the project, and has …