LA CROSSE, WIS. — Wisconsin-based Eppstein Uhen Architects has been retained by the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse to supply programming and design services for a new student housing community. The new facility will house 500 residence hall beds, as well as associated program and community spaces, and permanent office space for the UW-La Crosse Office of Residence Life. Additionally, the building will include front desk and lobby areas, limited retail spaces, study and television lounges, laundry facilities and light recreation areas. The project is being designed to achieve LEED Silver Certification. The estimated cost of completion of the residence hall was not disclosed.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — The Dallas-based Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) North Texas Health Care System, along with the Dallas office of BremnerDuke Healthcare Real Estate, have broken ground for a new VA Outpatient Clinic in Fort Worth. Located at 2031 SE Loop 820, the new facility will total 239,256 square feet. Once it opens in 2010, it will be the VA’s largest leased space. It is replacing the existing 48,691-square-foot Fort Worth Outpatient Clinic located at 300 West Rosedale. It is expected that the new VA clinic will handle a workload of 165,238 visitors annually by 2025.
TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIF. — Straub Construction Inc. has selected KMA Architecture & Engineering to assist in the design coordination for eight sites within the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms. Currently under construction, the 14-site project will total 231,834 square feet when complete in April 2010. The 147-building project features 41 administrative buildings (32,640 square feet); nine maintenance structures (16,980 square feet); two large storage structures (8,500 square feet); 63 ISO containers (3,040 square feet); three CMS vaults (1,440 square feet); 12 restroom trailers (3,528 square feet); 13 armories (3,564 square feet); and 4 classroom buildings (7,274 square feet). The KMA project team consists of Jay Janda, Tim Rubesh and Alison Warren. RBF Consultants is providing civil engineering services, while Grace Evan Technical Services is providing engineering specification services.
ARLINGTON, VA. — Washington, D.C.-based Tompkins Builders begins construction in December on a 250,000-square-foot addition to the Army National Guard Readiness Center, located in Arlington Hall Station in Arlington. The $98 million project will be built to meet all force protection requirements and to achieve silver LEED certification. Delivery is expected in 2010.
BREWSTER, MASS. — Norwell, Mass.-based Acella Construction Corp. has completed construction for the Tom & Jean Yawkey Dormitory at Latham School in Brewster. The two-story, elevator-served dorm totals 9,600 square feet. It features basement storage and an unfinished second floor for future expansion. The building will be able to house 16 students and eight staff members. Acella partnered with Orleans, Mass.-based S.A. Architecture for the design/build process. Latham School is a program offered by Latham Centers that teaches students ages 8 to 22 who have experienced troubled histories or suffer from Prader-Willi Syndrome.
LAS VEGAS — CORE Construction–Nevada has completed the construction of Thomas O’Roarke Elementary School in Las Vegas. Located at 6002 S. Durango Dr., the 66,112-square-foot school features classrooms surrounding an exterior learning courtyard. Additionally, the company constructed playgrounds, parking lots and offsite improvements. JMA Architecture Studios provided architectural services for the $20.4 million project. The Clark County School District contracted CORE Construction for the project.
COLUMBIA, MO. — The University of Missouri-Columbia’s Brady Commons student center is undergoing a multi-phased renovation and expansion that will combine three existing buildings into a single 230,000-square-foot facility. Located at the center of the university’s Columbia campus, the new three-story building will house more than 500 organizations, several dining venues, student programming spaces and multiple lounges. The first phase of the project, which is slated for completion by the end of this year, will house the Center for Student Involvement. Phase II of the project includes the complete renovation of the existing Brady Commons building. St. Louis-based Gray Design Group has begun providing interior design services for the renovated facility. Upon completion of the second phase in 2011, Brady Commons will house the university’s Center for Social Justice, including the Women’s Center, Multicultural Center and Student Life office. A two-story commons area that will include dining venues with seating for more than 600 will connect the two buildings. KCI is the general contractor; Holzman Moss and Mackey Mitchell are the architects for the project. The estimated cost of completion was not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) has arranged the relocation of the Hunter College School of Social Work, located in New York City. The graduate school plans to sell its current building and land, located at 129 E. 79th St., to locally based The Brodsky Organization for $65 million. Brodksy will then construct a new facility for the school at Third Avenue, between 118th and 119th streets in East Harlem, at cost, receiving a lump-sum fee for administrative expenses. The new facility will rise eight stories and total 142,000 square feet, making it 32,000 square feet larger that the school’s current building. The building will be located on land currently owned by The Lois and Samuel J. Silberman Fund, in conjunction with the New York Community Trust. The state of New York has already appropriated $95 million to help complete the construction of the new building. CBRE’s Mary Ann Tighe, Stephen Siegel, Darcy Stacom and Joan Meixner represented Hunter College in the transaction. New York Community Trust was represented by Ira Schuman of Studley. Construction for the new facility will begin next summer, with completion expected in June 2011.
CLARK COUNTY, CALIF. — BJG Architecture + Engineering has broken ground for the construction of Clark County Fire Station #33, which is located on the Las Vegas Convention Center campus in Las Vegas. The $5.3 million, 14,000-square-foot facility includes a fourth bay for service vehicles. The additional space will also include an area designated for fire prevention personnel and future development. The station’s first two specialized engines will equipped to handle chemical, biological and radiological hazards and paramedic rescue. The project is being built through a partnership between Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), Clark County and the fire department. Clark County will fund the property and lease the facility from the LVCVA.
NASHVILLE, TENN. — Nashville-based R.C. Matthews has broken ground on a 90,000-square-foot building on the campus of Belmont University in Nashville. When completed in June 2010, the $30 million property will house the university’s pharmacy and physical therapy schools. The building will also include expansion space for the nursing and occupational therapy and the social work and psychology programs. A four-level parking garage will be constructed under the building. Earl Swensson Associates provided design work for the property.