GAINESVILLE, FLA. — A beam signing ceremony was held for the new Heavener Hall, the University of Florida School of Business Building. The $22 million project is set to begin its vertical construction. Orlando-based SchenkelShultz Architecture, in conjunction with Robert A.M. Stern Architects of New York, designed the building to achieve LEED-Gold certification. The 56,200-square-foot building will be located near the corner of University Avenue and 13th Street on campus. The project will include class rooms, study rooms, academic advisement areas, informal collaboration zones, a café on the ground floor and offices. The new building is slated for a September 2014 completion.
ANN ARBOR, MICH. — Real estate developer and alumnus Stephen Ross is giving the University of Michigan (U-M) $200 million, making it the largest single gift in the history of the university and Ross its largest donor, according to U-M. The money will be split between the university’s business school and the athletic department. Ross is the chairman and founder of New York-based Related Cos. The money will be used to create contemporary spaces for the nearly 6,000 students who take courses at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business and the 900-plus student athletes in all sports. In addition, scholarships will be available for students. Specific projects will be announced in the coming months. In 2004, Ross gave $100 million toward a new building and endowed operations for the business school, which was renamed in recognition of his gift. The building was completed in 2009.
WEBSTER, MASS. — CTA Construction has broken ground on a new $36 million, 109,067-square-foot elementary school for the town of Webster, a city located in southern Massachusetts. Designed by Dore & Whittier Architects, the new school will accommodate pre-kindergarten to 12th grade students and replaces the existing 50-year-old Park Avenue Elementary School. The new school will have state-of-the-art learning spaces, as well as special educational classrooms and include flexible class space. The school construction will be completed in three phases. Phase I includes the demolition of the upper portion of the existing building, followed by construction of the new building during phase II. The final phase includes the demolition of the lower portion of the existing building once the new building is complete. The project is targeting LEED Silver certification. Construction is slated for completion in summer 2015. Collaborative Partners is serving as project manager.
DENTON, TEXAS — GCC McCarthy Joint Venture II, a collaboration of mentor McCarthy Building Cos. Inc. and protégé GCC Enterprises Inc., has completed construction of the $12 million Army Reserve Center (ARC) in Denton, located approximately 40 miles north of Fort Worth. The project, which originally broke ground in April 2012, includes a 37,000-square-foot administrative and training center, an operational maintenance shop, storage buildings and support facilities. Professional Engineering Consultants and GLMV Architecture designed the ARC for LEED Silver certification. Construction was administered by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District.
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS — Texas A&M University has chosen Satterfield & Pontikes Construction for the $6.4 million renovation of Francis Hall on the College Station campus. The project, which will transform the building into the new home of the university’s construction science department, will include demolition of the building’s current interior; installation of new mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire alarm and communication systems; and the construction of an auditorium, exhibit hall, student lounge and conference room. Completion is expected in November 2014. The three-story Francis Hall was originally constructed in 1918.
CLEVELAND — Michael Baker Jr. Inc., an engineering unit of Michael Baker Corp., has been awarded a one-year, $4.5 million roadway and structure design services contract by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) for Phase II of the Lakefront West project on U.S. Route 6 in Cleveland. When completed, the Lakefront West Project will connect Cleveland's west side neighborhoods with the lakefront by creating multi-modal connections along the West Shoreway. The project transforms a 2.5-mile, 50-mph freeway into a scenic, tree-lined, 35-mph boulevard. Baker will provide roadway and structures design, traffic certification and analysis, maintenance of traffic and utility coordination and documentation.
HOFFMAN ESTATES, ILL. — Leopardo Cos. has started construction on four suburban Chicago municipal projects totaling $31 million. One of the projects includes the $15.5 million, 70,000-square-foot West Chicago Community Recreation Center at Reed-Keppler Park. The facility will feature a three-court gymnasium, three-lane elevated jogging track, large fitness equipment area, dance/aerobic studio and group fitness room and indoor playground. Leopardo also began work on the 11.2 million, 31,000-square-foot New Lenox Police Department, which will include a multi-purpose/training room and staff areas for code enforcement, investigations and command staff. The last two projects include the $2.2 million, 10,000-square-foot Bartlett Fire Station and the $2.1 million, 10,000-square-foot expansion of South Barrington Village Hall, a two-story, 7,000-square-foot police station.
MILWAUKEE — F.J.A. Christiansen Roofing Co. Inc., a branch of national commercial roofing provider Tecta America Corp., has completed the installation of a 100,000-square-foot rooftop athletic field in Milwaukee. The field, located on the top of a 780-car parking facility on the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) campus, will be used for collegiate soccer and lacrosse and other youth sports. The roof structure will also slow the rate of stormwater runoff. Hunzinger Construction Co. served as the general contractor for the project. Uihlein-Wilson Architects designed the athletic field. The development opened August 23.
HOUSTON — The Houston Independent School District (HISD) Board of Education has chosen construction management firm Kwame Building Group for four of its upcoming new construction and renovation projects in the Houston school district. The undertakings, valued at a total of $35 million, include two new Early College High Schools, major improvements for Washington High School and sizeable additions and repairs to Worthing High School. Construction is set to begin in 2014. These projects are part of HISD’s larger $1.89 billion bond program, which was approved by Houston voters in November 2012 and is scheduled to last eight years.
LEXINGTON, KY. — Skanska, a construction and development firm based in Stockholm, Sweden, has signed a contract with the University of Kentucky for the expansion and renovation of its Gatton College of Business and Economic building on its Lexington campus. The contract is valued at $53 million. The project will consist of nearly 59,201 square feet of additions and about 139,931 square feet of renovations. Skanska is expected to begin work on the project in November and wrap up construction in March 2016.