Libeskind Hired for Civic Center Project/Taylor Kohrs Changes Hands/Continuum Announces Plans for Belleview Station

Thanks to a major gift from the M.D.C. Holdings Inc. Charitable Foundation, the non-profit Civic Center Conservancy was able to hire Studio Libeskind to create conceptual schemes for new Civic Center Park features.

Civic Center Park to Get Makeover

Even though the Denver Art Museum's Hamilton Wing is set for completion in the fall, architect Daniel Libeskind isn't done with Denver yet.

Libeskind has been hired by the non-profit Civic Center Conservancy to develop conceptual schemes for several new features at Civic Center Park. Members of the Civic Center Conservancy were actively involved in extensive public meetings conducted by Denver Parks and Recreation this past year to complete the park's master plan.

The plan includes recommendations to add new components such as festival gardens and a central gathering space with interactive water features, open air pavilions, plazas, water-conserving gardens and creative flourishes to encourage more families and residents to visit the park. The intent is to preserve the park as a Denver landmark and guide its evolution into the 21st century.

The conservancy's fundraising efforts resulted in a major gift from the M.D.C. Holdings Inc. Charitable Foundation that allowed it to hire Libeskind. City funds will not be used for the design.

Brendle APV Completes Transition to RNL Design

The union of two leading Denver-based architectural firms was completed late last year, as the staff of BrendleAPV moved into the offices of RNL Design.

Michael Brendle, FAIA, joined RNL as a design principal. Additional BrendleAPV staff that relocated to RNL include Tania Salgado, senior designer; Carsten Boschen and Trent Frick, architectural interns; and Erin Rolf, marketing coordinator.

Taylor Kohrs Now Under New Ownership

Scott Kohrs and Colorado real estate veteran Mike Byrne bought Taylor Kohrs Construction Co. last fall. The pair purchased the company from Taylor Construction Group of Des Moines, the parent company of Taylor Kohrs - formerly Taylor Ball - since its inception in Colorado in 1983.

Byrne brings seasoned real estate development, management and investment experience to the general contracting and construction management firm, said Kohrs, who has headed the company's Colorado operations since 1999.

Kohrs' entire professional career has been with the Taylor Construction Group, which he joined in 1986 as a project engineer upon graduating from college. In 1999 he took over the Denver operation and has led the company to more than $250 million in sales in that time.

Byrne has completed real estate transactions totaling more than $275 million during his career. He has been active in Colorado real estate since 1980, including serving as president of Western Property Advisors and GT Land Inc.

Westminster Wins Top Honor at U.N. Competition

The city of Westminster took the top award for environmentally sensitive practices and a silver award in its population category during the fall finals of LivCom, an international competition sponsored by the United Nations to promote livable, sustainable communities.

Competing against 53 finalists from 20 countries, Westminster won the award for Environmentally Sensitive Practices, one of five main judging categories. Judges recognized the city for excellence in water and waste management and land use and protection. In addition, the city took an overall silver award in its population category - 75,001 to 200,000.

Westminster was the only city from the United States to make it to this year's finals. Past U.S. winners include Honolulu, Chicago and Seattle.

Landscape Contractor Receives National Award

CoCal Landscape's Longmont office received a Merit Award for Landscape Excellence from the Professional Landcare Network.

The award was given for the company's work on Pratt Business Park in Longmont, a 40-acre business campus owned and managed by Circle Capital Partners. The landscaping contains a central irrigation system, controllers, more than 1.6 million sq ft of turf and 1,500 flats of annual flowers planted in 40 distinct beds.

Continuum Acquires Land for Belleview Station TOD

Continuum Partners LLC reached agreement in principle last fall to purchase a significant part of the land adjacent to the Belleview light rail station at the northwest corner of Interstate 25 and Belleview Avenue.

The company will develop Belleview Station, a transit-oriented community that will include high-density residential, retail, hotel and office components. Construction of the first elements of the project adjacent to Belleview Avenue is expected to begin in fall 2006.

Continuum is also working on plans to develop the core of the project and the area around the light rail station - 18 acres representing approximately 2.3 million sq ft of retail, office, hotel and residential real estate. At full build-out, the entire project will include more than 5 million sq ft of mixed-use space.

Monroe & Newell Relocates to Frisco

The Summit County office of Monroe & Newell Engineers Inc. has moved from Dillon to Frisco.

The firm's new street address is 619 Main St., Suite 7. The mailing address is P.O. Box 295, Frisco, 80443. The telephone numbers are 970-668-3776 and 970-668-3789.

Denver's Arraj Courthouse Receives International Honors

The Alfred A. Arraj U.S. Courthouse in Denver was recognized last fall at the 2005 World Sustainable Building Conference in Tokyo. The courthouse - designed by Denver's Anderson Mason Dale Architects in association with HOK - was the only selected submission by the 2005 U.S. Team for the Green Building Challenge, an international initiative to evaluate and improve the performance of buildings worldwide.
Completed in 2002, the 10-story, 318,850-sq-ft courthouse contains 10 district, four magistrate and one special proceedings courtrooms, the clerk of the court and the U.S. Marshals' Service. Sustainable design features include extensive use of daylight, low-emitting materials, wood from sustainably managed forests, high-performance glazing and evaporative cooling.

It was built by Denver's PCL Construction Services.

KL&A Structural Engineers Opens Denver Office

KL&A Inc. Structural Engineers and Builders, based in Golden and Loveland, has opened a Denver office at 1420 18th St. The telephone number is 303-384-9910.
Headed by CEO Gregory Kingsley, the Denver team provides full-service structural engineering and steel construction services.

Carter & Burgess Offers New Utilities Services

Carter & Burgess-Denver has expanded its capabilities to offer clients subsurface utilities engineering services, a new program that provides cost savings to clients through benefits such as reducing unforeseen utility conflicts, redesigns and relocations; reducing utility-caused project delays and contractor claims; and increasing project safety.

The new services complement the firm's survey and photogrammetry units with utility design, location, permitting, coordination, inspection, cost analysis and inventory.

SUE is endorsed by the Federal Highway Administration, the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials.

Urban Pacific Builders Makes First Move into Denver

Urban Pacific Builders, based in Long Beach, Calif., has announced plans for its first project in the Denver metro area, a new town center in Westminster that will eventually include up to 750 new homes.

Boulder's OZ Architecture is designing the project, which will include a mix of for-sale townhomes, lofts and flats, along with 24,000 sq ft of neighborhood retail space. The 15-acre site is located next to the Westminster Promenade retail and entertainment complex.

The company expects to start construction on Phase I - 209 residential units - early this year, with completion in 12 to 14 months. Total build-out is estimated at three to five years.

Milestone CM Becomes MCM Inc.

Milestone CM Inc., a mid-sized commercial construction company based in Centennial, has changed its name to MCM Inc. The name change does not affect the company's oval "M" logo, but the firm's Web site is now found at www.mcmcolorado.com.

Denver and Pueblo Accounting Firms Merge

Wilson Downing and Associates, a metro-Denver-based accounting firm; and the Pueblo office of accountants Grimsley White & Co. LLC have merged. The new firm is called Wilson Downing Group LLC. Both firms have extensive experience serving clients in the construction industry and are members of the Colorado Contractors Association. Their client lists include heavy civil, commercial and industrial contractors, as well as a variety of specialty subcontractors.

MCG Architecture Relocates to New Office in Englewood

MCG Architecture's Colorado office has moved to a new location in Englewood that offers easier access for employees, clients and subcontractors, particularly those who use public transportation.

The new office is located at Office Plaza 1 at Inverness, 10333 E. Dry Creek Rd., Suite 270, Englewood, 80112.

Although additional space was a major consideration because of increased workload and staff, the company's leaders chose the new class A office for its easy access to the Southeast Corridor light rail line that will begin running later this year.

Westminster Honors Pinkard Construction

Pinkard Construction Co. was one of 21 companies honored at the city of Westminster's 2005 business appreciation lunch, an annual event that recognizes all businesses, welcomes new companies and thanks those who have made a long-term investments in the city.

Pinkard Construction was honored for the 25 years it's been doing business in Westminster.

Terracon Handling Materials Testing, Geotechnical Engineering at MCR

Poudre Valley Health Systems selected Terracon Consultants Inc. as the geotechnical and materials testing engineer for the Medical Center of the Rockies, a 91-acre campus under construction at the northwest corner of Interstate 25 and Highway 34.

Terracon engineers performed the comprehensive geotechnical evaluation for the medical center, which identified subsurface conditions requiring a deep foundation system to transfer expected building loads to the underlying bedrock. The firm also assisted in the design of a comprehensive under-drain system to intercept groundwater and accommodate basement construction.

Quality Electric Chosen for New Weld Central High Design-Build Project

Quality Electric Inc. in Thornton was chosen to provide design-build electrical contracting services for the new Weld Central High School near Keenesburg. The Neenan Co. is the architect and general contractor for the project.

The 171,000-sq-ft high school will include a "main street" corridor designed with a 1950's-retro style, two gymnasiums, several dedicated computer classrooms, a black box theater and a 500-seat auditorium.

CFC Construction Awarded Bear Crossing Townhomes

CFC Construction was awarded the Bear Crossing townhomes project in Winter Park.
The $15.7 million project consists of 56 luxury townhomes in 2 three-story buildings. Features will include high-volume ceilings, allowing for over-height glass; double master suites; high-end finishes, including hardwood floors, fireplaces, solid wood cabinetry, granite counter tops, hot tubs, vaulted ceilings; and spacious open-floor plans.
Baker Hogan + Houx in Breckenridge is the architect for the project, scheduled for completion in June 2007.

studioINSITE Awarded Citation for Creighton University Project

Denver's studioINSITE was awarded a Citation in Landscape Architecture for the Creighton University California Street Mall Redevelopment project. The firm was the sole winner in its category of the top national award and one of only 12 citation recipients among all categories.
The mall redevelopment focused on activating the important core of the campus and integrating the surrounding built environment into a hub of lively social interaction and efficient pedestrian movement. Plans are now under way to extend the mall to both the east and west to unite the entire campus through a consistent and dynamic celebration of the outdoor campus environment.

FCI Constructors Lands Two First Place AGC Build San Diego Awards

The San Diego Chapter of the Associated General Contractors recently recognized Longmont-based FCI Constructors with two first-place Build San Diego Awards.
Each winning project - the new North Torrey Pines Bridge on Highway 101 and the La Jolla Cove Wall and Bluff Improvements at the beach in La Jolla - brought home the top award in their respective categories, Heavy/Highway and Unique Small Public Project.

Aurora Water Selects Arber for Kings Pointe Wastewater Project

The city of Aurora Utilities Department - now known as Aurora Water - chose Richard P. Arber Associates to provide preliminary and final design of the Kings Pointe Wastewater Services project.

Kings Pointe is a 1,035-acre development located at E-470 and Parker Road in southeast Aurora. The project consists of four wastewater lift stations, 16,700 ft of forcemains and 18,000 ft of gravity lines to provide wastewater service to a planned residential community.

Wastewater from Kings Pointe will be pumped by the lift stations through the Aurora system to the Metro Wastewater Reclamation Facility in Commerce City for treatment. Improvements to Aurora's wastewater collection system will also be made as part of this project.