Intel Corp.'s new one million-sq.-ft. wafer chip manufacturing facility will occupy a 131-acre site in Chandler. The 60-ft-tall building is a combination of steel-frame and concrete pre-cast tilt-wall construction with a glass, masonry, and metal panel skin. The structure is supported by over 800 concrete columns, with shear walls and structural steel brace frames. The eight-level building, two of which are below grade, will become Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel's sixth 300-mm wafer facility. It's expected to create up to 1,000 new jobs and a $2.6-billion annual economic impact.

 

advertisement

2. Metro Light Rail: Line Sections 1-5 & Town Lake Bridge
Construction Cost: $343.2 million
Started: January 2005
Target Completion: 2008
Owner: Valley Metro Rail, Inc.
Design: Parsons Brinckerhoff; Gannett Fleming; URS Corporation; AZTEC Engineering;
David Evans & Associates; Stantec; Jacobs Engineering;
HDR; TY Lin International
General Contractors: Kiewit Western (Line 1); Herzog Contracting (Line 2); Archer Western Contractors (Line 3); Sundt/Stacy & Witbeck, a joint venture (Lines 4/5); PCL Civil Constructors, Inc. (Bridge)

The five line sections and bridge over Tempe's Town Lake that comprise the first phase of the Valley's Light Rail project encompasses 20-mi. of track stretching from north Phoenix to west Mesa. Construction activity includes: utility relocation; demolition and reconstruction of streets, curbs, sidewalks and streetscapes; pouring the concrete foundations for the embedded rail track, 27 stations and hundreds of overhead power system posts; and laying the track. The 1,531-ft. long bridge features 11 piers and 42 steel trusses up to 160-ft. long.

The Scottsdale Waterfront is a 1,100,000-sq.-ft. mixed-use development made up of office, residential and retail elements. It is located on an 11.3 acre site bordering the Arizona canal in downtown Scottsdale. Phase I consisted of two and three-story office and retail buildings totaling 200,000-sq.-ft. Retail space is concentrated on the first and second floors with office space on the second and third levels. Two stories of underground parking will provide for approximately 650 vehicles. The second phase consists of two residential towers housing 198 luxury condos. Each tower will rise to 13 stories, and features residences ranging from 1,100 to 5,000-sq.-ft. The average unit sale price is $1.1 million.

This project encompasses a new 2.1 mile freeway extension north of University Dr. to south of Southern Ave, a new one-mi. freeway section from Southern to Baseline avenues, widening portions of US-60, and completion of directional ramps at Loop 202 and U.S.-60. New freeway sections will be six-lane urban divided roadway with collector distributor roads and will include a total of 15 concrete bridges between the sections. Other construction includes 3.7-million cu.-yds. of excavation, 17 reinforced concrete box culverts and 515,000 sq. ft. of retaining and sound walls.

Phase 2 of Hayden Ferry includes a 12-story, 300,000-sq.-ft. Class A office building, a three-story retail/office building and a four-level addition to an existing parking structure. In addition, one level of underground parking will sit below a 12-story office tower and retail/restaurant component. Edgewater at Hayden Ferry Lakeside is the first of four residential towers planned, each with its own name and identity. The 8-story, 40-unit condominium tower features units ranging in size from 1,136 to 3,166-sq.-ft. Bridgeview at Hayden Ferry Lakeside features 104 luxury condominiums in a 12-story tower, each with a private balcony. The units will range in size from 1,100 to more than 5,000 square feet and will be priced from the high $300,000 to $4.7 million. .

Banner Health's new 360,000-sq.-ft. greenfield Gateway Medical Center in Gilbert consists of a five-story in-patient tower and a two-story diagnostic and treatment building with a full basement. The facility will include 171 beds.

This project is a 370,000-sq.-ft., three-story, 174-bed hospital and has been designed for a future vertical expansion. The structure is steel with both a masonry and EIFS exterior. The hospital is intended to be a full service facility including women's services, labor and delivery, general and cardiac operating rooms, cath labs, endoscopy, MRI and CT, physical therapy, an Emergency Department, ICU, bariatrics wing, and a geriatrics psychiatry wing.

The Apollo Riverpoint Center will serve as the future headquarters for the University of Phoenix Online, and is located at 32nd Street and Interstate 10. The 38-acre campus will include one 10-story office building and two six-story buildings including a full-service kitchen and dining facilities. The 600,000-sq.-ft. office buildings are cast-in-place, post-tensioned concrete frames, clad in copper, glass and precast panels. Two pre-cast parking structures will accommodate 4,500 vehicles.

The McAllister Academic Village will create facilities for both living and learning, mixing 1,500 beds with classroom, computing, and tutoring space. The project provides 508,000-sq.-ft. for residential space, 57,400 sq. ft. of academic space and another 20,000 sq. ft. of retail/service space. The residential space is clustered around a two-story lounge with a glass curtain wall that allows access to an exterior courtyard. The new Campus Math Solutions Center and Campus Advising Center straddle the outdoor student space.

The Ironwood-Gantzel Roadway Improvement Project is located primarily in the northern unincorporated region of Pinal County. Sundt's scope of work includes providing pre-construction services for the seventeen mile road widening through the Ironwood-Gantzel Road corridor that extends from U.S.-60 to Hunt Highway. The construction package will contain four phased packages: Phase A will be complete in early June 2006, and Phases B and C will start In early May 2006. Phase D will start early 2007.

Sky Harbor International Airport's explosive detection system project includes a sophisticated automated baggage conveyance system and building support facilities. The system screens all outgoing passenger luggage for the entire airport. The project includes work in nine separate locations throughout Sky Harbor Airport on both the land side and high security air side areas. Approximately half of the construction costs are for the automated baggage conveyance equipment design and installation.

Other: Breinholt Contracting; Carlson Masonry; Recon, Inc.; Meadow Valley Contractors FNF is performing road improvements, widening the freeway and adding rubberized asphalt to the U.S. 60 Superstition Freeway from Gilbert to Power Roads. This project is part of the Superstition Freeway Improvement Plan that began in 1993 after the Federal Highway Administration, ADOT and the Maricopa Association of Governments determined that there was an immediate need for improvements to the freeway due to mass development in the surrounding areas, as well as environmental concerns. Work on the project includes sound wall installments, embankments, excavation and the widening of three concrete bridges in the area. This massive widening project is especially challenging, as the freeway is to remain open during construction.

The development is Tucson's first true continuing care retirement community and will be a 27-acre development for adults 55-plus with services and amenities comparable to a fine resort. Amenities of the 625,589-sq.-ft. project will include fine dining, a state-of-the-art fitness center and spa, an 18-hole championship putting course and concierge. Splendido will feature 240 independent residences that include terrace homes and villas with private garages, as well as an on-site health center, assisted living apartments, memory-support and skilled nursing suites, library, wine room, billiards, restaurant, multi-purpose room and an arts and crafts room.

The project includes a new 7-story, 123-bed tower addition, a new wing to house the imaging department, several new support buildings including a 640-space parking garage, and an extensive remodel to the existing tower. Hospital functions continued uninterrupted during construction with minimal disruptions to service delivery. New construction also includes a 26-bed intensive care unit, two operating rooms and a stroke and cancer center to the medical center located in east Mesa.

Phase one of Westgate City Center includes 10 buildings on 223 acres, totaling 500,000 sq. ft. of retail, dining office and entertainment space. Two of the buildings will be four stories, plus one level of underground parking. Four additional structures will provide more retail space, while restaurants will occupy the two buildings closest to the Glendale Arena and one large plantation-style building in the center. Each structure has its own unique façade, mixing various elements such as white concrete, aluminum storefronts, wood trellis structures, architectural masonry, EIFS, glass and steel. One of the most unique aspects of Westgate is the signage, including six immense, 100-ft.-tall signs featured prominently throughout the site.

The mortgage and financial services company Countrywide is expanding its Arizona operations with two new buildings at a 26-acre site which is part of the Chandler Commons Office Park. Each building contains 175,000 sq. ft. of space and will eventually hold up to 2,500 employees. The class A office space and an adjacent 850-space parking garage will also offer employees a full-service cafeteria and fitness center.

The 307,850-sq.-ft. Coronado High School campus design arranges the two-story classroom building to enclose a courtyard. The circulation courtyard separates the classroom building from the gymnasium, cafeteria, auditorium/performing arts buildings and vocational classrooms, creating active and passive areas. The exterior materials of the new building will be contextually compatible and respective of the diversity of the Coronado Heights neighborhood. The auditorium and outside amphitheater will accommodate large performance activities with easy public access from the main parking lot and streets.

The Pinal County Adult Detention Expansion, located at the north edge of the Town of Florence, is part of a Pinal County Judicial master plan developed by Durrant Group. The cast-in-place concrete superstructure and masonry cells are supported by a foundation of 198 piers that extend 35 feet deep into the ground. The 177,022-sq.-ft. expansion used over 20,000 c.y. of concrete and 300,000 concrete blocks. The structure is built to accommodate 1,052 inmates with minimum, medium and maximum security components. Cells are arranged in a double tier layout over three stories. The project also included a new master control room and a complete security electronics upgrade to the housing units and staff areas in the existing 100,000-sq.-ft. facility. This extensive security upgrade will replace an antiquated system and failing components to create a state-of-the-art facility, and increase the safety, productivity and efficiency of Sheriff's Office personnel.

The redevelopment of the Arcadia High School campus presented a rare opportunity to reintroduce a modern facility into an established Phoenix suburban neighborhood. The goal of the Arcadia High School redevelopment project was to create an architectural solution supportive of the school's curricular goals and respectful of the Arcadia neighborhood heritage. The project creates a modern high school campus echoing traditions of the Arcadia neighborhood that accommodates a diverse student body of 1,400 students with a wide range of socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds while integrating a departmentalized academic structure while providing a safe and secure environment for students to learn and grow.

The Raintree Corporate Center will encompass 356,000-sq.-ft. within two three-story office buildings on an 11.3-acre site. The project also includes a 558,000-sq.-ft., six-level parking structure with three levels above and three below grade that will accommodate 1,321 vehicles.

 
Click here for More 2005 Top Projects>>