Tucson Activity Report

Health, Housing & Highways Keep Crews Busy

Tucson’s current activity is dominated by a $32.1-million psychiatric hospital, a $159-million residential hall for U of A and a $15.3-million downtown public housing project.

By Alan M. Petrillo

The largest projects underway in the Tucson region — even in the midst of a dramatic downturn in construction — center around health, housing and roadwork.

In the health arena, Pima County is building a Behavioral Health Pavilion, encompassing a three-story addition attached to the existing UPH Kino Hospital, as well as a separate two-story Crisis Response Center. DPR Construction Inc. of Phoenix is the general contractor for the $32.1-million project, with the Phoenix office of Gilbane Building Co. as project manager.

The three-story Behavioral Health Pavilion features a south-facing perforated aluminum screen that filters natural light while reducing energy loads. Image courtesy Cannon Design

Gretchen Frietsche, DPR’s project manager, says crews must work “around an existing hospital facility and coordinate closely because the first phase involves improvements around the emergency department.”

The three-story addition will have psychiatric inpatient facilities, and the existing emergency department will move into new quarters there. The separate Crisis Response Center is designed to be a 23-hour facility for counseling and outpatient psychiatric services.

The project was designed by Los Angeles-based Cannon Design and Tucson-based CDG Architects to minimize environmental impact. “The configuration of the buildings minimizes the land use while optimizing future campus growth,” says Jim Pricco, AIA, project manager with Cannon Design. “The articulation of the building’s massing minimizes heat gain and maximizes views and access to the outdoors.”

The Pavilion features a south-facing bronze-colored perforated aluminum screen that will allow in filtered light while reducing energy loads by up to 30%. “The screen complements the other exterior materials which include earth-toned, locally produced concrete block, light-bronze metal panels, flat, perforated metal screens and stucco.”

DPR Construction is also constructing a $14.1-million expansion to the Building 2 Laboratory and parking lot for the Oro Valley campus of biotech firm Ventana Medical Systems.

At the University of Arizona, freshman will get the benefit of living in the new Sixth Street Residence Halls upon completion in 2011. General contractor for the $159-million project is CORE Construction Services of AZ Inc. in Phoenix.

The $159-million Sixth Street Residence Halls at U of A are being built as six modules of varying heights that will contain a total of 1,088 beds for the freshman class of 2011. Image courtesy University of Arizona

Construction began in May, according to Debra Johnson, a senior architect for the university. The Tyndall site at Sixth Street and Euclid Avenue will have 719 beds in three modules of four, five and six stories. The Highland Avenue and Sixth Street building will have 369 beds in two, four-floor and one, six-floor modules.

The facilities will be in traditional dorm layout with double rooms, hall baths and spaces on each floor for study rooms and gathering areas, Johnson says.

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Designed by Colorado-based AR7 Architects, the project’s other amenities include recreation, media and great rooms on the first floor plus laundry facilities in the basement. The Tyndall site will also have exercise rooms on its second floor.

Johnson says the two structures will be the school’s first LEED-silver certified residence halls.

“They’ll be predominantly brick on the exterior of the buildings facing toward the campus and will have nice daylighting features, operable windows and be shaded with metal awnings on their south sides,” Johnson adds.

Passive water harvesting, low-flow shower heads and lavatory faucets and dual-flush toilets are some of the green features of the structures, along with solar water heating to satisfy 60% of the hot water needs at each site.

The city of Tucson will be the owner of the Martin Luther King Apartment Building at Depot Plaza being built next to the Ronstadt Transit Center in downtown Tucson, says Erik Johnson, project manager for Lloyd Construction in Tucson, the project’s general contractor.

The city-owned Martin Luther King Apartments will house senior and disabled residents in a structure respectful of the southwest heritage and historical context surrounding the project. Image courtesy Nelsen Partners

The six-story, $15.3-million building will hold 68 public housing units for senior and disabled residents and is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“The MLK Apartments represent an important piece in the redevelopment of downtown Tucson,” says George A. Melara, AIA, principal with Scottsdale-based design firm Nelsen Partners Inc. “The architectural design has a clean, contemporary aesthetic while respectful of the southwest heritage and historical context surrounding the project.”

The new, 285-space Depot Plaza underground parking garage will serve as the building platform, which will include all handicapped-accessible one-bedroom units ranging from 628 to 780 sq ft, each with a private outdoor patio or balcony. Common areas includes a computer lab and library, controlled-access lobby and a “roof-top garden area for the residents, complete with a water harvesting strategy,” Melara says.

“We had to demolish an existing structure and parking lot and then dig down 30 ft on the entire site to put in more than 90 caissons of different sizes for the parking garage,” Johnson says. “We hit water and old diesel fuel plumes from the former train station and had to remove them before putting in the concrete for the caissons.”

Now that the first-floor deck has been poured, Johnson expects the rest of the project to be comparatively straightforward. “Besides the site challenges, we had to work around the regular downtown activities and an operating bus depot next door,” he says, noting that once he gets 90 loads of steel onsite, he’ll breathe easier.

Other materials include synthetic stucco, honed masonry, glass, steel panels and canopies.

Other Tucson-area projects underway include the Interstate 10 widening at Marana, where a new interchange is being constructed at Twin Peaks Road at a cost of $50.4 million by Pulice Construction for the Arizona Dept. of Transportation; construction of a gravity sewer from Pima County’s Roger Road Wastewater Treatment Plant to the Ina Road Water Pollution Control Facility by Sundt Construction’s Heavy Civil Division, valued at $22 million to $27 million; and downtown Tucson infrastructure improvements being made by Archer Western for a contract price of $37 million.

Additional reporting by Scott Blair

Key Players

Behavioral Health Pavilion and Crisis Response Center
Owner: Pima County
Architect: Cannon Design; cdg architects
General Contractor: DPR Construction, Inc.
Project Manager: Gilbane Building Co.

Sixth Street Residence Halls
Owner: University of Arizona
Architect: AR7 Architects
General Contractor: CORE Construction Services of AZ.

MLK Apartments at Depot Plaza
Owner: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Architect: Nelsen Partners Inc.
General Contractor: Lloyd Construction

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