$450 Million Phoenix Children's Hospital Expansion

Phoenix Children's Hospital has selected HKS Inc. and Kitchell Contractors to serve as architect and construction manager, respectively, for its $450 million expansion.

The major expansion is the hospital's response to a growing pediatric population that is expected to top 1.5 million by 2030.

Construction plans include a new patient tower - bringing the total beds on campus from 235 to 377 - as well as an ambulatory care building west of the existing campus, a new main entry boulevard and an expanded parking garage. The 1.9 million-sq-ft expansion will encompass 45 acres. Planned with the concept of family-centered care in mind, the hospital set out to make the Phoenix Children's experience even better for families and patients.

On the Thomas campus, the addition of a new patient tower with all private rooms allows more privacy for families and patients during the hospital stay.

The extensive construction project will be completed in phases, without ever closing the hospital's doors.

"The phased approach of this construction was chosen because of its minimal impact on the delivery of care to patients," says Russ Korcuska, project director, Kitchell Contractors. "We will collaborate with the architect and facilities, clinical, and administration staff to maintain ongoing access to campus, ensure life safety and infection control requirements are met, and maintain a positive experience for the kids throughout the construction of the project - always maintaining patient care as the number one priority."

Construction will begin in December 2007, with an estimated completion of all components by 2012.

Firms to Design Dial's Corporate Facility

CH2M HILL Lockwood Greene, has been awarded a contract to design Dial Corporation's new headquarters and research and development facilities in Scottsdale. Partnered with Will Bruder Architects, the firms will design the new corporate facility to include 215,000 sq ft of office space, 125,000 sq ft of research and development facilities and structured parking for 1,000 automobiles.

Under the terms of the contract, CH2M HILL Lockwood Greene will provide master planning, architectural and engineering design, commissioning and qualification. Once complete in December 2008, the facility will serve as the corporate offices and innovation and product development hub for Dial, a subsidiary of Henkel KGaA.

The scope of work will include completing the full architectural and engineering design for these core areas, support spaces and utility areas.

Over-the-counter laboratories, development and testing areas will be designed to current good manufacturing practices standards as well as to comply with all federal, local, and corporate regulations. The research and development area will house analytical, microbiological and virology laboratories for analyzing Dial's product effectiveness. In addition, the facility will include a Product Evaluation Center where selected members from the general public will be able to sample Dial products and provide feedback.

Targeted for LEED certification, the facility will incorporate energy conservation and emphasize the natural state of building materials in the design. The design and site will allow for future expansion.

Nathan & Associates to Help Broker Mesa Land

The city of Mesa has hired local land brokerage company, Nathan & Associates Inc., to represent its interests in handling approximately 11,606 acres of city-owned land situated between Coolidge and Eloy in Pinal County.

Nate Nathan, president of Nathan & Associates Inc., along with sales associates Dave Mullard and Courtney Buck will work with the City of Mesa on the sale and master planning of the nearly 12,000 acres. The marketing plan for the land is currently under review by both parties. "We are looking forward to being a part of the development expansion of Pinal County through the sale and future use of The City of Mesa's land," says Nate Nathan, president of Nathan & Associates, Inc. "Although nothing is decided yet for this land, our goal is to ensure the end result will add a healthy and vibrant new area for Pinal County and its residents."

Summit Builders Breaks Ground
on Freedom Plaza Assisted Living

Summit Builders recently broke ground on an addition to the Freedom Plaza Care Center assisted living facility in Peoria, Arizona, located at 93rd Avenue and Thunderbird Road. The new wing will provide 40 additional assisted living units, common area courtyards, dining area and a kitchen within 30,000 sq ft. The project scope will also include a kitchen addition to the existing facility.

Construction is currently underway with anticipated completion in early fourth quarter. The Freedom Plaza Care Center addition is the third project Summit will complete for senior living developer American Retirement Corporation of Brentwood, Tenn. Summit also completed the two-story, 27,000-sq-ft addition to the same facility in 2003 and the Freedom Village addition in Chandler. Phoenix-based Orcutt/Winslow Partnership provided architectural services for all three projects.

Opus West Gets Underway on Toscana

Phoenix-based developer Opus West Corporation in a joint venture with Scottsdale-based RED Group LLC has broken ground on Toscana at Northern, the partnership's second independent living senior apartment community in Phoenix and their third in the state of Arizona. Located on the 5.7-acre site of the former Bud Brown's Barn at 909 E. Northern Ave., just east of North 7th St., Toscana at Northern will deliver 190 apartment units to north central Phoenix.

The development follows an amenity rich development approach similar to the Opus West/RED Group's popular McDowell Village property at McDowell and Granite Reef roads in Scottsdale. When completed in mid-2008, Toscana at Northern will offer one- and two-bedroom apartments with den options.

Just some of the services at the high end community will include daily meals, weekly housekeeping, a 24-hour staff, concierge, activities coordinator, a movie theater, pool, computer lab, fitness and wellness facilities and a full service beauty salon and day spa.

The architect for Toscana at Northern is Rich Barber of ORB Architecture LLC. The contractor is Opus West Construction Corp.

DPR Selected for Banner Estrella Expansion

Banner Health has selected DPR Construction Inc. as the general contractor for a $13.8 million expansion project that will add 36 more beds for medical, surgical and heart patients at Banner Estrella Medical Center. The project will increase the number of patient beds at the hospital to 208 beds when work is completed in January 2008.

DPR Construction was the original general contractor for Banner Estrella Medical Center. Dallas-based HKS, which has a Phoenix office, is the lead architect on the project. The project will involve the design and construction of 36 all-private rooms on the top floor of the hospital's six-story patient tower.

The floor currently exists as a shelled space requiring only interior improvements, so construction work is expected to have minimal impact on other floors. Of the 36 new beds, 24 will be licensed as medical/surgical beds, providing the hospital maximum flexibility in what types of patients can be cared for on this floor. A separate 12-bed telemetry unit on the new floor will be equipped for patients requiring heart monitoring.

First Arizona UltraStar Cinemas planned for Surprise

Glimcher Ventures Southwest LLC plans to develop the first mixed-use lifestyle and entertainment center in Surprise that will be anchored by the city's first movie theater, built by California-based UltraStar Cinemas. The $75 million, 37-acre project, named Surprise Pointe, will combine over 250,000 sq ft of retail shops, restaurants and a new, state-of-the-art UltraStar Cinemas 2,800-seat movie theater with 14 screens.

GVSW also announced the company's strategic venture with UltraStar Cinemas, which will make its Arizona debut at Surprise Pointe. GVSW and UltraStar Cinemas will unveil an Arizona rollout plan for additional movie theaters in the coming months. The companies plan to develop six theaters together over the next three years in the valley.

In addition to UltraStar Cinemas as the anchor tenant, GVSW is entertaining leases from Walgreens, Blue Burrito and Baskin Robbins. New tenant announcements are expected soon. Located on the southeast corner of Waddell and Litchfield roads, the two-phase development consists of approximately 20 acres in phase one and 17 acres in phase two. The center broke ground in May with completion of the first phase expected in March 2008.

Surprise Pointe is expected to bring approximately 500 jobs to the area and $37 million in fiscal benefits to the city of Surprise over the next 15 years.

Surprise is the second fastest-growing municipality in the greater Phoenix Metropolitan area.

Avnet Breaks Ground on New Facility

Avnet Inc., a global technology distribution and services company, broke ground on a new integration and logistics facility in Chandler. Ryan Companies US Inc. will develop and construct the approximately 228,000-sq-ft facility in the flex-industrial complex at Chandler Freeways Business Park and lease it back to Avnet. The building is scheduled for occupancy in May 2008. The facility will house a state-of-the-art integration center capable of building and shipping approximately 700,000 systems annually, in addition to a new warehouse dedicated to integration activities.

Located on a 13.11-acre site just south of SR 202 and east of I-10, Avnet's building will include a 183,061-sq-ft first floor to be used as an integration and logistics facility, and a 46,679-sq-ft second floor for office space. The project also includes parking for 479 cars, a recessed truck dock accommodating 14 truck bays, two drive-in dock doors, and a secured dock yard with guard house and motorized gates.

Ryan expects to receive the shell building permit later this month, and is managing all permits and approvals for the project. Balmer Architectural Group is the architect for the project. Bill Littleton of Colliers International served as broker.

State Transportation Board Awards Freeway Projects

The State Transportation Board gave the green light to several major freeway construction projects, including new carpool lanes and the addition of rubberized asphalt to new areas of Phoenix.

The board, which held its monthly meeting in Phoenix, approved contracts for the following projects, which are scheduled to start by this summer:

A $40.2 million contract was awarded to Meadow Valley Contractors to add carpool lanes and other improvements to State Route 51 between Shea Boulevard and the Loop 101.

Pulice Construction was awarded $19.6 million to reconstruct the Interstate 17 interchange at Carefree Highway.

$9.1 million was allocated to add rubberized asphalt to several sections of freeway, including Interstate 10 between 19th and 27th avenues at the "Stack" interchange in Phoenix, Interstate 17 between 16th Street and Buckeye Road in Phoenix, U.S. 60 between Crismon Road and Siphon Draw Wash near Apache Junction, and the Loop 202 Santan Freeway between Kyrene Road and 48th Street in the Chandler and Ahwatukee areas. This contract was awarded to Fisher Sand and Gravel Company.

$8.3 million was allocated to construct a new Interstate 10 interchange at Bullard Avenue in Goodyear, awarded to FNF Construction.

The board also awarded a $40.5 million contract for a project to improve U.S. 60 into a four-lane divided highway between Florence Junction and the Queen Creek Bridge in Pinal County. The Arizona Department of Transportation says the 9.5 mile project is expected to take approximately two years to complete. The work will include the realignment of some local roads to match new median crossing locations. This contract was awarded to Kiewit Western Co.

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