$1.5 Billion Ritz-Carlton Community to Debut in Arizona

Five Star Development's acquisition of a 123-acre site on the Scottsdale and Paradise Valley border will be master- planned as the world's first $1.5 billion Ritz-Carlton Community and mixed-use project. The developer purchased the land from an affiliate of Marriott International for nearly $100 million.

Located on the west side of Scottsdale Road between Lincoln Drive and Indian Bend Road, the parcel is situated in both Scottsdale and Paradise Valley and is the last large, undeveloped land in the area. The first mixed-use resort development of its kind under the Ritz-Carlton brand, the community will include a 225-room resort hotel, a residential development including villas, luxury homes and one-acre estate lots as well as a mixed-use component to be planned on Scottsdale Road.

All residents will enjoy membership in the Ritz-Carlton Residences Program, including full access to resort services and amenities, including concierge, room service, spa, fitness center, housekeeping and maintenance.

Palo Alto, Calif.-based Hill Glazer Studio is the resort architect. Five Star Development will own and develop the project while the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. LLC will operate the hotel and community under long-term management agreements.

The Pier at Town Lake Moves Forward

Following an extensive planning and review process, Pier 202 LLC, the developers of The Pier at Town Lake, received final approval from the Tempe City Council to move forward with the project. Initial infrastructure development is expected to begin later this year. Featuring a unique combination of urban and resort lifestyles, The Pier at Town Lake will include office, retail, residential and hospitality options for residents and visitors. The 27-acre mixed-use development will offer a pedestrian-friendly village showcasing prominent national retailers, boutiques and restaurants for residents and visitors to the area. The location is also a key benefit of the project, near downtown Tempe and Arizona State University.

At the project build-out, plans call for two Class A office buildings, a four-star hotel, 10 high-end residential buildings consisting of four high rises and six low-rise buildings and 98,000 sq ft of retail space.

The project was designed by MVE & Partners, while McCarthy Building Cos. was selected as the general contractor. Infrastructure work on the property, scheduled to begin later this year, includes utility locations, construction of the interior road, master plan hardscape and landscape.

Heery to Manage Expansion for Flagstaff Schools

Flagstaff Unified School District has selected Heery International to provide program management services for a $50 million expansion and renovation for the district's 18 K-12 schools. Voters in November 2006 approved a bond to fund the program. Work is underway on the improvements, which include expanded state-of-the-art information technology systems, classroom upgrades, playing field improvements, expanded kitchen and dining areas, building code compliance and campus infrastructure upgrades.

JW Desert Ridge Resort Expands

JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort has plans for an expansion of the hotel and resort's grand ballroom. Growth and activity at the resort drove the need for the expansion. The new Saguaro Ballroom is a $21 million, 59,200-sq-ft expansion of meeting and function space. Arizona's largest luxury resort, JW Marriott Desert Ridge, currently houses the two largest ballrooms in the state, featuring 200,000 sq ft of indoor and outdoor meeting space. The new ballroom space will include the 25,000-sq-ft Saguaro expansion, with 14,200 sq ft of pre-function space and 20,000 sq ft of scenic outdoor space. The Saguaro Ballroom, like the current Grand Canyon and Grand Sonoran Ballrooms, will be pillar-free to give guests maximum flexibility for exhibits and events.

Layton Construction Co. will serve as project construction manager.
Construction will be scheduled around resort guests, resort events and quiet hours. Additionally, the expansion requires the relocation of virtually all underground utilities such as power, telecommunications and water, and that transition must be as seamless as possible to avoid disruption of resort operations. Temporary walls will be constructed to confine construction work and noise to the new construction area, and plans are being refined to create appropriate traffic flows for resort guests. Construction is scheduled for completion April 2008.

Site Plans for CamelSquare at 44th Filed with City of Phoenix

The M3 Companies filed site plans with the City of Phoenix for CamelSquare at 44th, a luxury residential resort redevelopment project located on the northwest corner of 44th Street and Camelback Road. In its plans, The M3 Companies envisions a live-work community that includes a diverse blend of luxury housing, ranging from condominium homes to large estate homes on sites of 14,000-sq-ft and larger. Residents will enjoy amenities such as upscale retail shops and restaurants, a small boutique hotel and a wellness center. A limited inventory of office space will be provided to meet the needs of local businesses.

To preserve the community character, The M3 Companies has incorporated large buffer zones along the north and west sides of the property to provide a graceful transition between the new and existing homes, and has tiered the subsequent buildings to preserve view corridors of the Camelback Mountains.

Taller structures have been clustered toward the southeastern portion of the property.

CamelSquare at 44th will replace 12 aging and unsightly commercial buildings that currently provide approximately 300,000 sq ft of office and medical space with a blended resort environment that boasts ample expanses of green space and a lush citrus grove. The M3 Companies launched an ambitious community outreach program to solicit community feedback, and made ongoing revisions to their plans to reflect these suggestions and concerns.

City of Tucson Chooses GLHN to Provide PSTA Master Plan

GLHN Architects & Engineers Inc. has been selected by the City of Tucson to provide professional design services for enhancements to the Public Safety Training Academy on South Wilmot Road. Deliverables include a functional campus master plan and a coordinated utility development plan to meet the program needs of the academy, which is operated jointly by the Tucson police and fire departments, over the next 15 years. Campus enhancements will proceed in three stages.

Recently, GLHN completed a comprehensive utility development plan for the downtown Tucson redevelopment district, also known as Rio Nuevo, and a higher level high-speed utility master planning effort for the entire downtown area, including the redevelopment district and the area north of the Union Pacific Railroad, south of Cushing Street and west of the Santa Cruz River. The firm has provided similar long-range master planning services for over a dozen college and university campuses across the United States.

5055 East Washington Will be New Home to Firm's Phoenix Office

Irgens Development Partners has closed on land and is currently in development for 5055 East Washington, a three-story multi-tenant office building project in Phoenix. The 2.3 acre property is just northeast of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Property features include the 50,000-sq-ft Class A office building, close proximity to the new Valley Metro light rail line, a 126-stall parking deck on two levels and extensively landscaped grounds.

Butler Design Group of Phoenix is the project architect. Leasing for the property is currently underway, with office space available to accommodate tenants in the second quarter of 2008.

5055 East Washington is Irgens' second business venture through the Phoenix office. First Chandler Business Park, a 30,000-sq-ft multi-tenant office/warehouse project in Chandler, is expected to be complete by the end of 2007.

West Valley Hospital to Add Tower

Groundbreaking for a new six-story patient-care tower at Sun Health Del E. Webb Hospital began in June. When completed in 2009, the tower will distinguish the hospital as one of the Valley's largest. The new, 175,000-sq-ft, six-story tower will open on the north side of the hospital by early 2009.

When the first four floors of the new tower initially open, a total of 76 additional medical-surgical beds will become available as well as two more state-of-the-art surgical suites.

Included in the tower will be new peri-operative services for surgical patient admission, preparation and recovery. The hospital's licensed bed capacity will expand from 330 to 404. Inside, the tower will house an expanded emergency department, including four trauma rooms, to meet the demand of up to 82,000 patient visits annually.

Shelled-in tower space will allow for future construction of two medical/surgical floors, a 16-bed intensive care unit and additional surgical suites, eventually increasing the hospital's total bed count to nearly 500.

Unique design elements have been incorporated into the tower's construction.

Visible from Grand Avenue, a softly lit stair tower will serve as a beacon at night. Abundant light will be included in the design of the lobby atrium and a variety of plants will be used in a planned reflection garden. Designed for patients, families and visitors, the 4,300-sq-ft reflection garden will include lush foliage encircling a large tree atop a four-direction, bowl-shaped waterfall as the garden's central focal point. Wheel-chair accessible paths will extend through large double doors into a 1,300-sq-ft, two-story atrium lobby.

The tower is being built by DPR Construction and designed by RTKL. HKS is the interior designer. The reflection garden will be designed by Urban Graphite.

Mercedes-Benz Dealership Builds Green

Autopilot Development Services, a Scottsdale-based company specializing in the design and construction management of vehicle dealership facilities, is developing one of the first LEED-certified luxury dealerships in the world. The total facility capital investment is $20 million. With more than 100 employees, Mercedes-Benz Arrowhead will be selling 2008 models by September. The dealership anticipates a full-service operation by November with new car sales, certified pre-owned sales, service, parts and detail departments on site.

Upon completion, this will be Mercedes' first commitment to the environment by including a number of innovative design features including a water reclamation system for the car wash which reduces consumption from 20 gallons per wash to six and a filtered cistern system for the waste water to irrigate the project's landscaping. PV solar panels on top of the building will provide up to 35% of the electrical power during off-peak hours, with surplus power sold back to the utility company. Haydon Building Corp is the general contractor and Barry Barcus is the architect.

Groundbreaking for Tucson Origins Heritage Park

A groundbreaking ceremony took place for the $54 million Tucson Origins Heritage Park on the Tucson Origins San Agustín Mission Complex site located south of Congress Street, west of the Santa Cruz River. The project is the cornerstone of Tucson's planned Rio Nueve downtown redevelopment project.

The San Agustín Mission Complex, including the convento, chapel and Mission Gardens, is being rebuilt on the west side of downtown near the base of 'A' Mountain. Tucsonans and visitors will be able to experience life inside the 18th century Spanish mission.

Burns Wald-Hopkins Architects designed the master plan, with Lloyd Construction Co. as the contractor. The project, once completed in 2009, will include museums and interactive historic buildings.

8501 East Raintree Drive Project Receives LEED Gold Certification

Liberty Property Trust's building at 8501 East Raintree Drive in Scottsdale, Ariz. has received LEED Gold certification. The 123,340-sq-ft Class A office building was designed in partnership with and is now occupied by Vanguard, and is Scottsdale's first new commercial building to receive LEED Gold certification. The building, designed by RSP Architects, offers numerous high-performance features including photovoltaic cells, water reducing fixtures (such as waterless urinals and faucet sensors) and energy-efficient HVAC equipment with special filters and carbon dioxide monitors. The property features drought-resistant plantings and low-emitting materials.

In February, Liberty announced that it was establishing an Arizona operation. Since the announcement, the company has purchased 115 acres in Goodyear on which it will develop five industrial buildings designed to achieve LEED certification. The company has also purchased a 228,000-sq-ft distribution facility in Tolleson, and has entered into an agreement to purchase Allred Cotton Center Business Park which includes more than 500,000-sq-ft and several additional parcels of land for development.

Opus West Begins Three Office Projects

Opus West Corp. has broken ground on three new Class A office buildings. Phase I of the 180,000-sq-ft, two-building Chandler Airport Center is located immediately north of the Chandler Municipal Airport. Butler Design Group is the project architect. Phase I of the 300,000-sq-ft, multiple-building Glendale Corporate Center, broke ground at Missouri Avenue and Loop 101 freeway. Opus Architects & Engineers is the project architect. Phase III of North Scottsdale Corporate Center, a Class A office project near the Loop 101 and Scottsdale Road broke ground with DFD CornoyerHedrick as the project architect. Opus West Construction Corporation is the general contractor on all three projects.

To submit New Mexico, Arizona or Nevada news items or press releases, email Scott Blair, editor, at scott_blair@mcgraw-hill.com.