Ballpark and Sports Complex Underway in Goodyear

Groundbreaking for Goodyear’s $75 Million Ballpark and Sports Complex

Goodyear will soon be a destination mecca for spring training fans. The new $75 million ballpark will be the centerpiece of Ballpark Village at Wood Corporate Campus, a $1 billion, 240-acre mixed-use development of office, retail, housing and hospitality. The ballpark’s ground-level concourse is being planned to ensure cohesive integration with surrounding restaurants, offices and a hotel/conference center. Ballpark Village will be comprised of two million sq ft of commercial office space; 250,000 sq ft of retail shops, restaurants and entertainment venues; 550 units of loft-style housing and hotels with approximately 400 rooms and a 50,000-sq-ft conference center.

The Cleveland Indians’ year-round portion of the practice field area will consist of a clubhouse, two major practice fields, one half-field and batting practice areas. The project will include an 8,000-seat ballpark with an additional 2,000 seats on a grassy berm and four practice fields available to Goodyear residents for recreational use outside of spring training season.

The ballpark’s design uses raw materials and individual masses that draw upon the rich architectural history of the surrounding region. The majority of the material palette consists of concrete with a variety of finishes, including glazing, wood and metal panels of different finishes. Over time, the buildings’ colors will wear with the desert climate and inherent nature of the materials used.

The ballpark was designed by HOK Sport, will be built by Barton Malow and is being developed by Goodyear Baseball LLC (Rose Properties Southwest and JMI Sports). The ballpark will open in February 2009.

CEMEX Plans $400 Million Manufacturing Facility

CEMEX Inc. announced that it intends to begin the permitting process for the construction of a 1.9 million short ton cement manufacturing facility near Seligman, Ariz. CEMEX will invest approximately $400 million over five years in the Seligman Crossing Plant, which is expected to begin operations by 2012. The state-of-the-art facility will manufacture cement to serve the growing needs of Arizona, including the Phoenix metropolitan area.

The historical shortage of building materials in the Southwest, coupled with demographic trends that show robust population growth throughout the region, reinforces the need for the CEMEX Seligman Crossing Plant.

An application for an air permit with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality is expected to be filed by year-end 2007 detailing CEMEX’s plans to build an environmentally sensitive, state-of the-art manufacturing facility.

Commercial Metals Co. to Develop Micro Mill

Colliers International announced the sale of 227 acres in Mesa for $14.755 million to Commercial Metals Company of Irving, Texas. The seller was TRW Vehicle Safety Systems of Mich. The land, which is located at the northwest corner of Germann and Meridian roads in Mesa, was owned by TRW since the early 1980s. Colliers International represented both the buyer and seller in the transaction.

Commercial Metals Company will construct a micro mill on the site, which will primarily produce reinforcing bar, and will have an annual capacity of 280,000 tons. There will also be a rebar fabrication shop and a construction-related products operation. The final design is not yet completed; however, construction is anticipated to begin in early 2008, with completion by early to mid-2009. A general contractor has not been identified. At full operation, the mill is expected to bring 150-200 high-quality jobs. This will be CMC’s first micro mill plant in the U.S. According to a company spokesperson, CMC selected this site due to the area’s high growth and strong construction markets.

ROEL to Build Quechan Casino near Yuma

ROEL Construction has plans to start construction of the Quechan Casino Resort located on the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation in California in early October. This new design/build project will consist of a 295,000-sq-ft facility that will offer the area’s largest convention and entertainment venue complete with a 166-room hotel complex. The Mediterranean design captures tribal influences throughout. The new resort will contain a 33,000-sq-ft gaming area, two restaurants, a sports bar and will offer guests a lazy river pool, health facility, 1,200-person concert venue and surface parking to accommodate up to 1,700 cars and recreational vehicles. A water treatment and wastewater treatment facility will also be provided onsite.

Construction is scheduled to complete in winter 2008. Cumming Corporation is the construction manager, with Friedmutter Group as the architect and interior designer. Other members of the design team include Dahl, Robins & Associates, JBA Consulting, MPE Engineering, Nicklaus Engineering Inc. and Endelman & Associates Inc.

Opus West Slated to Build Northgate Corporate Centre

Opus West Corporation has purchased a state ground lease parcel consisting of 13 acres in Phoenix intended for a 131,000-sq-ft office space project. Named Northgate Corporate Centre, the one-story building lends itself to users of 20,000-sq-ft and larger. Enhancing the project is its freeway fronting exposure to Interstate 17, just south of Bell Road and close to the interchange of I-17 and the Loop 101 in north Phoenix.

Opus West will also soon break ground on new buildings at Pima Center and the 260,000-sq-ft Tempe Gateway, totaling seven stories of office space with ground-floor retail in downtown Tempe.

Northgate Corporate Centre is scheduled for a January 2008 groundbreaking. The project’s general contractor is Opus West Construction Corp. The architect is Opus Architects & Engineers.

New Hanson Pipe & Precast Plant Completed

Responding to the growing water control infrastructure needs of rapidly expanding Arizona markets, Hanson Pipe & Precast’s new El Mirage, Ariz. facility will produce concrete pipe products for use in storm water drainage systems, sewers and transportation to water treatment facilities. The new facility, currently in testing phases, will soon be fully operational.

The new 110,000-sq-ft facility, the first of its kind in the Western U.S., located in El Mirage, is managed by Chris Ortiz and employs approximately 35 people. With the new technology of automated systems for pipe production, curing and testing, Hanson can produce, on average, 500 tons of product per day, which represents a significant increase in production capacity for the company. Pipe is produced on the three-station rotary turntable Hawkeye PipePro XT Machine, which includes modules for creating varying diameters of pipe at the same time.

Hanson’s products were recently used for storm water drainage systems in Cheatham Farms and for expansion of the Santan Freeway.

Rowland Companies Completes Construction on Desert West Park

Rowland Companies has completed work for the City of Phoenix on the continuing development project at Desert West Park. The $4 million Phase II project included three new lighted soccer fields, additional parking, sidewalks, security lighting, landscaping and a new restroom and storage building. Also, new pump station equipment was installed to handle the entire park’s irrigation system, which was converted from using the domestic water supply to lake water fed from the CAP canal system.

In 1986, Rowland Companies served as the general contractor for the first phase of the park’s 40 acre, $3.2 million site improvement project, which included four new lighted professional softball fields along with racquetball and tennis courts, and related site amenities.

Betty H. Fairfax Attends High School Dedication

Betty H. Fairfax, one of Arizona’s most influential educators, was present for the dedication of the new comprehensive high school named in her honor. Guest speakers included Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon and sister and civil rights activist Jean Fairfax.

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