Rec Center Work Starts

Crews recently broke ground for the Glendale Foothills Recreation and Aquatic Center on West Union Hills.

D.L. Withers Construction is the general contractor and Architectural Resource Team is the architect. Both are Phoenix firms.

The $13 million construction management at-risk project will provide residents with a fully equipped recreation facility, including a gymnasium with full size basketball courts, an indoor track, three racquetball courts, a fitness center, two exercise rooms and a 25-foot tall indoor rock-climbing wall. There will also find a game room, teaching kitchen, arts and crafts room, childcare area, and multipurpose classrooms for instruction. Outside is the water park with 12,000 sq. ft. of pools that include a competition lap pool, diving area with 2 diving boards, leisure pool with 2 slides and a lazy river.

The two-story, 69,800-sq.-ft. structure located on 7.2 acres will be completed in June 2006.

Tucson Awards Contract

Four firms recently picked up a contract from the City of Tucson to help administer the city's Brownsfields program.

The city's Brownfields Program seeks to return contaminated and abandoned or under-utilized industrial sites in and around the downtown business area to productive use. The area includes a warehouse district, rail yard, vacant and abandoned inner-city structures and closed landfills.

The four firms are: AMEC Earth and Environmental; Kleinfelder; SCS Engineers/HDR, and Allwyn Environmental.

The engineers will act on a call as needed basis.

Church Work Underway

Rowland Companies recently started work 15,000-sq.-ft. multi-purpose building and an educational complex totaling 10,000-sq.-ft. that will become the new home for Cross of Christ Lutheran Church in Anthem, Ariz.

Construction value of the project is $4.5 million. Contractors are aiming for an August completion on the school and a September completion on the multi purpose building.

Dick and Fritsche Design Group is the architect.

Retirement Village Starts Framework

Opus West Corp. and development partner RED Group, LLC recently began framing McDowell Village, a 223-unit residential complex and key element of the City of Scottsdale's new McDowell Village Senior Center campus.

Amenities include a pool, therapeutic spa, dining room for breakfast and dinner, bistro area, library, movie theater, pub, multi-purpose room and billiards and card rooms.

Other planned developments in the immediate campus area include a 10,000-sq.-ft. Stagebrush Community Theater and neighborhood retail totaling 10,000 sq. ft. The general contractor for McDowell Village apartments is Opus West Construction Corp. The architect is ORB Architecture LLC.

Company Wins 2 Projects

Summit Builders Construction Company has been awarded the contract for the Raintree Corporate Center Phases III and IV located at the NEC of Raintree Drive and the State Highway 101 frontage road in Scottsdale, Arizona for CAVAN Real Estate Investments.

The new Class "A" office project will consists of tw0, three-story office buildings totaling 356,000 sq. ft. Located on an 11.3 acre site, the project scope also includes a six-level parking structure with three levels below grade to accommodate 1,321 spaces.

Patrick Hayes Architecture, of Scottsdale, is providing architectural services.

Summit Builders is currently providing preconstruction services with actual construction scheduled to begin early third quarter 2005. Project completion is anticipated for third quarter 2006.

In Tucson, Summit Builders Construction Company broke ground in March on its fourth new Lowe's Home Improvement Store in Tucson, Arizona located at 7213 E. Speedway Boulevard.

The new Lowe's retail store will encompass 175,000-sq.-ft on a 20-acre site.

In addition, Summit Builders will construct a cantilevered park over the existing Pantana Wash. The new city of Tucson park will be named Pantana Wash Linear Park. Project completion is anticipated for early first quarter 2006.

Gary Cohn, of Newport Beach, CA is the Lowe's project architect. Thomas /Graham of Bozeman, Montana is the civil engineering firm responsible for the extensive sitework design. SBBA of Tucson is designing the Pantana Wash Linear Park.

Construction Manager at Risk Project Underway

Chandler city officials recently selected Sundt for the task of widening three mi. of Riggs Road, a major east-west artery. The $9.1 million Construction Manager at Risk project is underway, with completion expected by November 2005.

Widening Riggs Road to six lanes began with relocation of existing utilities and the installation of a new sewer line, potable water lines and reclaimed water lines down the middle of the road.

Wespac Breaks Ground on Entrada Condominiums

Wespac Communities Inc. recently broke ground on the Entrada Condominiums, a three-building luxury home development located within private Quintero Golf and Country Club in the City of Peoria.

This building marks the first of many construction projects planned for the 828-acre golf community.

All three condominium buildings feature two 1,850-sq.-ft. homes and one, 2,150-sq.-ft. penthouse.

The project is next to an existing signature Rees Jones golf course and a planned golf course by Greg Norman. Other residential options include: large estate lots, semi-custom homes and clubhouse villas.

H&S International is the architect on the project.