Downtown Rising
Civic Center Adds to Critical Mass
By K. Robert Wendel

Construction is under way on a massive new convention center that promises to reshape downtown Phoenix and vault the city into a prominent destination point for meetings, trade shows and conventions.

Work on the $600 Phoenix Civic Plaza started last fall with site preparation. Plans call for 2 million sq. ft. of new and remodeled convention space to be open by mid- 2009.
The project consists of a new west building, new north building and a renovation of the south building.

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"All the existing square footage will stay in place until the west convention hall opens," said Claude Swartwood, the project manger for the city Phoenix Civic Plaza. "Then, we will take >> down the existing north convention center, which leaves us with the same amount of space while we build the north convention center."

Plans are to release a core and shell package in June for the first convention hall.
Work is also set to begin on the renovation of the nearby Symphony Hall this summer.

"It's a seperate contract, but all part of the same job," said Hunt Construction Group contract manager Bob May. "There's a lot of interior renovations at Symphony Hall, along with mechanical and electrical, as well as some asbestos and lead abatement." ADA compliance issues will also be addressed.

The west building is the first to open in 2006, followed by the north hall in 2008 and the south convention remodeling in 2009. Phoenix voters approved $300 million in funding for the project with the state of Arizona committing another $300 million.

"The convention center is the lynchpin for a lot of redevelopment in the downtown," said Scott Sumners, civic plaza deputy director. "Combined with the residential development, Arizona State University's commitment to downtown and the light- rail project, this will spark downtown and provide a lively, 24-7 environment."

The new convention center is one of the largest vertical construction projects in Arizona history and it is also the largest "green" building effort in the United States. The construction team is aiming for a "Leadership in Engineering and Environmental Design" designation from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Some "green" techniques under discussion include installing solar panels. Energy conservation and using recyclable materials are also key features.

The new project more than triples the size of the existing convention center, which is now the 67th largest convention hall in the United States. When the project is completed, the new convention center will be among the 20 largest convention centers. Sumners said about 120,000 people use the existing hall each year, with projections showing an estimated 345,000 users when construction is completed.

He added that each conventioneer spends an average of $1,500 during his or her stay, making a sizable impact on the local economy.

The city awarded a construction- manager- at-risk contract after reviewing 11 submissions on the design side and eight submissions on the construction side. It settled on the tri- venture group of Hunt Construction of Phoenix, Alvarado Construction of Denver and Russell Construction of Atlanta.

The contractor has committed that 20 percent of the project must go to minority or women-owned businesses.

The project features a host of engineers, including Phoenix-based LSW Engineers Arizona Inc., Paul-Koehler Structural Engineers, David Evans and Associates, both of Phoenix and Los Angeles-based Syska Hennesy.

Both designers and builders are facing a daunting task. Contractors must excavate millions of cubic yards of earth for the project, which sits 45- ft. below grade and rises 10 stories above grade. BCS Enterprises is the excavation contractor. In addition to excavation, thousands of cubic yards of concrete must be trucked into the site, which sits in the busy downtown of America's fifth largest city.

"Everything about this project is large," said Patrick Edwards, the project manager and a principal with the local Phoenix office of Leo A Daly. The firm is sharing design duties with Kansas-based HOK Event and Westlake Reed Leskosky of Phoenix. Most of the convention space sits 45-ft. below grade, with the new west hall eventually connecting to the east hall under Third Street, creating 600,000 sq. ft. of contiguous convention hall space. Monroe Street is slated to become the haul road in and out of the convention basement.

The bays between columns are 120 -ft. by 90 -ft., with a 35-ft.- tall ceiling. Four other levels feature meeting rooms on the at-grade level, conference rooms on the third, administration on the fourth and a multi purpose space on the fifth.

The project will feature a high-tech communication and multi-media system, with plans calling for a central utility corridor to run underneath the below-grade convention hall.

The four above-grade levels sit on massive steel beams with 808 -ft. lbs. of load for every foot of steel beam.

Rapidly rising steel prices forced designers back to the boards for some value engineering. The first phase of the project calls for more than 7,500 tons of steel. The entire project will use approximately 25,000 tons.

"Steel is a big issue because of the rapid acceleration of prices, so it's a big cramp on the project," Edwards said. "We had to go back and do some rigorous optimization to bring the costs back into line."

The city will temporarily abandon Third Street while contractors open a cut to construct the connection between the east and west halls. The street's future is still under discussion, with one proposal calling for a pedestrian street without auto traffic.
Washington Street also gets a make over and loses its dip under the existing convention center, which will be demolished.

Keeping the massive convention center pedestrian friendly was a key objective for designers. At the street level, plans call for retail shops and offices along the perimeter of the building. At the main entrance, a soaring 70-ft.- tall glass curtain wall opens into an air-conditioned atrium that is 110 -ft. tall. The street level features sandstone accents, but a theme for the entire project hasn't been decided.

"We are trying to engage people at the street level, even if they aren't going into the convention center," said Nirmal Mangal, a vice president at Leo A Daly.

To keep the atrium cool in the summer, architects employed steel shades that cut the heat load but allow natural light in. On the west side of the east hall, roof beams cantilever 70-ft. out to provide shading, with another 70-ft. of shading cantilevering over Third Street from the west hall.

"The architects have paid a lot of attention to sun and shadow," Sumners said. "We are excited by the design because it's not a building you would find in Pittsburgh, Connecticut or even Texas. It's unique to Arizona."

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