Storm Damage Sidelines New Football Facility in Arizona

A brand-new, $8.4 million indoor practice facility for Arizona State University's football team fell victim to a severe monsoon thunderstorm on Aug. 28th in Tempe.

The facility, designed and built by the Phoenix offices of architect Gould Evans and contractor Mortenson Construction, featured an air-supported fabric dome roof supplied by Minneapolis-based Yeadon Fabric Domes Inc.

“The fabric roof of the dome dis-inflated, and is lying on the ground,” says Mark Brand, associate athletic director for communications with the university. Tattered pieces of the reinforced fabric roof were found blocks from the site, according to onlookers.

“The cost to put a new roof on is between $900,000 and $1 million,” Brand says. The stadium is expected to be out all season due to the damage.

The 103,500-sq-ft facility had opened just weeks earlier, and was intended to provide a safer and more comfortable venue for the school's football and other sporting teams to practice in during the region's hot summer months when temperatures can exceed 115 degrees.

No one was injured in the collapse, Brand says. Winds during the severe thunderstorm were clocked in excess of 75 mph at nearby Sky Harbor International Airport, with one to two in. of rainfall.

The 66-ft-tall structure includes an HVAC system, pumping system, media towers and several airlock doorways. The site also features two outdoor practice fields that sustained some damage.

Yeadon has engineered and manufactured similar facilities for the University of Texas and the Houston Texans.

Schuff International Awarded $112 Million in New Projects

Schuff International Inc. has been awarded $112 million in new construction contracts and/or letters of intent since the start of 3rd Quarter 2008. Schuff owns and operates eight steel fabrication plants and two steel joist manufacturing plants. New project awards throughout Schuff and its companies include the Maricopa County Court House in Phoenix, the University of California San Francisco Stem Cell Research UCSF Parnassus Campus and the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn.

Waltz Awarded Pioneer Preparatory Academy

The $7.8 million Pioneer Preparatory Academy began construction in Surprise. The new 58,000-sq-ft public charter school operated by the Challenge Foundation will open as a K-6 in August 2009 and will quickly grow to a K-8 by 2011. This open-enrollment, tuition-free school is located in the heart of Surprise on the corner of Dysart and Elm roads. Waltz Construction is providing a full scope of construction-management-at-risk services including site logistics coordination, cost estimating, scheduling, value engineering, subcontractor procurement and on-site construction supervision.

Rio Nuevo’s Cushing Street Bridge Awarded

Sundt Construction Inc. has been selected by the City of Tucson to build the Cushing Street Bridge. The structure will begin at the eastbound Interstate-10 frontage road and extend over the Santa Cruz River along the Cushing Street/Clark Street alignment for future tie-in to the planned streetcar system. The $11 million project is scheduled to begin construction in early 2009 and to be complete by the end of 2009.

Flood Control District Completes Dam Rehab in Mesa

The Flood Control District of Maricopa County has completed the rehabilitation of a key flood control dam in east Mesa. Updates to the Spook Hill Flood Retarding Structure were coordinated through an agreement with the Arizona Department of Transportation during that agency’s construction of the final segment of the Loop 202 Red Mountain Freeway. The 28-year-old, four-mile-long Spook Hill FRS, which protects downstream development and the Central Arizona Project Canal from stormwater runoff, was rehabilitated with a new principal outlet drain and the insertion of a sand material zone in the dam’s core to prevent failure due to cracks. Both upgrades were built to current dam safety standards as part of the District’s proactive Dam Safety Program which evaluates the condition of flood control dams, and formulates and implements planning alternatives to extend the service life of these structures.

The new freeway segment runs along the east side of the FRS through the dam’s flood pool. To protect the freeway from floodwater, ADOT built a soil cement levee in the flood pool on the east side of the freeway to hold back the stormwater of a 100-year rainfall event. If floodwater overtops this levee, Spook Hill FRS is designed to capture and contain the floodwater, and channel it to the Salt River.

Chandler Corporate Center Breaks Ground

Rockefeller Group Development Corp. broke ground on a 70,600-sq-ft Class “A” office building at Chandler Corporate Center, a master-planned business park at McClintock Drive and Desert Breeze Boulevard in Chandler.

The project is approved for office and light industrial totaling 248,000 sq ft on the 24.3-acre property. The construction will proceed in phases with the first building, a two-story, multi-tenant office building, expected to be completed in Spring 2009.

RGDC has approximately 16 acres available for build-to-suit or parcels for sale to users. The office building is seeking LEED certification and features state-of-the-art materials and finishes. Lobbies and corridors have been designed to accommodate a wide range of tenant sizes.

A&P Awarded New Addition to Star Tech Professional Center

Adolfson & Peterson Construction has been selected to provide construction management at risk services for Paradise Valley Unified School District’s new addition to the Star Tech Professional Center. This will be the sixth project that A&P has partnered with the District on in recent years.

The project will consist of a small specialty high school addition located on the Paradise Valley High School campus. The 16,500-sq-ft, single-story structure will be energy efficient and environmentally friendly and will house a technology lab, bio lab, rest-rooms, offices and support rooms. The project is expected to be completed by January of 2010. DLR Group of Phoenix is the architect for the project.

Portland 38 Construction Completed

JAG Development completed construction of their latest project, Portland 38. Located at 7th and Portland Streets, Portland 38 marks the first large-scale private investment in years into the historic Garfield District, adjacent to Downtown Phoenix.

The 38-unit complex, designed by award-winning architect Michael Underhill, incorporates common areas such as a large play pool, communal dining and barbeque areas.

The project is comprised of three-level townhomes with their own private yards and garages. The unique front spaces serve as both front entry and garage. The units also incorporate distinctive features like sandblasted block walls, polished concrete floors, Miele stainless steel appliances and Kohler plumbing fixtures.

Units range from 1,272 to 1,606 square feet and are priced from the low $200s, over $150 per square foot less than the average for comparable projects.

Helix Electric Completes Electrical for X Lofts

Helix Electric completed the electrical contracting work on X (Ten) Wine Lofts at 7126 East Osborn Road in downtown Scottsdale.

This four-story, 82-unit condominium complex features amenities that include oversized balconies, refrigerated wine storage, open floor plans, pool, spa and a clubhouse.

As a subcontractor, Helix Electric’s work included interior and exterior wiring, light fixtures, building switch gears and electrical utilities. Their portion of the project was completed on time and on budget.

The project team for the X (Ten) Lofts includes owner Osborn III Partners LLC, developer Grace Communities, architect Todd & Associates and contractor Summit Builders Construction Co.

La Palma Completed Ahead of Schedule

Corrections Corporation of America has completed Phase One of the 3,060-bed La Palma Correctional Center in Eloy, Ariz., which houses inmates for the State of California.

The first phase of La Palma Correctional Center features 1,020 beds and was completed approximately two months ahead of schedule on July 1. The facility began receiving inmates on July 12.

“Several innovative practices are pushing the project forward at the current pace,” says Doug O’Neill, J.E. Dunn Construction senior project manager. “For example, the housing units are prefabricated, shipped to the campus site and set-up independently. Then the rest of the housing unit is built around the cell modules.”

Phase Two of La Palma Correctional Center, which includes all support buildings, is scheduled to be completed before the end of August. By early October, the next 1,020 beds are scheduled to come on line. And by January 2009, the remaining 1,020 beds are expected to be completed.

ROEL Completes Kingman Regional Medical Center

Kingman Regional Medical Center, Kingman, Ariz.

ROEL Construction Co. Inc. has completed the build-out for the Kingman Regional Medical Center; consisting of the 1,560-sq-ft Healthcare Informational Management Suite which also acts as the hospital’s record department. Also included in the build-out was the 2,290-sq-ft Arizona Kidney Disease and Hypertension Center. Metal studs, drywall, paint, casework, roll-up doors, glass and glazing, HVAC and electrical work were all included in this project.

Morfeld Ray Architects was the architect. George Josephs with Associated Mechanical Engineers and Manny Hammer with Associated Engineers completed the design team. ROEL representatives included Shawna Logsdon as project manager, Bill Gildea as superintendant, and Brandi Allman as project coordinator.

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