New Medical Projects Underway Throughout Southern N.M.

Ascension Group Architects was awarded several New Mexico projects worth more than $48 million collectively. All the projects have begun construction recently or are expected to begin soon.

Eastern N.M. Medical Center, Roswell, N.M.

Work recently began on an $18 million expansion and renovation of Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center in Alamogordo. The project is expanding and renovating several departments in the existing hospital, including the maternal/child areas, diagnostics, infusion, intensive care and surgery. A new entry and waiting room also will be built to better serve patient flow and improve registration. The project is expected to be complete by March 2010.

Ascension broke ground on an $8.5 million expansion and renovation of Eastern New Mexico Medical Center in Roswell. Plans call for a 14,500-sq-ft expansion of the emergency department, featuring three new treatment rooms and 16 exam rooms including some for infectious isolation and some for obstetrics and gynecology. Another 3,700 sq ft will involve minor renovations to the hospital.

Work is expected to be complete by October. BE&K in Nashville is the general contractor.

Meanwhile, Carlsbad Medical Center in Carlsbad will include a $15 million expansion and renovation of the facility. The project, totaling 33,000 sq ft, will include a renovated surgery department with eight new operating rooms, as well as 16 postoperative and nine preoperative bays.

A general contractor has not yet been chosen.

In addition, Ascension is in the midst of design work on a $7.5 million addition to Mimbres Memorial Hospital in Deming. The project, which is scheduled to break ground this Spring, is expected to include two new operating rooms and an eight-room emergency department with two trauma rooms.

Major Milestones for Mesa del Sol Project

Mesa del Sol has partnered with Sandia National Laboratories on research, development and demonstration of energy technologies in a real life environment at Mesa del Sol, towards the goal of meeting national energy needs, while providing a foundation for job creation in the energy and sustainability fields.

Development of solar technologies will be one focus of the research and demonstration projects. Mesa del Sol is already home to solar industry companies SCHOTT Solar and Advent Solar.

The partnership will help Sandia meet Congressional and U.S. Department of Energy priorities for advancing alternative and renewable energy initiatives, with the added benefit of forming a valuable public/private partnership.

In addition, Mesa del Sol began construction on phase one of a new 210,000-sq-ft office building for a business unit of Fidelity Investments.

The new office building, which sits on the north end of Mesa del Sol's Innovation Park, is fully leased to Fidelity's Human Resource Services business, which provides corporate clients with payroll, health and welfare and other human resources services.

National Enrichment Facility to Expand

Louisiana Energy Services plans to pursue expansion of the National Enrichment Facility from its current planned size of 3 million separative work units to 5.9 million SWU. LES' total investment will be over $3 billion for the National Enrichment Facility project and it will be able to provide approximately 50% of U.S. enrichment demand. The expansion will result in the retention of approximately 350 construction jobs through the end of 2014.

"LES began examining the business case to pursue an expansion of its plant in Lea County several months ago," says Reinhard Hinterreither, LES president and CEO. "That business case depends on several factors: commitments from utility customers, availability of investment capital, long term stability of the U.S. enrichment market and community support, and rests on the approval of state and federal regulatory agencies and the Urenco Board."

Spaceport Nears ‘Go’ for Launch

Activity at Spaceport America is moving forward at a rapid clip. The Federal Aviation Administration's associate administrator for Commercial Space Transportation issued a license for vertical and horizontal launch from the spaceport, located in southern New Mexico. Also, the New Mexico Spaceport Authority selected Gerald Martin Construction Management of Albuquerque to oversee construction of the nation's first purpose-built commercial spaceport.

The State of New Mexico signed a 20-year lease agreement with Virgin Galactic. Virgin's world headquarters will be established in New Mexico and its operations will be located at the spaceport.

The lease agreement with an anchor tenant was the final requirement set by the N.M. Legislature to release the next level of funding for Spaceport America and it has cleared the way for construction to begin.

"We are proud to be a part of this historic endeavor," says James Mee, Gerald Martin's vice president of construction management. "We have assembled a superb team that will provide specific and focused expertise to all areas of the project at each phase." The team will include specialists experienced with aviation and rocket facilities, aeronautical safety and working with NASA.

The architectural team of URS/Foster + Partners is completing their final design for the terminal and hangar facility. Construction is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2009 with the terminal and hangar facility scheduled for completion in 2010.

Road construction to the spaceport is currently underway, with Cheyenne, Wy.-based Reiman Corp. as the general contractor. DMJM designed the roadway, and is also working on the runway and other systems designs with Dekker/Perich/Sabatini and Molzen-Corbin & Associates.

ABQ Hilton ‘Greenovation’ Awarded

The Albuquerque Hilton Hotel has become the first hotel to receive New Mexico’s Green Zia Environmental Excellence Recognition Program award for its efforts to prevent pollution and implement green initiatives.

While undergoing a comprehensive $14 million "greenovation" the Albuquerque Hilton Hotel recycled 70% of the materials that came out of the hotel, including finding innovative ways to recycle carpet, porcelain toilets, sinks and bathtubs. Hilton has incorporated high-efficiency toilets, a more efficient elevator system, a recycling program and xeriscaping blended with existing turf to achieve water conservation.

Renovations of the hotel’s rooms have been completed while renovations of the hotel’s common areas, including its façade, exterior entrance and lobby, will be completed early this year.

Studio Southwest Architects designed the project and Klinger Constructors is the general contractor. Landscapers Ground Management is the landscape architect.

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