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...product and distribution,” says Jason Nunley, vice president of development for Jackson-Shaw, explaining that his firm focused on the niche market of providing adaptable spaces for small to mid-sized companies. “There are still significant leases for 50,000 sq ft or less that continue to be signed.”
The first five buildings at Parc 114, now under construction and estimated by the city of Irving to cost $30 million, will total 376,000 sq ft. The buildings feature a five-step concrete staining process that gives them a stone appearance and the entire complex the look of an office park.
“From the street, your eyes are drawn to the complex because of the strong contrast of color with the organic application next to the paint,” says artist Shellie Rigsby with Acanthus of Plano. “It’s a reactive product that penetrates the concrete and permanently changes the color.”
There’s also strength in the data center segment of the market. Turner is working on data center projects for Digital Realty Trust and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, both in Dallas.
PageSoutherlandPage is in the final stages of designing a conversion of a 180,000-sq-ft office building into a short-stay hospital for Mary Shiels Hospital in Dallas.
Oklahoma public work John Thompson, vice president of Oklahoma operations in JE Dunn Construction’s Oklahoma City office, says voters’ passage of the city’s MAPS 3 referendum is encouraging. MAPS 3 is a nine-month, one-cent sales tax to raise $777 million, including $280 million for a new convention center, $130 million for a downtown streetcar and $60 million for upgrades to the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds.
Broken Arrow Public Schools in Broken Arrow passed a $295-million school bond referendum. Other districts have passed smaller bond programs or have them in the planning stages.
Dana Birkes, spokeswoman for Flintco of Tulsa, says that education is one of the sectors that has held up relatively well.
“[The school bond issues] are being driven primarily by aging buildings needing rehab or replacement,” Birkes says in an e-mail. “Community and technical colleges have also continued to construct facilities. I understand from administrators that this is due to the economy—people retraining and traditional students starting their higher education there as a cost-savings measure. Other public and private higher education institutions have definitely slowed down on their construction programs.”
However, some higher-education projects continue. JE Dunn is completing an $8-million Steam Chilled Water Plant at the University of Oklahoma in Norman.
Manhattan is building an $80-million cancer research and treatment center for the University of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City, which will open this year. The company recently began construction on the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art in Oklahoma City for the University of Oklahoma.
In Tulsa, joint venture partners Manhattan Road & Bridge and Sherwood Construction of Catoosa, Okla., are...
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