Construction Starts on 1-Million SF Blue Cross Blue Sheild HQ

Projects starts across the state include the new headquarters office for Blue Cross/Blue Shield in Richardson; also, several medical facilities planned for cities including Gainesville and Houston

Construction Starts on Blue Cross and Blue Shield Headquarters

A rendering shows the future Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas new headquarters at Gatlyn Park in Richardson. Completion is scheduled for early 2010. The design team includes Corgan Associates of Dallas and Chicago-based zpd+a.

Dallas-based Koll Development Co., or KDC, one of America's leading commercial real estate firms, began construction of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas'  new 1 million-sq-foot headquarters in Galatyn Park in Richardson in late fall.

The 34-acre site of the new headquarters facility, on the northeast corner of North Central Expressway and Lookout Drive in the Dallas suburb of Richardson is scheduled for completion in early 2010. The facility will be able to accommodate 3,900 employees.

As BCBSTX continues to grow, KDC has land available and entitlements in place to develop the headquarters to a total of 2.3 million sq ft with room to house 8,000 employees.

The BCBSTX headquarters will be a Class A facility with two towers and a multi-level parking structure. It will include a full-service cafeteria, as well as multiple conference and meeting rooms and a 400-seat auditorium.

Jeff Ellerman and Mike Sessa of The Staubach Company in Dallas represented Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas in the transaction. Dallas-based Corgan Associates  Inc. and Chicago-based zpd+a are the project architects.

KDC will develop and own the new facility, as well as assume BCBSTX's existing lease obligations at its current 901 South Central Expressway location in Richardson.

KDC declined to release the cost of the project due to their agreement with BCBSTX. Several sources, including an article in the Dallas Morning News, reported the project value as approximately $265 million.

Construction Starts on $47 Million Lubbock Hotel, Conference Center

Turner Construction Co.'s Dallas office recently broke ground on the $47 million, 226,627-sq-ft Overton Hotel and Conference Center, located in Overton Park between Mac Davis and Avenue X in Lubbock, just blocks from Texas Tech University's football stadium.

The design-build project is a joint venture between Turner Construction Co. and Lubbock-based Lee Lewis Construction.

The four-star, 15-story hotel will feature 304 rooms, including four presidential suites, as well as an indoor fitness facility, business center, an outdoor pool and lounge and a 5,000-sq-ft restaurant and bar. In addition, the meeting facilities will feature a 45,000-sq-ft conference center, which includes three ballroom areas that can be divided by operable walls into 4,000-sq-ft areas or a combined area of 12,000 sq ft, all on the first level. Level two will have four additional meeting rooms and two board rooms, as well as administrative offices.

The project is a result of a public-private partnership between the city of Lubbock, Dallas-based Garfield Traub Development and Galveston-based 1859 Historic Hotels Ltd., which will operate the hotel and conference center. In addition to Turner Construction and Lee Lewis Construction, the project team consists of Garfield Traub as the developer, Kansas City-based DLR Group as the architect, Phoenix, Ariz.-based Loewen Design Group as the interior designer and Austin-based AMD Engineering as the civil engineer.

Wichita Falls United Regional Adds $41 Million South Tower

Construction recently started on the South Tower addition of the United Regional >> Health Care System in Wichita Falls. The $41 million project will include a new 160,000-sq-ft, four-level tower and a 10,000-sq-ft renovation within the existing hospital space to create a new kitchen and dining facility.

McCarthy Building Cos. Inc. of Dallas is building the facility. The project is expected to be completed in April 2009. The design team includes HKS Inc. of Dallas and Wingler & Sharp Architects & Planners of Wichita Falls.

The new South Tower will provide space for 56 patient beds, pediatric services, labor/delivery, a post-partum unit, nursery suites and radiology units. Two pedestrian bridges will connect the new and existing hospital towers.

Renovating the central plant and building the two bridges to connect the existing hospital will be two of the biggest obstacles for the builders to overcome.

Medical Clinic of Houston Expands Services, Facilities

Linbeck began construction recently on the new Medical Clinic of Houston replacement building on 1.71 acres near the Rice University campus.

With an expected opening date of January 2009, the new medical facility will add room for additional physicians, expanding diagnostic services, as well as incorporating sleep studies into its in-house lineup of services.

The new project adds to Linbeck's Texas Medical Center portfolio, which includes: Texas Heart Institute's Denton A. Cooley Building, St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital,  MD Anderson's Proton Therapy Center and the new Rice Collaborative Research Center.

National Envelope Consolidates Manufacturing Sites

Dallas-based Koll Development Co. recently completed a new 315,000-sq-ft manufacturing and distribution center in Ennis for National Envelope Corp., the world's largest envelope company. The facility is located on a 29.4-acre site in the Ennis Industrial Park.

The new manufacturing facility will allow National Envelope, based in Uniondale, N.Y., to consolidate operations at two current Texas locations in Corsicana and Grand Prairie into one facility.

The project team included Dallas-based Cadence McShane Corp. as the general contractor and Meinhardt & Assoc. of Dallas as the project architect. Rick Hughes and Noel Hutchinson with Cushman & Wakefield Dallas and Heather Sloan with Cushman & Wakefield New York represented National Envelope in the transaction with KDC.

Linbeck Constructing Glass Building at Houston’s Rice University

Construction is under way at Rice University on the Brochstein Pavilion, a new building that will become a gathering place for students, faculty and staff. The facility will be constructed primarily of glass. It is being built by Houston-based Linbeck and includes a landscaped wrap-around exterior plaza where 70 new trees will be added to the campus. The pavilion, scheduled to open in March, will anchor a new quadrant extending west of the library.

The 6,042-sq-ft facility, called Brochstein Pavilion, is being built in the Rice University Central Quadrangle. It will include a coffee house and gathering place for students, facility and staff. The project includes a 10,728-sq-ft wrap-around exterior plaza. Linbeck is also building the Collaborative Research Center at Rice, scheduled for completion in 2009.

The Brochstein Pavilion project team includes New York-based Thomas Phifer and Partners, design architect and architect of record; the office of Houston-based James Burnett, landscape architect; MEPF AltieriSeborWieber of Newark, Conn., MEPF engineer; Houston-based Haynes Whaley Associates, structural engineer; and Houston-based Walter P Moore, civil engineer.

Construction Begins on Lee College Theater in Baytown

Dallas-based Conservatory Senior Residences financed a $93 million construction/mini-permanent loan for a three-property, 649-unit multifamily portfolio in Dallas and Houston for senior living.

The Dallas office of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP, or HFF, arranged the loan on behalf of Conservatory Senior Residences.

Due for completion in late 2007, the Class A portfolio includes a senior housing community and two traditional multifamily properties. Amenities will include clubhouses, fitness centers, 40-seat movie theatres, business centers, game rooms, pools and libraries.

The properties include the Conservatory at Alden Bridge, in the Houston suburb of The Woodlands; Conservatory at Champion Forest, in the Houston suburb of Spring; and Conservatory at Plano, in the Dallas, suburb of Plano.

Great Wolf Lodge Expands Project with Suites, Conference Space

Great Wolf Resorts Inc., which opened a resort in Grapevine last year, has started an expansion on the project with plans to add 203 suites and nearly quadruple the size of the existing conference space. The expansion is expected to be complete in December 2008 and will make Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine the company's largest resort with 605 suites.

Once complete, Great Wolf Lodge will offer 27,000 sq ft of meeting space ideal for the business and social needs of the community for groups rangin from 10 to 750.

Governor's Mansion Maintenance Project Team Selected

Austin-based Susman Tisdale Gayle has been selected as the lead architect for the Texas Governor's Mansion Deferred Maintenance Project.

The National Historical Landmark in Austin.  was built in 1856, with the last major upgrades to the 9,520-sq-ft mansion in 1980.

STG's team was originally obtained to do a preliminary investigative report to determine the extent of the deferred maintenance work required. The scope of work is estimated at approximately $5 million and will include complete replacement of the existing plumbing systems and yard lines, upgrades to the mechanical system, minor electrical upgrades, the installation of a fire suppression system, removal of the deteriorating lead-based paint on the south exterior wall and the abatement and restoration of the existing historical exterior windows and shutters.

The STG team includes Austin-based Volz & Associates as historic preservation architects; Austin-based HMG & Associates as mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineers; Dallas-based Rolf Jensen & Associates as fire protection engineers; Austin-based Jaster-Quintanilla as structural engineers; and Austin-based JanCom Technologies as telecommunications consultants. Austin-based Bury+Partners will serve as the civil engineers and Austin-based Braun & Butler as the construction manager-at-risk.

The project will occur in two phases and is scheduled for completion in March 2009.

Ascension Awarded Contract for Gainesville Medical Office Building

Arlington-based Ascension Group Architects recently received a contract to design a medical office building for North Texas Medical Center in Gainesville.

The building is estimated to cost about $1 million. Construction will begin in February.

 Preliminary plans call for a 10,000-sq-ft shell building to match existing hospital in materials and aesthetics. The new building could allow six separate physician suites, but the space also may be reconfigured to meet any doctors' specific needs.

The bidding period for a general contractor will be in early 2008