Leading Dallas Firms Form Giants With Mergers

HKS merges with Detroit’s Trinity Design, while mammoth Trammell Crow Co. is acquired by CB Richard Ellis Group.

CB Richard Ellis Acquires Trammell Crow

CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. has acquired the Dallas-based firm Trammell Crow Co. in a transaction valued at approximately $2.2 billion, including the assumption of corporate debt and transaction and integration costs.

Trammell Crow's board of directors unanimously approved the merger agreement and recommended to its stockholders that they approve and adopt the agreement. At press time, the transaction was expected to close by end of 2006 or early 2007, and Trammell Crow Co. was expected to begin mailing proxy statements soliciting the votes of its stockholders in favor of the proposed merger.

Detroit Firm Merges with HKS

Trinity Design, a Detroit, Mich.-based health-care design firm, has merged with architectural/engineering firm Dallas-based HKS Inc.

Trinity Design specializes in the planning and design of health-care facilities. The architectural firm, under the name MAS, was founded by Charlie Johnston in 1984. In 1986, Trinity Health acquired the firm.

Johnston will provide consulting services for HKS's Detroit office. The HKS Detroit office will be led by Steve Jacobson, vice president and director of health care; Bob Piatek, vice president and manager of health care; and Carol Johnson Kartje, vice president and director of interior design. Jacobson will serve as director of the office.

Bill Authorizes $1.9 Billion for Higher Ed Projects in Texas

Nearly $1.9 billion in tuition revenue bonds will go toward construction projects on 48 college and university campuses across the state. The funds, authorized by Texas House Bill 153, will help create space for classrooms, libraries, faculty offices and updated science and computer labs.

San Antonio colleges will benefit to the tune of $174 million. The University of Texas at San Antonio will receive more than $74 million for a new engineering building, the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio will get a $60 million investment for the construction of its South Texas Research Facility and $40 million will go toward a new Texas A&M University campus, which is expected to open in 2009. 

Moore Erection Earns Top Honors

Moore Erection won first place from the South Texas branch of the ABC, EIC awards, in the category of pre-engineered buildings under $2 million for San Antonio's Northside ISD Natatorium.

Garden Ridge-based Moore Erection LP earned several awards recently, including the designation as Specialty Subcontractor of the Year for 2006 from the San Antonio chapter of the American General Contractors. The company also received an award from the University of Texas for the Safest Project in Texas in 2006 for the University of Texas Teaching & Learning Facility in Laredo.

Rounding out the trio, Moore won first place from the South Texas branch of the  Associated Builders and Contractors Excellence in Construction Awards in the category of pre-engineered buildings under $2 million for the San Antonio's Northside Independent School District Natatorium

Firm Reaches Two-Million Person Hours Accident Free

Dallas-based Adolfson & Peterson Construction recently announced the firm has reached two million consecutive person hours worked with no lost-time accidents. 

Employees at Adolfson & Peterson reached the first million person hours without a lost-time accident in 17 months and hit the two million hour mark 10 months later. During the 27 months, the firm completed more than $1.1 billion in  work. The company has more than 500 employees in four regions. 

Development Fund Focuses on Green Building Projects

Hines, the international real estate firm based in Houston, recently announced the closing of the Hines CalPERS Green Development Fund, or HCG, capitalized with more than $120 million of committed equity and the ability to invest up to $500 million. HCG will concentrate on developing high-performance, sustainable office buildings certifiable through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Core and Shell Program. The fund will focus on developing office projects throughout the United States.

Texas Firms Earn AISC Award for Parks and Wildlife Project

The Texas Parks and Wildlife's Government Canyon State Natural Area recently earned national recognition from the American Institute of Steel Construction. The AISC's 2006 Innovative Design in Engineering and Architecture with Structural Steel annual awards program recognizes outstanding achievements in engineering and architecture on structural steel projects nationwide.

The project, 20 mi. northwest of San Antonio, was the only winner in Texas, and one of only three national winners to earn merit award recognition in the “projects less than $15 million” classification. Project team members include architect Lake/Flato Architects of San Antonio; structural engineer Architectural Engineers Collaborative of Austin; steel fabricator Ironhorse Iron Works In. of Lorena; steel erector Moore Erection Co. of Garden Ridge; and general contractor Tom Page & Co. of San Antonio.

A panel of design and construction industry professionals judged entries on their use of structural steel with an emphasis on creative solutions to project requirements; design innovation; aesthetic and visual impact of the project; innovative use of architecturally exposed structural steel; technical or architectural advances in the use of steel; and the use of innovative design and construction methods. Overall, 11 winners were selected from 70 entries.

State Leaders Elected to ARTBA Board, Awards Presented

Several Texans are among the officers and directors elected by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association for 2006-2007.

C. Michael Walton, Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, was elected chairman and Robert Heitmann, director of business development for Zachry American Infrastructure in San Antonio was selected as vice chairman-at-large. Richard S. Shapiro, executive vice president of public affairs and marketing for CEMEX USA in Houston, was elected for a three-year term as an ARTBA director.

Rio Grande Valley State Veterans Cemetery Dedicated

Construction on the Rio Grande Valley State Veterans Cemetery began in September 2005 and was  completed last month. The new cemetery is the second state veterans cemetery.

The Rio Grande Valley State Veterans Cemetery in Mission was recently dedicated. The cemetery was constructed by the Texas Veterans Land Board on a site donated by the city of Mission. It is the second State Veterans Cemetery in Texas.

Construction on the cemetery began in September 2005 and was completed in December. With a cost of about $8.7 million, the first phase included design, construction >> and equipment with adequate burial capacity for 10 years. Future phases are expected to cost less.

The 75-acre cemetery has an ultimate capacity for up to 25,000 burials. Among its features is a covered, open-air structure for committal services; a visitors' center; a computer system for locating specific graves or interments; and an assembly area for special occasions.

Turner Exec Leads DFW ACE Mentor Program

Matt Papenfus, vice president and general manager for Turner Construction Co.'s Texas region, was recently named president of the ACE (Architects, Constructors and Engineers) Mentor Program of Dallas-Fort Worth board of directors. The after-school program serves Metroplex-area high school students interested in exploring career opportunities in the architectural, construction management and engineering industries.

During his two-year term as president, Papenfus will help direct the chapter's efforts in addressing the shortage of qualified professionals in the architecture, construction management and engineering industries and in providing scholarships to ACE graduates who plan to go into careers in design and construction.

In 2004 Turner made a commitment of $500,000 to the ACE Mentor Program nationally, and has helped launch chapters in nine cities outside Texas.

Hill & Wilkinson Named Authorized VP Builder

Plano-based Hill & Wilkinson Ltd. has affiliated with Memphis, Tenn.-based VP Buildings Inc., one of the nation's largest manufacturers of metal building systems, as an authorized VP Builder.