Centex, HKS Break Ground on Arlington Hospital

A rendering shows Arlington Memorial Hospital's new $76 million surgical tower - the largest one-time construction in the facility's 48-year history. (Image courtesy HKS Inc.).

Arlington Memorial Hospital officially began construction on its new $76 million, six-story surgical tower.

Arlington Hospital Breaks Ground

Arlington Memorial Hospital recently began the construction process on its new $76 million surgical tower - the largest one-time construction in the facility's 48-year history. Hospital representatives and team members from HKS Architects and Centex Construction Co., both headquartered in Dallas, were part of a groundbreaking ceremony held in early February.

Arlington Memorial Hospital, the hub of community health care in the Arlington-Mansfield-Grand Prairie area, is expanding to meet the increasing health care needs of the region.

"This is the next great step for Arlington Memorial," said Oscar L. Amparan, president of the hospital and executive vice president of Texas Health Resources. "The city of Arlington and the surrounding communities have counted on Arlington Memorial for almost half a century. Arlington Memorial and THR are committed to providing patients and their physicians with facilities, technologies and services that are advanced, convenient, comfortable and family-friendly."

The new six-story surgical tower will increase the hospital's size by more than 200,000 sq. ft., adding 16 operating rooms for inpatient and day surgery, plus 48 private patient rooms. Completion is slated for September 2007.

Jeff Stouffer, principal designer for HKS, said the creation of flexible, acuity-adaptable patient rooms and units will allow the hospital to expand its inpatient capability while the creation of a unique surgical unit on two floors will help support the hospital's ability to treat critically ill patients.

"An inviting lobby, located on the south side of the campus, creates a welcoming entry for patients and visitors," Stouffer said. "The entrance links visitors to covered parking access to the new and existing health-care facilities in a pleasing environment."

Texas Health Resources' president and CEO Doug Hawthorne said the expansion, which is part of an overall 10-year, $1.5 billion growth plan for the 13-hospital system, follows THR's mission to improve the health of the people in the communities it serves.

"There is a direct correlation between the health of people in a community and their access to care," Hawthorne said. "We believe it is essential to provide access to advanced care near where people live and work. This much-needed expansion will enable Arlington Memorial to continue to be the center of health care in the community."

Katy ISD recently celebrated the completion of Seven Lakes High School. The new 613,000-sq.-ft. high school and ninth grade center sits on a 125-acre campus in Fort Bend County. Gilbane Building Co. served as general contractor and the project architect was PBK Architects.

Brazos Electric Plant Complete

Fluor Corp. recently announced that it has completed construction of and commissioning services for the 620-megawatt, natural gas-fired, combined-cycle Jack County Generation power plant, located near Jacksboro. "We are delighted to have worked with Brazos Electric on this important project and have appreciated the opportunity to provide this low-cost energy source to its customer base," said David Constable, Fluor's group president of its Power division.

Fluor was awarded the contract in 2003 by Brazos Electric Power Cooperative Inc. to provide engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning services at the facility in an effort to provide low-cost, reliable electricity to its customers. Detailed engineering was performed in Fluor's Houston office.

"We are especially proud of our safety record on the project, having achieved our goals by performing more than 900,000 hours with no lost-time accidents or restricted workdays," said Bob Mickey, Fluor's senior vice president of its Power division.

Last year Fluor announced the relocation of its headquarters from Aliso Viejo, Calif. to the Metroplex by mid-2006.

Teal Completes Toyota Prototype

Teal Construction Co. of Houston has completed the new Toyota of Fort Bend dealership in Richmond. The dealership is one of the first in the area to follow the new Toyota facility prototype. The 90,000-sq.-ft. structure houses new and pre-owned sales, an extensive parts department, an air-conditioned service department with an underground carbon monoxide system and a high-tech collision center.

The facility was designed for the ultimate customer shopping experience. A "mall" atmosphere encourages comfortable, relaxed browsing of the latest models, and high-tech design elements are used to differentiate the brands. The dealership features Toyota's unique lighted entry portal element.

Toyota of Fort Bend is owned by Group 1 Automotive. Teal has built more than 350 car dealerships including more than a dozen for Group 1 Automotive.