San Antonio-based FAS Construction Management Inc., a subsidiary of MDI, was chosen to provide construction risk management services on several sizeable construction projects in the United States and Mexico.

Totaling in excess of $100 million, the projects include management services for the construction of retail, entertainment, civil infrastructure, utilities and residential buildings. Among the three projects is the $57 million construction project for a residential building in Las Vegas. FAS was chosen to manage the construction risk for a 20-story condominium tower complex that will have approximately 411,000 sq ft of luxury residential space. The project is expected to take 18 months to complete.

Half-Million-Sq-Ft Urban Hub Planned for Houston’s Rice Village

Randall Davis Co. broke ground on Sonoma, a mixed-use, mid-rise condo project in Houston’s sought-after Rice University/Village area in May. Ziegler Cooper Architects is designing the 578,000-sq-ft urban village for owner Lamesa Properties and developer Randall Davis Co., all Houston-based firms.

Located within Rice Village, Sonoma will total 213 residential units, 60,000 sq ft of retail, 43,000 sq ft of offices, four restaurants, an urban grocer and parking for 989 cars. Since it opened in the 1930s, Rice Village has grown to a 16-block shopping, dining and entertainment district.

Randall Davis also recently launched sales of its high-rise condo project, Titan. Targeted completion of the 26-story high-rise is 2010.

San Antonio ’s La Cantera Adds One Million Sq Ft of Mixed-Use

Plans are in the works to add a 1 million-sq-ft mixed-use development to the upscale Shops at La Cantera in San Antonio. No timeline or dollar amount has been associated with the project yet.

The Town Center at La Cantera will be a mixed-use development on approximately 178 acres bounded by The Shops at La Cantera, Interstate 10 and Loop 1604. The Town Center at La Cantera will include approximately 1 million sq ft of office, a high-end boutique hotel with spa, upscale retail and approximately 500 residential units, according to developer San Antonio-based USAA Real Estate Co.

Construction Starts on Upscale Senior Living in Houston

In a joint venture with Scottsdale-based RED Group LLC, and Seattle-based Leisure Care, Opus West Corp. of Houston broke ground on 24.7 acres in the Houston suburb of Missouri City for the mixed-use Colonial Lakes Village project.

Located at the northwest corner of State Highway 6 and Colonial Lakes Drive, Colonial Lakes Village will include a 222-unit independent senior living community on 8.1 acres, called The Reserve at Colonial Lakes, as well as 50,000 sq ft of office condo space, 5.2 acres devoted to retail pad sites and 20,000 sq ft of retail space.

The project is slated for a 2009 completion.

The Reserve at Colonial Lakes is designed by Houston-based ORB Architecture LLC, and Opus West Construction will build the mixed-use development.

Texas A&M Breaks Ground on Pre-Clinical Research Institute

Plans are moving forward for The Texas Institute for Preclinical Studies at Texas A&M University, a 112,000-sq-ft, three-building facility, which will be located in Texas A&M University’s Research Park in College Station.

The facility - designed by Houston-based Perkins+Will and built by Vaughn Construction of Houston - will train veterinarians, physicians, scientists, technicians and engineers to meet the growing needs of the biomedical industry. The institute will work with the public and private sector to accelerate the research, development and commercialization of breakthrough technologies.

The state will invest $6 million in the institute through the Texas Emerging Technology Fund to help recruit world-class biotechnology researchers to the institute. The investment leveraged an additional $40 million for the institute from the Texas A&M University System, and $2.5 million from the local community through the Research Valley Partnership. The TIPS facility, totaling about 104,000 sq ft, is expected to be completed by June 2009.

Speed Fab-Crete Selected for Frank Kent Motor Dealership

Fort Worth-based Speed Fab-Crete has been selected design-build general contractor for Frank Kent Motor Co. dealership in Fort Worth.The 15,452-sq-ft facility will occupy the former site of Frank Kent’s old GMC building. The new building will be adjacent to the Frank Kent Hummer showroom, which Speed Fab-Crete built in 2004.

The dealership will contain a 3,600-sq-ft showroom, a drive-through service department, with three work bays, sales offices, and a customer lounge with a children’s play area.

The design-build contract is the latest to team Speed Fab-Crete with Fort Worth-based Callahan & Freeman Architects, which designed the building.

Rowland Building New Worship Center in Cleburne

Crews with Fort Worth-based Rowland Cos. started construction on a new $4.5 million, 33,000-sq-ft worship facility for Cleburne Bible Church in Cleburne. The new church campus will include a 400-seat worship facility and gathering space, 300 parking spaces, youth facilities, and a coffee bar area.

Cleburne Bible Church worked with Bill Harty of Ascent Solutions of Southlake for its master plan. The architect for the project is PSA Dewberry of Dallas. Construction is anticipated to be complete by August.

Cadence McShane Completes Epsilon Headquarters

Cadence McShane Corp. completed the second phase of Dallas-based Epsilon’s corporate campus located at Koll Development Co.’s Regent Center in Irving. The new two-story, 75,132-sq-ft build-to-suit office building was constructed on a five-acre parcel adjacent to Epsilon’s existing corporate headquarters also developed by KDC and constructed by Cadence McShane.

Architectural services for both office facilities were provided by Richardson-based, Alliance Architects. The two-building corporate campus was designed to integrate the office facilities into a seamless and attractive environment to maximize frontage and promote visibility along the LBJ Freeway.