SpawGlass Tops Out at Downtown Austin Site

The Austin Convention Center garage and district cooling plant are scheduled for completion in August.

CC pkg garage team

SpawGlass team members for the new Austin Convention Center Garage & Austin Energy District Cooling Plant project include from left: Alfred Cordova, Valerie Odell, James Lucas, Roy Brietzke, Bryan Kent and Joey George.

The Austin office of SpawGlass Contractors Inc. recently celebrated the topping out of the new Austin Convention Center Garage & Austin Energy District Cooling Plant. The project consists of a five-level, 650-car capacity, 250,000-sq.-ft. parking garage with 30,000 sq. ft. of tenant finish-out space on the bottom level. Also included in this project is construction of an 80,000-sq.-ft. cooling plant.

Construction began in December 2003 and is scheduled for completion in August. The architect for the project is Barnes Gromatzky Kosarek Architects in a joint venture with Goetting & Associates and Jaster-Quintanilla.

SpawGlass has been involved in the growth of the Austin Convention Center complex from the original center in 1992 and the expansion in 2002 to the new garage and district cooling plant.

SpawGlass, which is 100 percent employee owned, maintains regional offices in Austin, Harlingen, Houston and San Antonio.

TCC Announces New Downtown Campus

Tarrant County College recently announced the purchase of 55 acres in downtown Fort Worth with plans to present a concept model for the construction of a fifth comprehensive college campus expected to open in September 2008. Total purchase price of the land was $38.37 million with negotiations continuing on three small parcels totaling 23,667 sq. ft.

The initial phase of the campus will comprise about 500,000 sq. ft. It will be built north and south of the Trinity River and east of Main Street and will feature a sky bridge linking the two sections.

The city, county and water district were key partners in the acquisition of the land and the development of the concept.

Gideon Toal of Fort Worth and Bing Thom Architects of Vancouver were selected as architects for the new campus.

"The site represents a unique opportunity for TCC meeting the educational training needs of the community and providing a key component to the continued redevelopment of downtown and the Trinity River," said Randy Gideon, co-chairman and CEO of Gideon Toal.

Most of the purchased property belonged to TXU Power, which used to operate the North Main Steam Electric Generating Station on the site.

Beck Group Awarded new Projects

Dallas-based Beck Group has recently been awarded several new construction projects. For Simon Property Group Inc, one of the United State's largest mall developers, Beck was selected to construct The Domain, a $65 million retail center to be located in Austin. Beck is currently providing architect-of-record and construction services for the Firewheel Town Center in Garland, another Simon property.

The Beck Group has also been selected to construct the Criswell Center at the First Baptist Church in Dallas. The 200,000 sq. ft., multi-purpose facility will be adjacent to the existing sanctuary.

Kinsman Ventures Breaks Ground at Chapel Hill II

Kinsman Ventures, a leading developer of commercial office building sites and professional office campuses, recently announced it has broken ground on the first of five luxury office suites at the Chapel Hill II development in Plano, TX. The office suites, located near the intersection of Chapel Hill Road and the Dallas North Tollway, are adjacent to The Shops at Willow Bend in Plano. The 6,000 sq. ft. Chapel Hill II building, is the first to be constructed in the development.

The 35,167 sq. ft. Chapel Hill II development is a five-building single-story general and medical office campus. The campus offers premium drive-by visibility across from The Shops at Willow Bend, elegant architectural design, ample parking with more than 220 parking spaces and convenient north and southbound access to the Dallas North Tollway.

The 6,000-sq.-ft. Chapel Hill II building, scheduled for completion in February, will become home to Perfect Impressions and Logic One Sales Inc.