As reported in the Denver Business Journal on July 15, 2010 - DaVita announces plans for new Denver Headquarters.

Thursday, July 15, 2010, 7:39am MDT  |  Modified: Thursday, July 15, 2010, 9:30am

DaVita details plans for Denver HQ building

Kidney-care company DaVita Inc. confirmed Thursday that it plans to build its downtown Denver headquarters on a site near Denver Union Station at the northwest end of the 16th Street Mall.

The 270,000-square-foot building is to rise on a lot near the Millennium Bridge. Construction will start early next year and DaVita (NYSE: DVA) plans to move in during the second half of 2012.

DaVita paid $11 million for the land and estimates construction costs at $90 million.

The building will house hundreds of headquarters executives and staff members as well as be a training site for the company, a program it calls "DaVita University."

In a statement Thursday, DaVita said it has created nearly 200 jobs in the Denver area since deciding to move its headquarters here and "expects to continue to grow that number."

“We’re excited to be building a headquarters that will be a good home for DaVita teammates,” said Kent Thiry, DaVita chairman and CEO. “Equally exciting is the fact that it will be a great place for thousands of our teammates from all over the country to attend DaVita University classes each year.”

Denver Business Journal real estate writer Paula Moore reported in her "Real Deals" blog July 7 that DaVita was close to finalizing a deal for a 16th Street building site, according to local real estate sources.

DaVita, a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest kidney care providers in the United States, announced in May 2009 that it would move its executive staff to the Denver area from its existing El Segundo, Calif., headquarters.

In January of this year it leased temporary headquarters space at the Gates Corp. building at 1551 Wewatta St. It also has office space at the Denver West office park at 1627 Cole Blvd. in Lakewood.

Saunders Construction will act as the general contractor for the Denver headquarters project, DaVita said. It said MOA Architecture is designing the building and will partner with Acquilano Leslie to produce the interior design.

USI Real Estate and CresaPartners handled the local site search and real estate negotiations, DaVita said. CresaPartners will assist in overall project management and Trammell Crow Co. will provide development management services.

DaVita's decision to move its headquarters to Denver has been applauded by local officials at a time when other companies, such as First Data and Qwest Communications International, have moved or plan to move their headquarters elsewhere. Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper cited DaVita's arrival as a key economic victory for the city in his "State of the City" address Tuesday.

As of March, DaVita operated or provided administrative services at 1,544 outpatient dialysis facilities, serving about 119,000 patients.

Compiled by the DBJ's Mark Harden | Paula Moore contributed reporting | denvernews@bizjournals.com

Saunders officially broke ground on the new NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research) Wyoming Supercomputing Center in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  The NCAR Supercomputing Center is a new 154,000 sf data center that will offer one of the largest and most powerful scientific tools in the world.  The goal for this new facility is to support NCAR’s research programs which study atmospheric conditions throughout the world and produce weather models which will calculate, track, and predict weather patterns for the next 50 to 100 years.

For more information on this project and the progress please visit, http://www.cisl.ucar.edu/nwsc/

Doug Wilson wins the 2010 Colfax men's Marathon in 2:46:52!  Doug has been with Saunders Construction for over five years as a project engineer. He has been involved in many high-profile projects such as the Broomfield Event Center, Longmont United Hospital ED Expansion and CSU Indoor Practice Facility.  Doug is an active leader in Saunders Fitness program, participating in numerous cycling and running events such as the Children’s Hospital Courage Classic and the Exempla Good Samaritan Hospital’s Good Sam Bike Jam. He has run the Boston and New York Marathons as well as numerous other marathons around the Country.

Congratulations Doug, we are so proud of you! 

To read more please go to, http://www.denverpost.com/ci_15100085

Mountain States Construction chooses Saunders Construction, Inc. as the 2010 Colorado Contractor of the Year. The following blog was reported by Mark Shaw, Editor-in-Chief on May 14, 2010.  Stayed tuned for the July issue to read more!

Mark Shaw writes: Each year the editors of Mountain States Construction are challenged to select a general contracting firm that demonstrates ongoing innovation and sound business practices as the magazine’s Contractor of the Year.

This year, we selected Centennial-based Saunders Construction Inc. as the Colorado Contractor of the Year, based on the firm’s consistent placement in the top 10 of our annual General Contractors rankings as well as due to a long and diverse backlog of projects the firm currently has under construction or that will break ground in 2010.

For two consecutive years, Saunders Construction Inc. has been profitable and busy, reporting revenue of $340.11 million in Mountain States Construction magazine’s annual Top General Contractors rankings, despite the looming recession that has all but halted most commercial construction in the state.

The firm’s largest project to break ground in 2009 was the first phase of the new Adams County Government Center, a 330,000-sq-ft, five-story administration building that will consolidate county departments and employees from numerous locations into one building.

Founded in 1972, Saunders Construction has played an integral part in the construction of many Colorado landmarks, like the Arvada Center for the Performing Arts, Fiddler’s Green Amphitheater, Broomfield Event Center and the University of Denver College of Law.

Saunders Construction will be featured in the July issue of Mountain States Construction magazine. Click here to access the Blog.

Saunders Construction President and CEO, John Beeble, was awarded the College of Applied Human Sciences Honor Alumnus Award on April 17. The Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni Awards program recognizes CSU alumni and friends who have distinguished themselves professionally, brought honor to the University, and have made significant contributions of time and/or philanthropy to the University of their community. 

College of Applied Human Sciences

Recipient:John Beeble (BS ’82, Industrial Construction Management)
Current position: President & CEO, Saunders Construction

The College of Applied Human Sciences Honor Alumnus Award will be presented to John P. Beeble, president and chief executive officer of Saunders Construction, a commercial builder and leader in Colorado construction.

Beeble has spent his career in the Colorado construction and real estate industries working in estimating, business development and management. Saunders Construction has consistently ranked as a top contractor in the region and in 2008, was honored as the top contractor by revenue in the state. Beeble is a founding member of the Citadel Group, a national contracting group comprised of best-in-class contractors from across the country.

He serves on the board of several organizations and has participated in university advisory boards and career boards, providing internships to Colorado State University students.

IKEA SECURES CONTRACTORS AND ANNOUNCES FALL 2011 OPENING
FOR FUTURE CENTENNIAL STORE

CONSHOHOCKEN, PA – IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today announced that contractors have been hired and a site-work permit is pending for its future Denver-area store. This progress allows for a Fall 2011 grand opening in Centennial, Colorado, increasing the Swedish retailer’s presence in the western United States. Until IKEA Centennial opens, customers from Colorado and beyond can shop at IKEA stores in Draper, UT and Tempe, AZ or at www.IKEA-USA.com.

IKEA has retained Centennial-based Saunders Construction as the construction management firm. Other Colorado firms involved with this future IKEA store include: CLC Associates for civil design; Kimley Horn Associates as traffic consultants during the approval process; Ground Engineering providing environmental analysis and geotechnical services; Otten Johnson Robinson Neff & Ragonetti serving as local counsel; real estate brokerage firm Legend Retail Group assisting IKEA in the site selection process; Geothermal Systems of Colorado designing the geothermal component, and Miller Global selling the land. Atlanta-based GreenbergFarrow is architect responsible for store design, site planning and construction documents.

“With our land purchased, team selected and site-work permit pending, we now can schedule IKEA Centennial to open Fall 2011,” said Doug Greenholz, IKEA real estate director. “Construction crews soon will begin clearing and grading the site, and we look forward to breaking ground officially in a couple of months.”

In addition to 10,000 exclusively-designed items, IKEA Centennial will present approximately 50 different room-settings, three complete model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area and a 500-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries or salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the showroom, baby care rooms, preferred parking and play areas throughout the store.

The 415,000 square-foot future IKEA Centennial, with approximately 1,500 parking spaces, will be built on 13.5 acres along the western side of Interstate 25 in the Park Meadows area, accessible from connections to Dry Creek Road and County Line Road exits, and will employ approximately 400 coworkers when the new store opens. The store will reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide. Also, IKEA Centennial will be the first U.S. IKEA store to incorporate a geothermal component as part of the heating and cooling system, so heat will be pumped either from or into the ground, depending on weather conditions.

There currently are more than 300 IKEA stores in 38 countries, including 37 in the U.S. Since its 1943 founding in Sweden, IKEA has offered a wide range of home furnishings and accessories of good design and function at low prices so the majority of the people can afford them. IKEA has been ranked in FORTUNE’s annual “100 Best Companies to work For” list, Working Mother magazine’s annual list of “100 Best Companies for Working Mothers” and Training magazine’s annual “Top 100” ranking of companies that excel at human capital development. IKEA incorporates sustainable efforts into day-to-day business, and continually supports initiatives that benefit causes such as children and the environment. For more information about IKEA, please go to www.IKEA-USA.com.

The latest issue of Colorado View Magazine profiles Saunders' Building Confidence in Kids program in Brooke Borgen's article, Beyond the Bottom Line.  Click here to read the full article.

For more information on the Colorado View Magazine visit their site at, http://www.coloradoviewmagazine.com/ 

BOULDER—The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) announced today the selection of a construction management and general contracting firm for the NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center (NWSC) project. NCAR has selected Denver-based Saunders Construction, Inc. to provide pre-construction and, potentially, construction services for the $66 million, 150,000-square-foot building in Cheyenne, Wyo. The award to Saunders was made following a competitive selection process.

The project is undergoing a multi-step review process with the National Science Foundation, NCAR’s principal sponsor. If approved, construction could begin in the spring, with the center opening in late 2011 or early 2012 in Cheyenne’s North Range Business Park.

"NCAR is very excited to be taking the next important step in this process," said Krista Laursen, NWSC project director at NCAR. “We are pleased to be on track to deliver a world-class facility for the atmospheric science and geoscience communities.”

Saunders Construction, Inc. is a full-service general contractor and construction manager based in Centennial, Colorado. The firm provides pre-construction and construction services throughout Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region. Other firms working on the project include design firm H+L Architecture and E-Cube, Inc., the firm responsible for commissioning.

"Saunders is honored to be a part of such a strong and experienced team to deliver this technologically advanced facility to UCAR/NCAR, Wyoming, and the West," said Jim Weber, vice president of project development at Saunders Construction, Inc.

The NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center is being developed in partnership with the University of Wyoming, the State of Wyoming, Cheyenne-Laramie County Corporation for Economic Development (Cheyenne LEADS), the Wyoming Business Council, and Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power. It will contain one of the world's most powerful supercomputers dedicated to improving scientific understanding of climate, severe weather, air quality, and other vital atmospheric science and geoscience topics.

The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research manages the National Center for Atmospheric Research under sponsorship by the National Science Foundation. Any opinions, findings and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Home for noted artist's works closer to reality
By The Denver Post

Formal groundbreaking for the Clyfford Still Museum was Monday. Construction will follow demolition of two buildings on the site. The museum is to open in 2011. (Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post)After five years of planning, the Clyfford Still Museum took a major step toward becoming a reality Monday with a formal groundbreaking ceremony for its $29 million home, on Bannock Street between West 12th and West 13th avenues.

"Being a new institution, you have to have bricks and mortar or people don't really understand it as being real," said director Dean Sobel. "People are now suddenly realizing this is happening."

The morning event, which was attended by about 300 people, culminated with a backhoe ripping off a corner of one of two buildings on the site. Demolition is expected to be completed by the end of the week, with construction starting soon after.

The Still Museum, to be funded through private donations, will house more than 2,400 of the famed 20th-century painter's works donated by his widow. It is scheduled to open in mid-2011.

Kyle MacMillan, The Denver Post

The Associated General Contractors annual ACE Awards for Construction Excellence was held on Friday, November 6 2009 with over 500 industry professionals in attendance.  Saunders is pleased to announce Wildcat Hall at Johnson and Wales University was awarded the ACE Award for Construction Excellence in its project category.  Congratulations to the entire team!

Saunders had two projects that were recognized by McGraw Hill during their Gold Hard Hat Awards Ceremony last Friday.  The CornerStar Project with Alberta was awarded a Silver and The Streets of Southglenn won a Gold Hard hat for the Best Retail Project.

As reported at CSUrams.com on September 15, 2009.

CSU to dedicate new $20 million facilities at grand opening ceremony Friday

Sept. 15, 2009 FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- Like a proud parent, the Colorado State athletic department will formally introduce the public to its new fraternal twins Friday.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony, to dedicate CSU's new $13 million Indoor Practice Facility and $7 million Academic and Training Center, will take place Friday at 1 p.m., near the Academic and Training Center.

Following the ceremony, free public tours will be available of both buildings. ESPN Radio 870, KJMP-AM, will broadcast from the event.

Colorado State first announced plans for the new buildings, a $20 million leap toward a vivid future, in April 2008. The buildings represent CSU's largest commitment toward athletic facilities in four decades, since the construction of Hughes Stadium and Moby Arena.

"These buildings show that Colorado State is unmistakably serious about achieving its stretch goals," Director of Athletics Paul Kowalczyk said, referring to the university's established aims of playing in BCS football games, consistent men's and women's NCAA basketball tournament berths, and winning the Director's Cup competition. "These buildings, combined with the recent renovations at our football stadium, put us where we need to be in terms of offering quality, state-of-the-art facilities to our coaches and student-athletes, those who are here now and those who are thinking about coming here. There has never been a better time to be a Ram."

The process began in October 2006, when Kowalczyk and associate athletic director Doug Max made the new buildings a priority within the athletic department's long-term plans. But without the help of the CSU administration and the Board of Governors, the university would not have reached this point.

Quality architectural and construction partners

Designed by Aller-Lingle Architects P.C., and RATIO Architects, Inc., the facilities were built by Saunders Construction, Inc. Aller-Lingle, a local firm instrumental in several campus projects, including recent Hughes Stadium renovations, served as the lead architect on both new buildings. The firm sought the assistance of Indianapolis-based RATIO because of its recent experience in the design of similar venues at BCS universities such as Illinois, Oregon, West Virginia and Indiana. Saunders has played a significant role in the construction of several prominent Colorado projects, including the Paul D. Bowlen Memorial Broncos Centre.

Indoor Practice Facility at a glance

• Cost: $13 million.
• 66,267 square feet, including 48,125 dedicated to the football portion and 8,827 to the basketball/volleyball area.
• 65 feet at its tallest point.
• Contains a 70-yard synthetic-turf football field (including one end zone).
• Features a four-lane, 70-meter track and a unique shoe-changing room adjacent to the football field.
• Gymnasium easily encloses a regulation basketball court and two half courts.
• Volleyball configuration can accommodate two full-length courts.
• Has flexibility to allow the softball team to set up batting cages on the football field.
• Will provide shelter for any student-athlete in each of the Rams' 16 varsity sports.
• Includes training room, equipment storage, lobby and trophy display case, and restrooms.
• Uses an innovative air circulation system.
• Located east of the Moby Pool and north of the Student Recreation Center.

Academic and Training Center at a glance

• Cost: $7 million.
• 17,000 square feet.
• Training portion includes a state-of-the-art weight room, strength and conditioning offices, a nutrition center and restrooms.
• The Anderson Academic Center features five private tutorial rooms and a large study areas.
• Also includes a computer lab with 30 workstations, more workspace and offices for CSU's academic staff.
• Located southeast of the McGraw Athletic Center.
• Raising construction funds

The university recognizes that enhanced facilities are critical to attracting national-caliber student-athletes to Fort Collins. Construction of these buildings will create an environment that promotes growth and excellence. And though that construction comes at a steep cost, Colorado State is committed to raising those funds to turn this vision into authentic symbols of the university's pride.

While Colorado State is supporting the construction through bonded funds, the athletics department continues a campaign to raise $20 million.

Fort Collins natives and CSU graduates Brett and Danette Anderson launched the fundraising campaign with a pacesetting gift. In November 2008, the family gave $1.5 million to assist with the construction of the academic and training center. To recognize the gift, the academic portion of the new building will be named the Anderson Academic Center.

There are several other naming opportunities available. Those interested in naming opportunities should contact the office of development at 970/491-4666.

Quotes

"The academic and training center will allow our student-athletes to meet their potential both academically and athletically." -Tim Miles, head men's basketball coach

"The indoor practice facility will not only provide our team the opportunity to practice in a state-of-the-art facility, but will also enhance our ability to attract the best student-athletes to CSU. It will secure our place among the elite volleyball programs in the country." - Tom Hilbert, head volleyball coach

"I've been a student-athlete and an assistant coach at Colorado State, and I can testify that this already was a special place to make valuable memories during such an important part of a young person's life. These facilities will make that experience even better." - Steve Fairchild, head football coach

"A new facility will reflect the support provided by the university and our supporters for academic and athletic success." - Mekana Barnes, All-American, volleyball

"I researched athletics facilities in the Mountain West Conference during an internship with the President's office. CSU's new facility will place us at the top of indoor facilities in the MWC. The impact on our entire program will be tremendous." - 1,000-yard rusher Kyle Bell, football

Saunders Construction, Inc. has been ranked as the #1 General Contractor in Colorado based on revenue for 2008.