SECO Development Announces $350-million Washington Office Project
SECO Development held a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday on its $350-million Southport Office Campus project on Lake Washington in Renton, Wash. The three tower project will join the Hyatt Regency and Bristol Residences to complete a 17.1-acre mixed use development.
 
Bolstered by market confidence, SECO Development is building the 730,000-sq-ft class-A office project completely on spec.
 
The complex will include infrastructure to support technology firms, including access to 100 GB data speeds via a fiber Gigabit Passive Optical Network, with access up to 100 GB data speeds, robust network infrastructure and a redundant power grid.
 
Five-Farm Wind Project Under Construction in Eastern Oregon
The construction of five new wind farms is now underway in Baker County, Oregon, 30 miles northwest of Ontario. D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments, LLC and Oregon Windfarms, LLC began construction on the farms, known collectively as Huntington Wind projects. The five 10 MW farms have already signed 20-year lease agreements with Idaho Power Company.
 
“We are proud to reach this important milestone for the Huntington Wind projects,” says Bryan Martin, managing director and head of U.S. Private Equity at the D. E. Shaw group. “We appreciate the hard work of Idaho Power, OWF, the other equity investors, and our many other partners to bring these projects to financial close.”
 
The companies expect to complete construction on the wind farms by the end of 2016. Estimates project that the five projects will generate enough power to power about 9,000 homes upon completion, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Site Constructors, Inc. will serve as the engineering, procurement, and construction contractor for the projects.
 
PCI Foundation Honors Former Engineering Professor with Memorial Scholarship
The PCI Foundation has created a scholarship to honor the memory of Dr. Alan Mattock, former civil engineering professor at University of Washington. During his career, Mattock contributed extensive research to the field of engineering, specifically to the precast/prestressed concrete industry.
 
The PCI Foundation will award the first $4,000 Alan Mattock Graduate Scholarship this spring. The scholarship is tied to the PCI Foundation Research and Development Council’s Jenny Fellowship program.
 
During his career, Mattock won several awards, published many papers and contributed to PCI Foundation Research. He retired in 1990.
 
Associated General Contractors of America Awards OSU Student Group
The Oregon State University student chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America won second place in the 2015 AGC Outstanding Student Chapter Contest and took home $750.
 
The AGC recognized the OSU chapter for its workforce development and service projects, including creating the first high school chapter of the AGC at ACE Academy in Portland, Ore and helping students there create a constitution, a calendar of events and expand their membership. The OSU chapter also put on the OSU-sponsored Winter Wanderings event for primary school students and taught middle school students about construction using games and other activities.
 
The OSU chapter also participated in several service projects, including assisting in the building of a surgical hospital in Haiti, working on Habitat for Humanity projects and donating food to a local homeless shelter.