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Home » Top Stories of 2012 Reflect Ups and Downs of Southwest Market
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Top Stories of 2012 Reflect Ups and Downs of Southwest Market

Top Stories of 2012 Reflect Ups and Downs of Southwest Market
Three power-generating wind turbines are located at ground level at the net-zero Colonel Smith Middle School in southern Arizona, so students can monitor sustainable energy generation.

Photo by Megan Brown
Top Stories of 2012 Reflect Ups and Downs of Southwest Market
The new Roger Road Water Reclamation Facility project includes several design improvements over the nearby facility it is replacing.

Photo Courtesy of CH2M Hill
Top Stories of 2012 Reflect Ups and Downs of Southwest Market
The $2-billion Tres Amigas project aimed to link the major U.S. power grids for the first time, opening up new opportunities for renewable development.

Image courtesy Tres Amigas LLC
Top Stories of 2012 Reflect Ups and Downs of Southwest Market
Originally built in 1928, the home for University of Arizona's Wildcats in Tucson underwent a large-scale expansion during 2012 and was one of many Tucson projects making news this year.

Photo courtesy Todd Photographic
Top Stories of 2012 Reflect Ups and Downs of Southwest Market
The 500-ft-tall SkyVue Observation Wheel broke ground on the Las Vegas Strip in 2012.

Image courtesy Tony Illia
Top Stories of 2012 Reflect Ups and Downs of Southwest Market
Activity buzzed at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix all year. Phase 1 completed early in the year, and the project was awarded the Best Transportation Project and Best Safety by ENR Southwest. Meanwhile, phase 1a continued construction led by McCarthy-Kiewit JV.

Photo by Scott Blair
Top Stories of 2012 Reflect Ups and Downs of Southwest Market
The new Chicago Cubs Spring Training Facility broke ground in Mesa, Ariz. in 2012.

Image courtesy City of Mesa
Top Stories of 2012 Reflect Ups and Downs of Southwest Market
The 110-MW concentrating solar power plant will sit on 1,776 acres of federal land along the Crescent Dunes, about 13 miles northwest of Tonopah, Nev.

Image Courtesy of SolarReserve
Top Stories of 2012 Reflect Ups and Downs of Southwest Market
Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Ariz. underwent the first phase of a green renovation in 2012.

Photo courtesy Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation
Top Stories of 2012 Reflect Ups and Downs of Southwest Market
Tutor Perini and Bechtel put the finishing touches on McCarran International Airport's new Terminal 3. The $2.4-billion project was completed months ahead of schedule.

Photo courtesy McCarran Intl. Airport
Top Stories of 2012 Reflect Ups and Downs of Southwest Market
Top Stories of 2012 Reflect Ups and Downs of Southwest Market
Top Stories of 2012 Reflect Ups and Downs of Southwest Market
Top Stories of 2012 Reflect Ups and Downs of Southwest Market
Top Stories of 2012 Reflect Ups and Downs of Southwest Market
Top Stories of 2012 Reflect Ups and Downs of Southwest Market
Top Stories of 2012 Reflect Ups and Downs of Southwest Market
Top Stories of 2012 Reflect Ups and Downs of Southwest Market
Top Stories of 2012 Reflect Ups and Downs of Southwest Market
Top Stories of 2012 Reflect Ups and Downs of Southwest Market
January 2, 2013
Scott Blair
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It was a year that many had hoped would mark a distinct end to the recession and the return to better times. However, political uncertainty prevented a dramatic recovery in 2012; instead, the Southwest saw recovery in fits and starts. While the housing market returned and helped spur private development, large government projects were wrapping up and new ones weren't coming online to replace them. For every two companies doing well, there were four that were still struggling.

The top Southwest stories of 2012 reflect that dichotomy: it wasn't the best of times, but it wasn't the worst of times either.

The year started with the country's largest privately held construction equipment rental company's bankruptcy. Ahern Rentals Inc., the 58-year-old family-owned equipment rental giant that filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy at the end of last year, revealed that it was $620 million in debt, with $2.8 million in unpaid employee wages and salaries.

Ironically, 2012 ended with another report on Ahern's bankruptcy, and unfortunately it was more bad news. ENR reporter Tony Illia posted on his blog that a judge ruled that other parties may submit alternate reorganization plans, since Ahern has been unable to reconcile its differences with creditors, despite four time extensions.

The courtroom drama over the Harmon Hotel at CityCenter in Las Vegas heated up throughout the year, with a new court ruling extending the saga into 2014.

Other firms sought strength through partnerships and mergers. Dck Worldwide CEO Stephen D'Angelo spoke to ENR Southwest in September about his firm's purchase of Summit Builders of Phoenix.

A string of groundbreakings helped bouy the Phoenix construction market. The Roosevelt Point Apartments broke ground in downtown Phoenix early in 2012, and by the fall, the project was being topped off. Appropriately for spring, the new Chicago Cubs Spring Training Facility broke ground in Mesa, Ariz. Banner Health began construction on the $151-million Estrella Patient Tower in the southwest valley. Also in the southwest valley city of Laveen, Ariz., Henderson, Nev.-based Tutor Perini Building Corp. broke ground on the Vee Quiva Casino & Hotel under an $82-million contract.

Topping them all was Intel's announcement that it would add another $300-million building to its already $5-plus-billion Chandler, Ariz. campus expansion, with its new research and development facility. Around the same time in August, the Mayo Clinic announced a $130-million expansion to its underway proton beam therapy building to consolidate its Phoenix cancer center.

Despite the deep trough Nevada found itself in after the recession, there were a few encouraging signs in 2012. A proposed 306-mile pipeline moved forward. The massive $1.5-billion Union Village in Henderson sought to reinvent how projects are developed. 

After some quiet construction years, the Las Vegas Strip roared back to life with unusual dueling projects -- two giant sky wheels. The 500-ft-tall SkyVue Observation Wheel broke ground across from the Mandalay Bay Resort. At the same time, Caesars is building The LINQ, a massive $550-million entertainment complex, which includes its own sky wheel. Caesars also announced plans to spend $185 million to reinvent an aging Las Vegas Strip property, Bill's Gamblin' Hall, into a boutique hotel/casino.

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Scott-blair

Blair manages day-to-day operations of the ENR editorial team to ensure brand quality, further best practices and support the editor-in-chief. He spearheads ENR's various competitions, including Best Projects and the Award of Excellence, and organizes editorial content at events including the Global Construction Summit. A Jesse H. Neal, Construction Media Alliance and AZBEES-award-winning writer and videographer, Blair frequently contributes to ENR’s burgeoning video channel with project tour videos and interviews with industry leaders. He is also a frequent speaker and moderator on topics such as design and jobsite technology, construction means and methods and marketing.

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