ENR Texas &amp; Louisiana Top Project Starts 2014

ENR Texas & Louisiana Top Project Starts 2014

Historic Building Converts From One Use to Three — Ferrovial Agroman US Corp., Austin, and Webber LLC, Houston, are the joint venture developers of the $1.4-billion, 6.5-mile North Tarrant Express I-35W Segment 3A toll lane, due for completion in fall 2018.

Photos Courtesy of North Tarrant Express 35W

With completion expected in August 2016, the facility is the largest investment ever by a Chinese company in a U.S. production facility. Tianjin Pipe Corp., the parent company of Gregory, Texas-based TPCO America, is China's largest producer of seamless steel pipe.

"Our success to date has resulted from a major investment of time and effort to blend cultures and foster teamwork, understanding and communications between TPCO and Yates," says Randy Powell, senior vice president of the Texas division for San Antonio-based Yates Construction. The company is providing engineering and construction services on the project.

One of the region's top medical starts is the $222-million Texas Children's Hospital The Woodlands, which should open in Houston in April 2017. The hospital was designed by FKP Architects and is being built by Tellepsen Builders, both based in Houston.

Two projects for Houston Methodist—ENR Texas & Louisiana's Owner of the Year—are scheduled for completion in 2017. The $328-million Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital is a 470,000-sq-ft acute-care facility that will provide 193 inpatient beds.

Also underway is the $540-million North Campus Expansion at Houston Methodist Hospital, which will include a 390-bed inpatient tower with expanded operating suites, hybrid procedure suites and a dedicated cardiology floor with 14 interventional catheterization labs.

"Over the next three years, we plan to invest more than $1 billion in expanding and replacing our facilities throughout the Houston area," says Marc Boom, president and CEO of Houston Methodist.

Designed by renowned architect Cesar Pelli, Crescent Real Estate's McKinney & Olive is a 530,000-sq-ft project that is part of a $225-million, mixed-use development in Dallas. It is also Pelli's first design in the city. Led by construction manager The Beck Group, Dallas, the building should be complete by July 2016.

"The project has many unique aspects, such as the geometry of the office tower, which, tilting outward on the north facade, creates additional lease space as the tower peaks," says Joseph F. Pitchford, managing director for Crescent Real Estate Equities LLC, Dallas. "The attention to detail and quality sets a new standard for Dallas."

To view a list of the region's Top Projects Starts for 2014, click here.