VIRGINIA The Greater Richmond Transit Co. selected Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc. to provide planning and operations simulation services for a proposed new bus rapid transit system along Broad St. in Richmond. VHB will create traffic simulation, travel-demand modeling and traffic engineering to assess its potential operational, ridership and street traffic implications of the Broad St. BRT system. The planning and operations simulation will take one year to complete. GRTC then will have a comprehensive understanding of the merits and issues associated with the introduction of the BRT system, and can proceed to project refinement and implementation. Vanasse Hangen Brustin Inc., 101 Walnut St., Watertown, Mass. 02472; Greater Richmond Transit Co., 101 S. Davis Ave., Richmond 23220.

WASHINGTON Vulcan Northwest announced plans to build a seven-story, 330-unit residential development with ground-floor retail space on a site bounded by Harrison and Republican Sts. and Pontius and Yale Ave. in Seattle. Runberg Architectural Group is the architect selected for the project, which also proposes to restore and convert the historic Supply Laundry Building into either office or retail use. Site-plan approvals are under way. Runberg Architectural Group, One Yesler Way, Seattle 98104; Vulcan Northwest Inc., 505 Fifth Ave. S., Seattle 98104. DR #08-838247.

CALIFORNIA Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. was awarded a contract valued at $18 million by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to provide construction-management services for the Bay Tunnel project in San Francisco. The approximately $270-million project consists of construction of five miles of 9-ft-dia soft-ground tunnel below San Francisco Bay, including two vertical shafts adjacent to the bay. Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., 1111 S. Arroyo Parkway, Pasadena 91109.

CALIFORNIA Walbridge-Overaa, a joint venture of Walbridge Aldinger and C. Overaa & Co., was awarded a $74.5-million contract by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the design and construction of an armed forces reserve center located adjacent to the NASA complex at Moffett Field. Construction began in October and is expected to be completed by October 2010. Walbridge Aldinger, 777 Woodward Ave., Detroit, Mich. 48226; C. Overaa & Co., 200 Parr Blvd., Richmond 94801. DR #06-765019.

TEXAS The City of Irving and the Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau held a groundbreaking ceremony for phase one of the new $137-million, 275,000-sq-ft convention center and entertainment district project, a mixed-use entertainment complex on a 40-acre tract in the Las Colinas Urban Center. RMJM Hillier Architecture serves as the complex’s master architect, and has designed the convention center with a goal of achieving a green-building certification. Other members of the development team include Austin Commercial, serving as construction manager, with Dallas-based Beck Group as the city’s owner representative. Phase two of the project is proposed to include a 300,000-sq-ft, 3,500-seat entertainment venue, 150,000 sq ft of restaurants, retail and cinema, and a 140-room boutique hotel. The first phase of the mixed-use complex is scheduled to open in late 2010. RMJM Hillier Architecture, 275 Seventh Ave., New York City 10001; The Beck Group Inc., 1807 Ross Ave., Dallas 75201; Austin Commercial, 3535 Travis St., Dallas 75204.

CALIFORNIA 2/5 (prequalified closed list)—City of El Cajon, Office of Purchasing Agent, 200 E. Main St., El Cajon 92020, El Cajon Public Safety Center on Julian Ave. The new two-building, 100,000-sq-ft project, estimated to cost between $48 million and $50 million, will house a new police facility. KMA Architects, 1515 Morena Blvd., San Diego 92110; Gafcon Inc., 701 B St., Suite 1200, San Diego 92101, is program manager. DR #02-807201.

NEW YORK 2/5 (general contract-plumbing-HVAC-electric bids)—New York City, Dept. of Sanitation, Contracts, 51 Chambers St., Room 806, New York City 10007, rehabilitation of North Shore Marine Transfer Station at College Point in Queens. The project, estimated to cost between $114 million and $128 million, includes rehabilitating architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. Greeley and Hansen Engineers, engineer, 1818 Market St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19103; Joint venture of URS Corp. and LiRo Group, One Penn Plaza, New York City 10119, is construction manager.

ILLINOIS 2/6 City of Chicago, Purchasing, 121 N. LaSalle St., Room 301, Chicago 60602, FEDEX cargo relocation at O’Hare Airport. The estimated $90-million project calls for three one- and two-story buildings with total floor area of 340,000 sq ft. Point of contact: Richard Sanchez, (312) 744-8212. DR #02-818647.