Vail Valley Project to Alleviate Workforce Housing Shortage

A nearly 600-unit housing community has broken ground in Gypsum, Colo. Designed by Detroit-based McIntosh Poris Architects and constructed by Brivar, the Siena Lake project aims to fill a critical need for workforce housing in the affluent Vail Valley. The development is located about 30 minutes from Vail and Beaver Creek and 75 minutes from Aspen.

“In destination locations, creating housing communities that offer market attractive prices can require in-depth research and planning,” says Michael Poris, principal at McIntosh Poris Architects. “While cutting corners on material quality and offering fewer amenities can minimize construction costs, the initial savings are often undermined by increased long-term maintenance and higher vacancies.”

Atwell Acquires Summit Engineering Group

Atwell has acquired the operations of Summit Engineering Group, a civil engineering and land surveying firm headquartered in Heber City, Utah. This is Atwell’s first permanent office in Utah and part of the company’s recent expansion in the Western U.S. Founded in 2001, Summit offers a broad range of construction experience, utilizing design software and data reporting methods that help ensure accuracy, construction feasibility, efficiency and lower construction costs.

Summit is Atwell’s eighth acquisition during the past year; the firm also recently acquired Mead Gilman & Associates, a land surveying firm located in Woodinville, Wash., and Bay Engineering, a civil engineering, land surveying and environmental services firm headquartered in Annapolis, Md.

Burns & McDonnell Grows Colorado Workforce

Employee-owned design firm Burns & McDonnell has relocated its Denver operations to a more than 124,000-sq-ft office space across from the Regional Transportation District’s Lincoln Station near the Denver Tech Center neighborhood. The firm plans to nearly double its local workforce from 400 employees to 700.

IMA Financial Hosts Annual Construction Safety Forum

In October, IMA Financial Group hosted its annual General Contractor Construction Safety Forum in Denver. Safety professionals, corporate safety directors and industry experts shared innovative safety strategies and best practices to elevate safety culture within the construction industry and establish a peer network for ongoing safety initiative support.