HIRES Randy Henke has joined HNTB Corp. as chief of rail engineering. He has 30 years of hands-on experience in the rail industry. Henke will provide leadership, management and technical services for rail projects in Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana. He previously was vice president of engineering at Canadian Pacific/Dakota Minnesota & Eastern (DM&E) Railroad. Before that, Henke was vice president of design and construction for Dakota Minnesota & Eastern Railroad. TENUTA Michael A. Tenuta has joined Reed Construction, Chicago, as vice president and project executive. Tenuta has more than 25 years of construction management and architectural experience. He was

This $650-million, nine-year remediation project is the world’s largest PCB cleanup in history. The massive project is dredging and processing 3.8 million cu yd of river sediment contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls that can cause severe health problems for wildlife and for humans who eat fish from PCB-contaminated spots. Photo: WESTON IMAGING GROUP LLC Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards It will clean up 13.3 miles of the lower Fox River near Green Bay in northeastern Wisconsin. The project’s newly constructed 250,000-sq-ft processing facility in Green Bay, Wis., houses equipment used to treat the PCB-contaminated sediment dredged out of

At 54 stories, The Clare at Water Tower is one of the world’s tallest senior-living residences. Located in Chicago’s River North neighborhood, the 730,000-sq-ft structure is a continuing care retirement community with 248 luxury units. It houses 32 levels of independent living space, three levels of assisted living space, and three levels of skilled nursing space. Photo © Steinkamp Photography Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards The structure has many sustainable elements, including a large roof garden on the 9th level and a green roof on level 53. Key Players Owner: Franciscan Sisters of Chicago Service Corp., Lemont,

The $108.7-million, 340,000-sq-ft addition and renovation of Ohio State University’s main library began with significant structural demolition on the 1910 and 1940 structure to allow for a new atrium and to create an open study environment. An additional 40,600 sq. ft. of demolition removed the building’s west facing structure to create a mixed-use space and a dedicated mechanical/electrical/plumbing room. Photo © Feinknopf Photography Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards The renovation included a structural glazing system that specified extremely tight tolerances for the support structure. The team developed a hyper-accurate survey of the structure as a basis for

The Trump International Hotel & Tower is a 92-story luxury hotel/condo building that stands prominently along the Chicago River. Located at 401 N. Wabash Ave., it consists of 2.6 million sq ft and reaches 1,131 ft into the Chicago skyline (1,362 ft including the spire) making it the tallest building in Chicago since the Sears Tower, the tallest residential building in North America, and one of the tallest reinforced concrete buildings in the world. Slide Show Photo: COURTESY OF MCSHANE-FLEMING STUDIOS Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards The building encompasses 286 hotel suites, an 87,000-sq-ft spa facility that

This $155-million project is the first of three phases for the new Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. The project included master planning, design and construction of a 469,000-sq-ft East Tower, an interdisciplinary research facility, at the center of the UW-Madison health sciences campus. The new seven-story tower houses the UW Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center. The building enhances connectivity between the UW Hospital and Clinics and the Health Sciences Learning Center and serves as a catalyst for interdisciplinary and translational medicine. The new facility allows scientists and clinicians

The Chicago Dept. of Transportation’s Wabash Avenue Underbridge Connection and Riverwalk project built the longest stretch of Chicago Riverwalk to date. The $9.5-million project consists of rehabilitation of the existing river wall and pedestrian walk, as well as new construction along the south bank of the Chicago River from State Street Bridge, under Wabash Avenue Bridge, and extending toward Michigan Avenue. Photo courtesy Rausch Construction Co. Inc. Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards Work began with demolition of existing landscaping, sidewalks, sheet pile caps, granite pavers, and lighting. Key Players Owner: Chicago Department of Transportation General Contractor: Rausch

Recognizing a need for fine arts resources in the Naperville, Ill., area, North Central College commissioned a 57,000-sq-ft performing arts center. This new $25.8- million center contains a 605-seat, acoustically sensitive concert hall, a 2,500-sq-ft black box theater, music rehearsal rooms, classrooms, and offices. A 1,400-sq-ft art gallery, the first facility of its kind in the Naperville area, houses student works and traveling exhibits. The grand foyer serves as a campus social center. Photo: © SAVAGE PRODUCTIONS, INC. Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards Located on a site that bridges the campus and downtown, the center’s form and

This $10.5-million project is a new 80,000-sq-ft Whole Foods flagship store at 1550 N. Kingsbury St., near Halsted Street and North and Clybourn avenues in Chicago. It is the largest ground-up Whole Foods in the Midwest and the third largest Whole Foods in the world. It features multiple stands named creatively after Chicago areas. The store includes seafood, cheese, deli stations, an espresso bar, wine cellar, a demonstration stage, and a bakery. Photo courtesy Novak Construction Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards Whole Foods drove the innovation of this project. Almost everything in the store was custom made,

Creating a new standard for urban hotels, theWit, located at the historic intersection of State and Lake streets in downtown Chicago, is a groundbreaking achievement. Like the powerful yellow lightning bolt on the front façade of the property, innovation strikes at every turn at theWit. PHOTO COURTESY OF theWIT Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards The $62-million high-rise construction project took place on a very narrow lot. The design called for extra-thick concrete slabs and shear walls were located to keep the interior of the building as open as possible in order to maximize event space. The building