ENR Midwest's judges sifted through a slate of 106 high-quality entries that made naming the winners of our 2018 Best Projects Awards a difficult task. The winners will be featured in-depth in the November 26 edition of ENR Midwest and we'll honor each winner at our annual Awards Breakfast, planned for November 28 this year at the Westin River North in Chicago. We'll also be honoring our Owner of the Year, Riverside Investment & Development; Contractor of the Year, Lendlease; Design Firm of the Year, American Structurepoint and our recently named Specialty Contractor of the Year, Mechanical, Inc. We'll also unveil our 2018 Legacy Award Winner at the breakfast.
The independent judges selected this year by ENR Midwest had a difficult task in one of the strongest groups of entries I have ever seen in more than 15 years of covering the construction industry. Each project type category required a Best Project to be named and each category has the option of naming Awards of Merit as well. We had several projects that won in more than one category. Our judges, Dana Gilberti, architect at Griskelis Young Harrell; Geoff Weisenberger, editor of Modern Steel Construction; Lynda Leigh, project manager at Turner Construction; Jeff Emrick, director of safety and compliance at Ozinga and Sam Mishelow, chief strategy officer at Meyer Najem Construction all generously donated their time and expertise in judging such a diverse and strong group of entrants and deserve our thanks. Our safety judges, Jeff Emrick and Sam Mishelow, also successfully lobbied to name the first Award of Merit for Safety on a Small Project this year, one with only a little more than 7,000 man-hours on it.
Our judges' final task will be to designate an overall Project of the Year from the Best Project-level winners listed below. We’ll reveal the Project of the Year at our awards and networking breakfast. Hope to see lots of our loyal readers there as well. Here are ENR Midwest's 2018 Best Projects.
Airports/Transit
Best Project: CTA Washington/Wabash Station, Chicago
Submitted by: EXP
Award of Merit: American Airlines Stinger Gate L, Chicago
Submitted by: F.H. Paschen
Cultural/Worship
Best Project: The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare
Submitted by: Bulley & Andrews
Energy/Industrial
Best Project: Holland Energy Park, Holland, Mich.
Submitted by: HDR
Award of Merit: Rochester Public Utilities Westside Energy Station, Rochester, Minn.
Submitted by: The Boldt Company
Government/Public Buildings
Best Project: Army National Guard Readiness Center and Army Aviation Support Facility, Kankakee, Ill.
Submitted by: IMEG Corp.
Award of Merit: Fayette County Historic Courthouse Restoration, Lexington, Ky.
Submitted by: Messer Construction Co.
Green Projects
Best Project: Sunset Ridge School, Northfield, Ill.
Submitted by: Pepper Construction Company
Award of Merit: Messer Construction Co. Corporate Support Office, Cincinnati
Submitted by: Messer Construction Co.
Health Care
Best Project: Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, Omaha, Neb.
Submitted by: HDR
Award of Merit: Hennepin Healthcare Clinic and Specialty Center, Minneapolis
Submitted by: Mortenson Construction
Higher Education/Research
Best Project: University of Kansas Earth, Energy and Environment Center, Lawrence, Kansas
Submitted by: Turner Construction Co.
Award of Merit: Michigan State University Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, East Lansing, Mich.
Submitted by: SmithGroup JJR
Award of Merit: University of Chicago Physics Research Center
Submitted by: Perkins Eastman
Highways/Bridges
Best Project: St. Croix Crossing, Oak Park Heights, Minn./St. Joseph, Wis.
Submitted by: HDR
Award of Merit: Trunk Highway 53 Relocation, Virginia, Minn.
Submitted by: Kiewit Infrastructure Co.
Award of Merit: Savanna-Sabula Deck-Tied Arch Bridge Replacement, Savanna, Ill.
Submitted by: Kraemer North America
Interior Design/Tenant Improvement
Best Project: CNA Corporate Headquarters Relocation, Chicago
Submitted by: Turner Construction Company
Award of Merit: Mead Johnson Nutrition, Chicago
Submitted by: Partners by Design
K-12 Education
Best Project: Missouri Innovation Campus, Lee’s Summit, Mo.
Submitted by: McCownGordon Construction
Landscape/Hardscape/Urban Design
Best Project: University of Wisconsin-Madison Memorial Union Redevelopment Phase II & Alumni Park
Submitted by: Miron Construction Co., Inc.
Award of Merit: Nicollet Mall Redesign and Reconstruction, Minneapolis
Submitted by: Short Elliott Hendrickson, Inc.
Manufacturing
Best Project: Trumpf Smart Factory, Hoffman Estates, Ill.
Submitted by: McShane Construction Company
Office/Retail/Mixed-Use
Best Project: Wrigley Field Campus Development, Chicago
Submitted by: Hickory Street Capital
Award of Merit: Chamberlain Group Headquarters, Oak Brook, Ill.
Submitted by: Pepper Construction
Renovation/Restoration
Best Project: Rail & Commerce Building, Omaha, Neb.
Submitted by: Boyd Jones
Award of Merit: Promedica Headquarters Steam Plant, Toledo, Ohio
Submitted by: Rudolph Libbe Inc.
Residential/Hospitality
Best Project: Hilton Des Moines Downtown
Submitted by: The Weitz Company
Award of Merit: Detroit Foundation Hotel
Submitted by: Sachse Construction
Small Project (Under $10 million)
Best Project: Harrison/Dever Crib Complex Structural Renovations, Chicago
Submitted by: F.H. Paschen
Award of Merit: Lower Yahara River Trail Phase 1, Madison, Wis.
Submitted by: Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc.
Award of Merit: The Foundry, Kalamazoo, Mich.
Submitted by: CSM Group
Specialty Construction
Best Project: Fayette County Historic Courthouse Underpinning, Lexington, Ky.
Submitted by: GeoStabilization International
Award of Merit: Milwaukee Bucks Arena Steel Erection
Submitted by: JP Cullen
Sports/Entertainment
Best Project: Ryan Fieldhouse and Walter Athletics Center, Evanston, Ill.
Submitted by: WSP
Award of Merit: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit
Submitted by: Barton Malow
Award of Merit: Kansas City Urban Youth Academy and Parade Park Improvements
Submitted by: JE Dunn Construction
Water/Environment
Best Project: Deep Rock Tunnel Connector Project, Indianapolis
Submitted by: Southland Holdings, LLC
Award of Merit: OARS Augmentation and Relief Sewer, Columbus, Ohio
Submitted by: DLZ
Award of Merit: Ann Arbor Wastewater Plant Treatment Facilities Renovation
Submitted by: Walsh Construction Company II, LLC
Safety Awards
Best Project: Trunk Highway 53 Relocation, Virginia, Minn.
Submitted by: Kiewit Infrastructure Co.
Award of Merit: University of Chicago Physics Research Center
Submitted by: Perkins Eastman
Award of Merit for Safety on a Small Project: The Foundry, Kalamazoo, Mich.
Submitted by: CSM Group
