The April 18 issue of ENR Texas and Louisiana, the new edition to Engineering News-Record--will spotlight some of the largest previous year’s project starts in the region—our annual Top Starts feature. The list is ranked by revenue.

We start compiling the list by asking firms in the construction and design community to complete our online survey, which helps us get a handle on the projects that started in 2010, who the key players are involved in building them, as well as the owner or developer.

Some of those projects might not surprise readers in our region—they are high-dollar and most often highly visible. Others may not be so obvious as their building teams ensure they are coming out of the ground despite tough economic conditions. 

Until the final list is available in April, we’d like to give you a preview of a several of the more high-profile projects, those that will most likely make the list, in no particular order.

One of the most high-profile starts in our region in 2010 is the highly anticipated new Parkland Hospital in Dallas. The replacement hospital, scheduled for completion in 2014, is registered with the USGBC and will seek LEED-silver certification.

Also in the Dallas-Fort Worth area are two high-profile transportation projects: The North Tarrant Expressway and the DFW Connector. As well, a new multifamily residence, Museum Tower, is planned as a 42-story luxury high-rise and is under way in Dallas’ downtown Arts District. In Fort Worth, TCU is revamping its Amon G. Carter Stadium.

In Louisiana, Pinnacle’s Baton Rouge casino and entertainment complex, located within the banks of the Mississippi, will be permanently moored to steel pipe piles and caps, and built atop an elevated road over a Corps of Engineers levee, which serve as the entranceway to the hotel and casino.

Louisiana will also get the spotlight in the April issue in our “Owner of the Year” feature, an editorial selection of one private or public owner that stands out in our region for a variety of reasons, including volume of work it is generating, responsibility as a corporate citizen and innovative industry methods employed.

By way of this blog, ENR Texas & Louisiana announces this year’s Owner of the Year designation goes to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in New Orleans. 

The regional editors of McGraw-Hill Construction were impressed by the Corps' new project delivery and contracting methods and innovative use of engineering and technology; the volume of work generated by its $14.6-billion civil works program that has funded dozens of projects to deliver a 100-year-storm protection system for Greater New Orleans by summer; and the program's overall contribution to the community, which includes better-than-ever storm protections for the Crescent City as well as a renewed focus on coastal restoration in the region.