BEAL | DERKENNE Construction work at Hub on Campus moves to interior build out High-profile multi unit project on target for summer 2013 delivery

Posted by Kimberly Mickelson on May 13, 2013
Construction, Design / No Comments

With only 3 months away from the delivery date in August 2013, the construction schedule for Hub on Campus in Tempe, AZ., has moved to the finishing stages of the interior build out of the 19-story, upscale apartment building, which will be home to over 600 residents on 17 residential floors.

In addition the building features two floors with 25,000 square feet of retail space and an added 6,550 square feet of restaurants, close to the ASU campus in Tempe, AZ.

The high profile project for BEAL | DERKENNE Construction (BDC)- the construction firm founded by Andrew Beal and Michael Derkenne in 2010, has reached the point where scaffolding is removed and the project reveals a sleek modern high rise in the shadow of “ A “ mountain in Tempe, AZ.

With interior work, including cabinets for kitchen and bath, counters, carpet and paint, moving along swiftly, the project is now in the final phases.

BDC started construction work just a short 16 months ago and is proud to deliver one of the most talked about projects, not only in Arizona, but for the overall United States A/E/C industry. With over 450 trade workers employed, Hub on Campus is as well one of the larger current construction projects in Arizona, and a major employer in the Greater Phoenix area.

With plans calling for LEED accreditation, major focus is placed on environmentally conscious systems and finishes.

By being in walking distance of Arizona State University’s Tempe campus, the light rail, and major shopping and dining, Hub on Campus is destined to be a first choice for an environmentally conscious resident.

“The project is coming along in an amazing way”, stated Ryan Cooney, project manager for BDC.” Not only is HUB ON CAMPUS

an outstanding project for BDC and our client, but will have a positive economic impact for the city of Tempe in the long and short term.”

ABOUT BEAL | DERKENNE CONSTRUCTION:  Beal Derkenne Construction (BDC) is a full service commercial General contracting firm. Core services are inclusive of General Contracting, Construction Design Management, Consulting and Cost Management. In addition, construction management cost estimating, schedule management and Owner representative services.  Founded by Andrew Beal and Michael Derkenne in 2010, the company has successfully established an operation in Des Moines, Iowa, in the commercial sector, servicing clients in and out of state on commercial projects of varying types. www.bdconstruct.com

ABOUT CORE CAMPUS:  Core Campus strives to be the pioneering developer in each campus targeted. Focused on student housing with the business model to develop the core-campus product that is superior to any competition. Specialized in acquisitions, developments and in-house management.  www.corecampus.us

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Cactus Asphalt to present City of Prescott with environmental award, charitable contribution at City Counsel meeting

Posted by Kimberly Mickelson on March 29, 2013
Awards, Marketing/PR / No Comments

 

Tolleson, Ariz.-based Cactus Asphalt will recognize the City of Prescott on Tuesday, April 2 at the city counsel meeting for its environmental efforts in reusing 28,000 tires for its rubber asphalt chip seal program in the last three years. The paving construction company will present the City of Prescott with the Cactus Cares environmental sustainability award and make a donation to the 100 Club charity based on the number of tires used, totaling $1400. The award is given to an agency that has achieved significant environmental savings through its streets program and their commitment to environmental sustainability.

As an Arizona company, Cactus Asphalt and their employees want to recognize what the City of Prescott has done to preserve the state’s resources while improving the streets.

In past three years, Cactus Asphalt has completed approximately 505,000 square yards of Rubber Chip Sealing on City of Prescott roadways, equating to 72 lane miles, using more than 475,000 lbs of recycled tire rubber. By using the recycled rubber, approximately 28,000 tires were recycled.

“The City of Prescott has been instrumental in the success of the projects we have done in Prescott; and in Prescott’s commitment to use recycled tires in its road maintenance and construction,” said Jake Dominy, president of Cactus Asphalt.

The 100 Club of Arizona is a non-profit organization committed to providing financial assistance to the families of public safety officers and firefighters who are seriously injured or killed in the line of duty.

About Cactus Asphalt:

Cactus Asphalt has been serving Arizona property managers, federal state and municipal agencies, and homeowner associations for more than 30 years, providing Paving, Grading, Seal Coating, Crack Sealing, Patching, Chip Sealing, Rubber Asphalt, Fabric Overlay, Concrete, Site Development and Dust Control for new construction and maintenance  projects across the state.

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2nd Annual AIA Reincarnation Tour – Saturday, March 30th

Posted by Kimberly Mickelson on March 22, 2013
Event / No Comments
Join friends of architecture, food and fun Saturday March 30th on The Reincarnation Tour! Be a part of the conversation on twitter using #AIAreTOUR.
The Reincarnation Tour celebrates historic buildings experiencing new life in downtown Phoenix. Boost your mojo with visits to reclaimed buildings that have become art galleries, restaurants and luxury condo living spaces. Acquire insights from practitioners of sustainable project design. Pick up a free tour passport at the opening presentation. The tour is presented by the Phoenix Metro component of the American Institute of Architects.

10:00 – 11: 00 a.m. Greening Lower Grand Avenue Presentation
Location: Bragg’s Pie Factory, 1301 W. Grand Ave.

11:00-11:30 a.m. Self-guided Tour of Grand Avenue
Visit galleries and small business owners along Grand Avenue that are hosting activities.

11:30-12:15 a.m. Transforming the Urban Environment
Location: Edge Industries Funk Lab, 1107 W. Grand Ave.

12:30 – 1:30p.m. The Cibo Salon 
Location: Cibos Urban Pizzeria, 603 N 5th Ave
Gather to break bread with other “touristas” in a beautiful restored 1913 bungalow setting.
This no-host lunch will feature remarks from the project architect and restaurant management.
RSVP ahead for seating in the courtyard with the tour group at 602.441.2697.

1:40 – 2:10 p.m. Progress Check
Location: The Vig Fillmore, 606 N. Fourth Ave.

2:15-3:00 p.m. Urban Living Tour
Location: The Lofts at Fillmore, 387 North 2nd Avenue

3:00 p.m. Reincarnation After Party!
Location: Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. 2nd Ave.

Visit our Facebook page for more information and updates https://www.facebook.com/ReincarnationTour or RSVP Now at https://www.facebook.com/events/475865629128290/

Montessori Charter School to offer Educational Opportunities in West Valley

Posted by Kimberly Mickelson on March 22, 2013
Construction, Design / 1 Comment

 

The Leona Group LLC will be expanding its Arizona charter school presence with the addition of Discover U in Youngtown, Arizona this fall. Discover U, a Montessori approach to learning, will offer a low-cost, pre-K education program. In addition, Discover U will serve grades K-6. The elementary campus is an open enrollment campus adjacent to the west valley communities of El Mirage, Surprise and Peoria.

This design/build project is a collaborative effort of The Leona Group, OFFICE JEL, Eric Leibsohn+ Associates, Ltd. and DECCA Commercial Builders, Inc. The 25,651 square foot charter school campus will feature 13 exploratory size classrooms, a gymnasium, kitchen, conference room and administrative offices. “This adaptive reuse project converts a vacant special-use space into a functional, educational campus for area students and staff,” states president of DECCA Commercial Builders, Inc., Michael B. Wareing. Discover U marks the fifteenth campus construction project for The Leona Group and DECCA Commercial Builders, Inc.

Discover U will complement The Leona Group’s current quality educational programs and Leona’s vision for student success. Discover U is actively enrolling for grades pre-K-6. The new campus location is 13226 N. 113 Avenue, Youngtown, AZ 85363. The enrollment office is located at 13915 North Dysart Rd., Suite A8, El Mirage, AZ 85335. For more information, call (623) 974-4827 or visit www.discoverulearning.com.

About The Leona Group
Under the vision of Dr. William Coats, The Leona Group was formed in 1996 to provide a quality
choice in education to students who were not being effectively served by their traditional public school systems. In The Leona Group opened its first charter high schools in Arizona in 1997 and officially formed its Arizona division and Phoenix corporate headquarters in 2000. With the addition of Discover U, Arizona will be host to 24 of the group’s schools for the 2013-2014 school year. The Leona Group also has schools in Michigan, Ohio, Florida, and Indiana and provides a quality educational choice to more than 20,000 K-12 students in nearly 70 schools. Visit www.leonagroup.com for additional information.

About OFFICE JEL
The partners of OFFICE JEL have provided project design and development services in the valley since 1997 on a variety of project types and scales. OFFICE JEL provides its clients with project conceptualization and project development services from property acquisition through design and construction. On Discover U, OFFICE JEL functions as the primary point of contact on behalf of The Leona Group.

About Eric Leibsohn + Associates, Ltd.
Established in 1985, Eric Leibsohn + Associates, Ltd. provides quality professional architectural services for a wide variety of building types. Primary areas of specialization focus on commercial, office, retail, schools, industrial and manufacturing facilities, and tenant improvements. The principal architect of the firm, Eric Leibsohn, AIA, holds a Masters of Architecture degree from Tulane University. Mr. Leibsohn is a Registered Architect in Arizona and nationally certified by NCARB. For more information, call (480) 483-1101.

About DECCA Commercial Builders, Inc.
DECCA Commercial Builders, Inc. is part of the DECCA family of independently operated, family owned, general contracting corporations and is the contracting corporation that specializes in commercial construction. Commercial specialties include retail, office, industrial, manufacturing, educational, governmental, hospitality, renovations, and tenant improvements. DECCA’s experience, reputation and integrity span nearly three decades of building across the southwestern United States. DECCA offers a full array of services ranging from design/build and conceptual cost estimating to onsite construction management and dedicated customer service. For more information, call (480) 609-3066 or visit www.deccabuilders.com

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Up and Coming: Your Human Connection

Posted by Kimberly Mickelson on March 19, 2013
Event, Marketing/PR / No Comments

We’re packing our bags to head out to SMPS Phoenix, Arizona, and we couldn’t be more excited!

We’ve been hearing stories about RFPs where they ask for information that could fill 20 pages but only allow you to submit 12. How do you cram all that info into 12 pages and keep it from sounding like a boring laundry list?

And then there are those stressful shortlist presentations! You get a week’s notice, you have to pull together your team, and you have to create genuine trust, commitment and chemistry with the client when you walk into that interview. How in the world do you do that?

Successful proposals and presentations are the ones where you genuinely connect with the audience. That’s the whole point – to make a human connection. Based in New York City, the Graceworks team travels globally to equip folks to do just that, so we are bringing two workshops to SMPS Arizona: Fat-Free Gracewriting: It’s Time to Put Your Writing on a Diet and The Human Connection: Bring Your Presentations to Life!

What do these two workshops have in common? They are both centered on the basic truth that communication is always about the other person. No matter what you do as a writer or a presenter, if the other person doesn’t get what you’re trying to get across, communication doesn’t happen.

This concept is often tough for humans to swallow. We tend to walk through life thinking about ourselves all the time. The bottom line is we are never going to really communicate with each other if we are always focused on “me.”

Fat-Free Gracewriting is our business-writing module that concentrates on writing clearly and concisely. Why do we want to do that? The main reason is that you want your audience to know that you care enough to take the time to write clearly and concisely. Respecting others’ time only serves to strengthen your relationships, which is really about making human connections.

Plus, during this workshop, we’ll offer you nitty-gritty tools to help you trim the fat, so your 20 pages of information will squeeze into their 12, and there will still be room for a little personality to shine through! We’ll play games, and we’ll compete, but best of all, we’ll make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! What does that have to do with better writing? Everything!

Once your proposal has opened the door for the shortlist interview, we’ll help you strengthen your presentation skills in The Human Connection: Bring Your Presentations to Life. In this fun, interactive workshop, you’ll learn to engage and energize your listeners. We’ll help you relax, be yourself and communicate your message with passion, clarity and confidence. Through teaching, discussion, theater exercises and individual coaching, you will learn to:

  • Connect with your audience
  • Identify and drop nervous habits
  • Prepare and practice your material
  • Make technical material come to life
  • Use graphics and props wisely

You’ll learn much more than just public speaking skills. These principles apply to all types of interpersonal communication – from one-on-one and team meetings to networking/social events and phone calls. It’s all about building trust, conveying commitment, and developing chemistry by speaking to the needs of your audience with comfort and confidence.

So, whether you’re on stage under the bright lights or behind your desk clicking away on the keyboard, make sure what you’re doing is about the other person! We’re looking forward to making that human connection with you later this month! See you soon!

Jen Hebblethwaite, Champion of All Things Grace
Graceworks

Quotes:

“Anyone who has ever written a proposal, a project description – or even an e-mail message – should take this course.  In it, Jen Hebblethwaite breaks the principles of good writing down to bare bones so anyone can learn how to write with strength, clarity and brevity. Both marketing and technical staff can benefit from her instruction.” – Sara Libby, CPSM, SMPS Arizona Publicity Director,  SWCA

“Carol Doscher literally changed my professional life. She taught me how to be big and bold and to change the energy in a room by speaking passionately, from my heart. Everyone can benefit from her approach to connecting with people.” – Kristi Bigelow, CPSM, SMPS Arizona Chapter President, David Evans and Associates

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