North Texas, Oklahoma Report
North Texas and Oklahoma have not escaped the economic downturn,
with designers and contractors finding fewer construction starts
than a couple of years ago.
"North Texas, Dallas and Texas as a whole are still fairing well
as compared to the rest of the country," says Matthew Papenfus,
vice president and general manager of Turner Construction Co.'s
Texas operations in Dallas. "We ended the year on a solid note.
Despite the number of projects being put on hold or canceled, we
were able to backfill and diversify our work to meet our goals and
objectives for the year."
Papenfus adds that work began to pick up late in the third
quarter of 2009, but he still anticipates 2010 will remain slower
than what the country experienced in the boom years.
Brigitte Preston, design principal at the architecture firm
lauckgroup in Dallas, also saw projects start to move forward
toward the end of 2009. She says that being a small, minority-owned
company has helped the company branch into university and
government work in collaboration with other firms.
"Partnering is on the forefront because competition has become
so stiff," Preston says.
The lauckgroup designed a renovation for Caris Diagnostics of
Irving; a one-floor interior plan for the law firm McGuire Craddock
and Strother at Saint Ann Court in Dallas; and a 170,000-sq-ft,
LEED-gold designed renovation at Energy Future Holdings Corporate
Headquarters in Dallas. Scott + Reid General Contractors of Dallas
completed the Energy Future Holdings build-out.
"Scott + Reid has been fortunate to have larger projects come in
at the most opportune time, making 2009 the most profitable year in
company history," says Brad Reid, the firm's founder and president.
He says his company tapped into a demand for large corporate
interior build-outs that do not require external financing.
Scott + Reid has begun a 300,000-sq-ft project for Dean Foods
Corporate Headquarters in Dallas. The $15-million-plus project
entails renovating 10 floors of the 42-story CityPlace building.
The company also is working on a $12-million interiors project for
NEWCO, a Baylor Health Care System entity, converting the form-er
170,000-sq-ft Texas Instruments plant in Lewisville into a
pathology office and clinical laboratories global
head-quarters.
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Texas Construction | North Texas, Oklahoma Report
| March 01, 2010 | by Debra Wood