World Trade Center Announced for Orlando

South Florida-based eveloper Skyrise Development Group announced it will break ground in early 2008 on World Trade Center Orlando, which it reported would be the first official World Trade Center complex in the Southeast.

According to Skyrise, the downtown Orlando project will consist of two multi-use towers on a single base, one measuring 25 stories and the other 28 stories. The development will include more than 500,000 sq ft of space including Class-A office with executive suites, retail, banking, restaurants and a health club. The developer says the buildings will be LEED- and Energy Star-certified.

Contracts: More Bad Residential News; Other Sectors Up

The value of total new project starts in Florida continued its steep decline in October, with this time all three construction sectors declining by double-digit percentage points, McGraw-Hill Construction reported. For the month, the value of new contracts declined 36% for a total of  nearly $2.9 billion, down from last October’s total of nearly $4.5 billion.

Residential continued its freefall, registering a 50% drop compared to last October and totaling roughly $1.3 billion for the month. Though nonresidential has increased significantly through ‘07, in October the category declined by 12% compared to the same period of a year ago for a total of about $950.4 million. The nonbuilding segment, at about $587.9 million, was down 18% compared to last October, when it experienced $720 million in new contracts.

Groundbreaking Held for Northwest Florida International Airport

The Panama City – Bay County Airport and Industrial District held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new international airport, initiating the construction phase of the airport infrastructure. The airport is to be built in the 75,000-acre West Bay Sector on a 4,000-acre site donated to the airport authority by The St. Joe Co.

Florida Governor Charlie Crist hailed the new airport as “a national model for economic transformation and environmental preservation.”

The West Bay Sector also includes a 40,000-acre West Bay Preservation Area, a conservation area to permanently protect West Bay, including 33 miles of shoreline and an additional 44 miles of creeks and tributaries. The St. Joe Co. and The National Audubon Society have agreed to create The Audubon Center at West Bay as part of the West Bay Preservation Area.

Altman Cos. Starts Construction on Satori in Fort Lauderdale…

The Altman Cos. of Boca Raton announced it is starting construction of its Satori project on East Sunrise Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. The project is an “urban village” featuring four buildings ranging from three to nine stories in height. It will include 279 rental residences and 12,000 sq ft of retail space. The developer says occupancy could begin by late 2008.

The project also include a two-story, 8,000-sq-ft clubhouse.

The interiors were designed by Interiors by Steven G.

…And Heads for Completion of Sapphire in Fort Lauderdale Beach

Altman Contractors is overseeing the construction contract for Sapphire, a 172-unit luxury condominium in Fort Lauderdale Beach.  The project is located on the 3.58-acre site formerly owned and occupied by the Cleveland Clinic. Completion is slated for third quarter.

HuntonBrady Goes Green with Sarasota Office Building

Orlando-based HuntonBrady Architects’ design for a new office building for FCCI Insurance Group in Sarasota is aspiring to Silver LEED certification. The four-story, Class A, 105,000-sq-ft facility, currently scheduled to break ground sometime during 2008, will utilize shading devices, a chilled-water heating/cooling system, drought-tolerant landscaping and other features.

URS Designing Upgrades for Miami-Dade Water Treatment Plant

The Miami-Dade County Water and Sewer Department has hired URS Corp. to design upgrades to its John E. Preston Water Treatment Plant, its pipelines, wellfields, re-pumping facilities, remote storage and appurtenant facilities. The contract also includes renewal and replacement projects for the plant’s existing facilities.

MACTEC Design-Building $9.8M National Cemetery Expansion

Kennesaw, Ga.-based MACTEC Engineering & Consulting and MACTEC Development Corp. have won a $9.8 million design/build contract from the National Cemetery Administration, a division of the Department of Veteran Affairs, to assist in the expansion of the historic Barrancas National Cemetery, located at the Pensacola Naval Air Station. Honorably discharged veterans, their spouses and in some cases dependents can be buried at the cemetery, established in 1868.

The cemetery has been expanded four times and a nearly 50-acre annex doubled the size of the cemetery. A section of the annex that opened in 2003 has enough room for 3,000 graves but is already half full.

Miller Construction to Build Channel 10 Facility

Miller Construction Co. of Florida is moving forward on its new $17 million contract to build a broadcast facility in Pembroke Park for WPLG TV/Channel 10. The 71,600-sq-ft, two-story facility will include two studios, a satellite tower, offices and other space.

M.J. Harris Starts Hospital Expansion in Davenport 

M. J. Harris is building a two-story vertical expansion at the Heart of Florida Regional Medical Center in Davenport. The project includes a two-story addition to the existing hospital and central energy plant for a total of 65,269 sq ft of new space.

Construction began last June, and is expected to complete this summer 2008. Health Management Associates is the project owner.

SIKON Building Mixed-Use Tapestry Park in Jacksonville

SIKON Construction Corp. has started its contract for a two-story, 40,000-sq-foot Tapestry Park, a mixed-use European Village-style development on Jacksonville’s Southside for Joyce Development Group, Jacksonville. The development’s ground floor will feature 24,000 sq ft of retail and the second floor will contain 16,000 sq ft of Class-A office space. The project was designed by Charlan Brock & Associates of Maitland, Fla., and is slated for completion this spring.

Developer. Local Officials Break Ground on Wagner Square

Developers Redevco Civic Center and Jackson Square joined City of Miami and Miami-Dade County officials in breaking ground on Wagner Square, a 56-unit affordable/workforce homeownership development located in the heart of the Health District of Miami.

The project has been designed as a mixed-income development for affordable/workforce buyers with all units set aside for buyers whose annual household income does not exceed 170% of the county median income, which relates to $70,550 for a family of one or $90,780 for a family of three. The project was awarded $1.2 million in HOME funding via the city’s Department of Community Development to assist 11 of the units’ buyers.

The five-story project will have 48 condominiums and eight townhomes ranging in price from $179,900 to $285,000.

Future phases are planned that could include 48 additional residential units and more than 100,000 sq ft of medical offices and commercial space.

The architect for the project is Fullerton-Diaz Architects. Project completion is slated for December 2008.

Developer Starts Renovations at Vista View in Sunny Isles

Sky Development of Aventura, Fla., has begun renovations on Vista View, a 308-unit apartment complex consisting of four buildings in Sunny Isles Beach. Vertex Architecture is heading up the project, which includes new paint; landscaping and maintenance; the addition of a putting green, children’s playground and basketball court; business center; and upgraded units. Perla Lichi Design is the interior designer.

Renovations will be complete in one year.

Wharton-Smith Building Transportation Facility for Volusia Co. Schools

Wharton-Smith of Sanford, Fla., will serve as construction manager for Volusia County Public School’s new $13.7 million transportation facility. The project will include an operations building, bus maintenance building, bus wash and fueling island, and parking for the buses and automobiles.

RS&H to Design Section of Suncoast Parkway Extension

RS&H’s Tampa office has been selected by Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise to design one of three sections that will extend the Suncoast Parkway in West Central Florida an additional 26 miles north into Citrus County.

Section 3 of the Suncoast Parkway 2 project will stretch 8.8 mi from north of County Road 486 to U.S. Highway 19. RS&H will prepare the designs to 60% plans and final right-of-way maps for this section, which includes a trumpet interchange at U.S. 19, a diamond interchange at CR 495 and an additional 7 mi of adjacent local streets. RS&H also will design the toll gantries for Sections 2 and 3 of the corridor extension.

Kennedy to Build Two Timesharess at Westgate Lakes

Roger B. Kennedy of Altamonte Springs has secured two contracts totaling $27 million to build mid-rise timeshare buildings #80 and #90 at the Westgate Lakes Resort in Orlando. The projects, for owner Westgate Resorts, a subsidiary of Central Florida Investments, include two six-story, 66-unit, 123,969-sq-ft structures. Construction is scheduled for completion in December 2008.

Morris Architects of Orlando is the architect. 

Construction Starts on Orlando Lutheran Towers

Construction recently began for the new Orlando Lutheran Towers building in downtown Orlando. Baker Barrios Architects designed the $18 million, 102,500-sq-ft assisted-living development. The project will feature 105 residential units and 12,000 sq ft of ground-floor support/amenity space.

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