1) Cross Generating Station Unit 4
Cost: $755,000,000
Location: Cross, S.C.
Owner: South Carolina Public Service Authority/Santee Cooper
Contractor: WorleyParsons (formerly Parsons Power of Reading, Pa.)
Engineer: WorleyParsons
Start Date: February 2004
Completion Date: January 2009

Generating enough electricity to supply 40 percent of South Carolina's power requirements is a daunting task, given the continuing population growth in the Southeast and the effects of unpredictable weather patterns.

That is why the South Carolina Public Service Authority/Santee Cooper is expanding its output capacity through the construction of two new units at its Cross Generating Station located between Lakes Marion and Moultrie in Berkeley County. Unit 4 is a pulverized coal-fired plant designed to meet all Title I quality compliance requirements.

Unit 4 represents the largest portion of the authority's ongoing expansion, and will cost $755 million. Scheduled for completion and initial activation in January 2009, the unit will add 600 megawatts of generating capacity to the station's current 1,160 MW output.

"Cross 4 is needed to meet the growing electrical demand of our customers," said Lonnie Carter, president and CEO of the state-owned electric and water utility. "This is another example of how we have planned to meet projected system and reserve requirements, and to be able to continue providing low-cost, reliable power."

Because of its location on the South Carolina coast, which is a high-risk area for earthquakes and hurricanes, approximately 660 tons of reinforcing steel and 5,000 cu. yds. of concrete were used to build the 463-ft. chimney.

2) Maynard Holbrook Jackson Jr. International Terminal
Cost: $746,000,000
Location: Atlanta
Owner: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Contractor: Joint venture team of Holder Construction (managing partner), Manhattan Construction, C.D. Moody Construction and Hunt Construction
Architect: Terminal Design Team
Start Date: November 2004
Completion Date: Spring 2008

Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson will soon boast one of the world's most modern and secure international passenger terminals. The airport has experienced an 80 percent increase in international passenger traffic since the 1996 Summer Olympic Games.

In 2002, six million people used the airport for travel to and from foreign locations. By 2015, that number is predicted to reach nearly 13 million.

The new, 1.2-million-sq.-ft. terminal is part of the airport's 10-year, $5.4 billion development program, which has been named "Focus on the Future." It will incorporate 10 additional passenger gates that can be activated for domestic operations during nonpeak hours.

The project will provide upgrades to international passenger service and support facilities, including ticketing, baggage handling, hold rooms, concessions and duty-free shops. An elevated roadway system will provide a more accessible approach to the airport, and 1,100 garaged parking spaces will be added.

"The construction of the International Terminal is the start of phase two of the Hartsfield-Jackson Development Program," said Ben Decosta, aviation general manager, who went on to explain that it is the largest capital program in Georgia's history.

3) Cross Generating Station Unit 3
Cost: $675,000,000
Location: Cross, S.C.
Owner: South Carolina Public Service Authority/Santee Cooper
Contractor: WorleyParsons (formerly Parsons Power of Reading, Pa.)
Engineer: WorleyParsons
Start Date: February 2004
Completion Date: January 2007

Construction is well under way on Unit 3 at Santee Cooper's Cross Generating Station. Like sister Unit 4 (this year's No. 1 project), it will produce 600 megawatts of power, increasing the generating station's current output by more than 50 percent.

Santee Cooper spokesperson Laura Varn said that Unit 3, which is also a pulverized coal-fired plant, will make a huge difference when it comes on line. "We are one of the largest state-owned utilities in the United States," she added. "Our plants provide energy to all 46 counties of South Carolina through a combination of fossil-fueled, nuclear and hydroelectric generation."

The first unit built, the 540-MW Cross Unit 2, began commercial operation in 1983. The 620-MW second unit, Cross Unit 1, entered service in 1995. The simultaneous development of units 3 and 4 by WorleyParsons is employing nearly 1,400 construction workers.

4) Fort Stewart/Hunter Army Airfield Privatized Housing
Cost: $304,000,000
Location: Fort Stewart/Hunter Army Airfield, Savannah, Ga.
Owner: Department of Defense
Managing Partner: GMH Development Group
Contractor: Centex Construction
Architect: Benham Cos.
Start Date: January 2004
Completion Date: December 2008

Soldiers and their families assigned to Fort Stewart/Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Ga., will feel a little closer to civilian comfort when they move into a new privatized housing community.

Built under authority of the 1996 Residential Communities Initiative authorized by the Department of Defense, civilian development/management groups are providing new on-base housing built to civilian market standards. To date, military housing has been placed under private enterprise at 21 installations, giving management of about 50,000 houses to private housing development companies.

The project in Savannah is being constructed on the Army's largest training base east of the Mississippi River. The community will consist of 1,770 multifamily units, 98 single-family units, indoor and outdoor storage facilities, community fitness center, swimming pools and a sports complex.

Sergeant Major of the Army Kenneth Preston has seen the impact of this initiative to provide quality housing for his soldiers. "We've always said that you enlist the soldier, but you retain the family," he said, noting that half of Army personnel are married.

5) Hines Energy Complex Power Plant 3
Cost: $230,000,000
Location: Bartow, Fla.
Owner: Progress Energy Florida
Contractor: S&B Construction
Architect: Bibb & Associates
Start Date: January 2004
Completion Date: December 2005

The third of four plants at the Hines Energy Complex in Bartow, Fla., continues Progress Energy's focus on environmentally friendly production. The 540-megawatt natural gas-fired unit will serve up to 320,000 houses in Florida's quickly growing Polk County.

The complex is located on a retired phosphate strip mine that would have required extensive restoration before it could be used for other purposes.

"The Hines Energy Complex sets the standard for new power plant construction," Kent Hedrick, supervisor of environmental services for Progress Energy Florida, said in a press release. "We have worked hard to build a complex that provides affordable, reliable electricity while protecting our environment."

Exhaust heat from the unit will be captured and recycled to produce additional electricity. Hedrick said the technology means the complex can generate 50 percent more electricity than a combustion turbine system.

6) TSA Baggage Screening Project
Cost: $215,000,000
Location: Atlanta
Owner: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Contractor: Archer Western
Architect:
Start Date: December 2004
Completion Date: Late 2005

Phase two of a security project mandated by the Transportation Security Administration will revolutionize baggage screening for passengers using the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Two underground facilities will provide the means to electronically screen baggage. The facility under construction at the North Terminal is approximately 67,000 sq. ft. The South Terminal facility is somewhat smaller at 54,000 sq. ft. Both are being constructed under the curbside.

The new automated system will replace the current hand and machine screening that slows lobby traffic. When the project is completed, passengers will be able to drop off their luggage in the main lobby and proceed to the gate through the security line. The baggage will be screened as it travels along 20,000 lin. ft. of underground conveyors.

Airport traffic has been a problem during the construction. In order to minimize the length of impact on travelers, segments of the airport road are closed one at a time for excavation and construction. Then that portion of the road is rebuilt and reopened. An extensive system of detours and passenger information marquees is in place to guide travelers through and around the construction.

7) West Area Storage & Tunnel Facilities & Pumping Station
Location: Atlanta
Owner: City of Atlanta
Contractor: Obayashi Corp.
Engineer: Jordan Jones & Goulding
Start Date: July 2004
Completion Date: Mid-2007

Under federal orders to bring its aged combined sewer system into compliance with federal and state water quality laws, the city of Atlanta is burrowing deep underground into the bedrock that shores up the city.

The West Area Tunnel will have a storage capacity of 177 million gallons to provide underground retention of combined sewer overflow until it can be pumped into a treatment plant for pollutant removal and disinfection.

The project was necessitated by an average of 80 overflows each year when Atlanta's treatment facilities couldn't handle the volume of normal sewage combined with heavy rainfall. The decision to tunnel bore through the bedrock was made because experience shows deep rock construction has little effect on above-ground structures and minimal environmental impact.

The completed storage facility will be 8.5 mi. long and 26 ft. in diameter. An 85-million-gallon per day dewatering pump station will lift the stored flow into the treatment plant. The treated overflow will then be discharged into the Chattahoochee River.

8) Rosen Resort at Shingle Creek
Cost: $200,000,000
Location: Orlando
Owner: R H Resorts/Rosen Resorts
Contractor: Welbro Building Corp.
Architect: Helman Hurley Charvat Peacock
Start Date: November 2004
Completion Date: November 2006

Welbro Building Corp. didn't allow the hurricanes of 2004 to impede its progress as construction manager at the massive Rosen Resort at Shingle Creek. The project will increase R H Resorts/Rosen Resorts to six properties in the Orlando area.

Located just off International Drive, the 1,281-room resort hotel will provide guests with convenient easy access to Orlando International Airport, the Orange County Convention Center and all of Central Florida's popular attractions. It also will offer a wide array of recreational activities.

9) Coconut Point Regional Mall
Cost: $200,000,000
Location: Estero, Fla.
Owner: Simon Property Group
Contractor: Bovis Lend Lease
Architect: Wakefield Beasley Associates Architects
Start Date: October 2004
Complete Date: (Commercial Center) March 2006

Mediterranean flavor will permeate the new Coconut Point Regional Mall and its surrounding mixed-used development in Estero, Fla. The retail section, the first phase of the project, will consist of a community center shopping venue with approximately 40 stores and a lake surrounded by a boardwalk, stores and restaurants.

The second phase will feature Mediterranean-style buildings lining the main street with numerous courtyards and public spaces.

Tom Schneider of the Simon Development Group, developer of the town center, said in a press release: "The design of this project is exciting. In my experience, there is nothing like it in the country."

10) Raleigh Convention Center
Location: Raleigh, N.C.
Owner:Raleigh Convention Center
Contractor: Joint Venture of Skanska USA Building and Barnhill Contracting Co.
Architect: Thompson Ventulett Stainback
Start Date: November 2004
Completion Date: Spring 2008

The new Raleigh Convention Center will more than double the existing space available for holding conventions in Raleigh and, according to estimates from city and county officials, will pump nearly $500 million into the local economy while creating approximately 2,000 jobs during the first five years of operation.

The 500,000-sq.-ft. building will be accessible from all sides, feature a grand public plaza and an exterior facade of granite and glass. An underground parking facility will relieve street congestion. An adjacent Marriott Hotel will complement the center's offerings.

The Raleigh Convention Center's official website states that, "Studies indicate more lucrative conventions are being forced to bypass Raleigh because of the inadequate size and configuration of the existing convention and conference center and the lack of an adjacent quality hotel."

11) One Bal Harbour
Cost: $185,000,000
Location: Bal Harbour, Fla.
Owner: WCI Communities
Contractor: Boran Craig Barber Engle Construction Co.
Architect: Nichols, Brosch, Sandoval & Associates
Start Date: May 2004
Completion Date: December 2006

Built on a barrier island at the northern tip of Miami Beach, One Bal Harbour will offer the first mixed-use project built in Bal Harbour Village. The project's architecture features a slightly curved shape with extensive use of glass and wrap-around balconies to allow patrons a 270-degree view of the Atlantic.

The 26-story tower will provide 185 residential communities. Sixteen condominium floor plans offer the choice between two and five bedrooms and up to 5.5 baths. Residences range from 2,000 to more than 8,600 sq. ft. and are priced from $1.75 million to more than $12 million.

The developer, WCI Communities, was named "America's Best Builder" in 2004 by the National Association of Home Builders and Builder Magazine.

12) Walgreens Distribution Center
Cost: $180,000,000
Location: Anderson, S.C.
Owner: Walgreens Co.
Design/Build Contractor: Korte Construction
Start Date: August 2004
Completion Date: February 2007

The nation's largest and fastest-growing drugstore chain is expanding its delivery capability through the construction of a new distribution center in Anderson, S.C. Walgreen's new 680,000-sq.-ft. center is located midway between Atlanta and Charlotte and will service up to 250 stores across eight states.

Walgreens chairman and CEO David Bernaur said in a press release: "We're really going on the leading edge here. The technology is not cheap. It's going to be a $180 million investment for this distribution center before inventory, but it's going to be at least 20 percent more efficient that the ones we have out there today."

To build the distribution center, Walgreens once again tapped the talents of Korte Construction for design and construction.

13) Interstate 4 Reconstruction, Tampa
Cost: $151,400,000
Location: Tampa
Owner: Florida Department of Transportation, District 7
Contractor: Gilbert Southern Corp.
Engineer: Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas
Start Date: February 2004
Completion Date: Spring 2008

Major construction is under way to rebuild Interstate 4 in downtown Tampa from 14th Street to 50th Street. The project includes the reconstruction of a four-lane roadway into an eight-lane roadway that will tie into the downtown Tampa interchange improvement project.

The project preserves the median for future potential construction of additional travel lanes and also provides ramp improvements, bridge reconstructions with increased height clearances and improved light and drainage.

14) Capri Resort
Cost:$150,000,000
Location: Fort Lauderdale
Owner: W Hotels
Contractor: Centex Construction
Architect: Adache Group Architects
Start Date: May 2004
Completion Date: September 2007

The Capri Resort and Condominium Hotel on Bayshore Drive will soon be among Fort Lauderdale's luxury offerings. Designed by Adache Group Architects, the 23-story, two-tower hotel and residences will offer views of the Atlantic Ocean, the Intracoastal Waterway and downtown Fort Lauderdale.

When it opens, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide will manage the resort's 346 hotel rooms, 171 condominium hotel suites and an ocean-front community of villas priced from $900,000 to $2 million.

15) Forsyth Medical Center
Cost: $142,300,000
Location: Winston Salem, N.C.
Owner: Novant Health
Contractor: A joint venture of Rodgers Builders and Rentenbach Constructors
Architect: Freeman White Architects
Start Date: December 2004

The joint venture team of Rodgers Builders/Rentenbach Constructors is fully engaged in an expansion of the Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C.

A five-floor addition to the North Pavilion will be followed by the addition of a new women's center in the space formerly occupied by the emergency room. After demolition of the ER facility, construction began on the new 166,000-sq.-ft. facility. Additionally, renovation is under way on 130,000 sq. ft. of the hospital's space.

Sallye Liner, the hospital's executive president, said in a press release, "The demands on our region's health care resources have continued to increase significantly over the last several years."

She added that the expansion could result in nearly 100 new patient care and health care service-related jobs over the next few years. Forsyth Medical Center is one of seven hospitals operated by Novant Health, a not-for-profit health-care system based in North Carolina.

16) Jade Beach
Cost: $118 million
Location: Sunny Isles Beach ,Fla.
Owner: Fortune International Realty
General Contractor: Pavarini Construction
Architect: The Carlos Ott Partnership
Architect: Revuelta Vega Leon
Start Date: October 2004
Completion Date: November 2007

The latest 50-plus-story luxury condominium to be added to the skyline of Sunny Isles Beach is Jade Beach. The 53-story tower will feature 248 luxury residential units, each accessible via a private elevator lobby accessed by security-controlled, high-speed elevators. Each unit will feature 9-ft.-high ceilings, custom kitchen cabinetry and extensive use of marble and granite. Apartments will feature floor-to-ceiling laminated glass windows.

Pavarini Construction of Miami Lakes - which built the nearby Acqualina - is the general contractor for this project, which was designed by The Carlos Ott Partnership of Toronto. Revuelta Vega Leon of Miami is the local project architect.

17) Greensboro Western Loop
Cost: $117,000,000
Location: Greensboro, N.C.
Owner: North Carolina Division of Highways
Contractor: Archer Western Contractors
Engineer: HNTB
Start Date: January 2004
Completion Date: July 2007

Ecological concerns are among the most sensitive challenges faced by Archer Western as it builds another section of the Greensboro Urban Loop. The project includes crossing eight interior roadways, Interstate 85 and a Norfolk Southern Railway.

The construction involves 19 bridges, which together consist of approximately 33,519 sq. meters of reinforced deck slab, 767,000 Kg of rebar and 6,000 cu. meters of concrete. The project also includes the fabrication of six box culverts. Added into the new construction is the reconstruction of nearly 6,500 lin. meters of sewer and water lines.

18) Duke University French Sciences Building
Cost: $115,000,000
Location: Durham, N.C
Owner: Duke University
Contractor: Skanska USA Building
Architect: Moore Ruble Yudell Architects
Start Date: August 2004
Completion Date: December 2006

The French Sciences Center promises to be a centerpiece of the expanding Duke University campus. The 285,000-sq.-ft. construction project will provide additional space to connect the university's departments of biological anthropology and anatomy, chemistry, mathematics and physics.

It also includes six new research greenhouses to replace outdated facilities and the renovation of the current Biological Sciences Building.

The project is funded in part by a gift from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Melinda French Gates is a former Microsoft executive and earned two degrees at Duke. Her husband, Bill, is the founder and chairman of Microsoft.

In a press release announcing the project, Duke Provost Peter Lange said the building will house faculty from several departments and feature state-of-the-art research and teaching laboratories appropriate for conducting 21st Century research and for training students in emerging fields such as genomics, biological chemistry, physical biology and bioformatics.

19) Marina Grande
Cost: $110,000,000
Location: Riviera Beach, Fla.
Owner/Developer: Boca Developers and Swerdlow Group
Contractor: Pavarini Construction Co.
Architect: BC Architects
Start Date: October 2004
Completion Date: October 2006

Marina Grande in Riviera Beach, Fla., is a two-building luxury condominium development overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway and Atlantic Ocean. Its twin 26-story towers will house 349 residential units ranging in size from 1,578 to 2,292 sq. ft.

Property features include a 24-hour staffed guardhouse, heated swimming pool and spa, barbeque/bar in a garden setting, sunrise terrace with shaded pavilion, controlled-access parking garage, social activity room with full kitchen facilities and a fitness center.

20) One Water Place @ Kelly Plantation
Cost: $105,000,000
Location: Destin, Fla.
Owner: Cornerstone Development
Contractor: W.G. Yates & Sons Construction Co.
Architect: AI Group
Start Date: November 2004
Completion Date: 2007

One Water Place is a 162-unit luxury project that is the only condominium within Kelly Plantation in Destin, Fla. Three 16-story buildings are being simultaneously erected by W.G. Yates & Sons Construction Co.

The development overlooks Choctawhatchee Bay and Kelly Plantation's Fred Couples-designed golf course. Units range in size from 2,500 to 3,400 sq. ft., featuring formal dining rooms, fireplaces and large terraces with outdoor kitchens. Prices range from $700,000 up to $5 million for top-of-the-line penthouses.

21) Plaza Midtown Condominiums
Cost: $102,000,000
Location: Atlanta
Developer/Owner: Sellig Enterprises and Daniel Corp.
Contractor: A joint venture of Benning Construction Co. and Brasfield & Gorrie
Architect: Smallwood Reynolds Stewart Stewart & Associates
Start Date: September 2004
Completion Date: September 2006

Plaza Midtown may have been just what Atlanta urban revitalization enthusiasts were looking for. Situated on 3.3 acres, the 550,000-sq.-ft. project will occupy an entire block of the city's midtown area.

Two 20-story towers will contain 452 one- and two-bedroom condominiums starting at $180,000. The mixed-use development will include 70,000 sq. ft. of commercial space and will be anchored by Publix Supermarkets, a first for the area.

22) Florida State Route 836 Extension
Cost: $100, 000,000
Location: Miami
Owner: Miami-Dade Expressway Authority
Contractor: Community Asphalt Corp.
Engineer: Gannett Fleming
Start Date: April 2004
Completion Date: July 2007

More than a half-million drivers use the five expressways in and around Miami-Dade County every day. Improving the transportation infrastructure is vital if the area's highways are to meet the continuing growth.

The extension of State Route 836 in the form of a new four-lane expressway from 137th to 107th avenues is a major expansion of the Dolphin Expressway and is part of a five-year, $965 million plan for Miami-Dade expressways. That's a drop in the bucket when compared to a 20-year outlook by the expressway authority, which estimates $2.75 billion will be spent in the next 20 years in transportation improvements.

The undertaking is a cooperative project between Miami-Dade County and the state of Florida.

23) U.S. Highway 74 Reconstruction
Cost: $99,500,000
Location: Robeson County, N.C.
Owner: North Carolina Department of Transportation
Contractor: Rea Construction Co.
Engineer: North Carolina Department of Transportation Design Services Unit
Start Date: November 2004
Completion Date: December 2008

The widening of U.S. Highway 74 in Robeson County, N.C., from two to four lanes is under way on the 11.3-mi. segment that connects Exit 14 of Interstate 95 with the junction of U.S. Highway 76 in Columbus County.

U.S. 74 is an original 1927 U.S. highway. It was signed over the old N.C. 20 and at first only ran from Asheville east to Chadbourn where 74 and 76 meet today. The project includes signage, guardrails, sewer and flood control.

24) Latitude On The River
Cost: $90,000,000
Location: Miami
Owners: Marjorie O. Brickell Trust, Riverfront Village, Miami Riverfront Partners
Contractor: Suffolk Construction Co.
Architect: Arquitectonica International Corp.
Engineer: Coastal Systems International
Start Date: November 2004
Completion Date: July 2007

Latitude on the River is destined to change Miami's riverfront skyline. Designed by Arquitectonica, the 2.3-acre mixed-use development will house a 44-story, 455-unit condominium encompassing 498,444 sq. ft.

An adjacent 23-story tower occupying 231,000 sq. ft. will offer 13 stories of office, restaurant and retail space, capped by 10 stories of residential units. Prices for studios, riverfront flats, tower units and penthouses range from $170,000 to $600,000. Parking does not appear to be a problem because the development includes a 7.5-level parking garage with 1,006 spaces.

25) Carillon Hotel and Condominium Apartments
Cost: $90,000,000
Location: Miami Beach
Owner: WSG Development Co.
Contractor: Charleville Development Corp.
Architect: Arquitectonica International Corp.
Start Date: December 2004
Completion Date: August 2006

WSG Development Co., with offices in Miami Beach, is gutting and completely renovating the circa-1957 Carillon Hotel on Collins Avenue in North Miami Beach. The renovation will transform the 330,000-sq.-ft., 17-story structure from a 600-room hotel into a 236-unit rental apartment building.

Additionally, WSG will add approximately 800,000 sq. ft., including a 20-story, 140-unit condominium apartment building, as well as a 39-story, 238-unit condo building.

The project includes a 16,000-sq.-ft. spa, restaurants, a theater and a lap pool.

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