National Honors for VCBO School Design

The Council of Education Facilty Planners International has presented Salt Lake City-based VCBO Architecture the 2004 James D. MacConnell Award for superior school planning and design for the firm's design of the West Point Junior High School.

The jury for the award consisted of school facility directors and architects from Minneapolis, Minn; Seattle, Wash. and Las Vegas, Nev. The jury visited the school in May 2004 and selected it for the award out of 43 schools from the United States, Canada and Austrailia.

The award was presented to the VCBO Architecutre and Davis School District representatives in Atlanta, Ga. in Oct. of 2004.

The jury commented that the design successfully achived the mission developed by the district design committee to, "create a facility so accommodating and appealing to young people that they can't wait to come to school in the morning."

Furst Construction Begins Work on Bowling Center

Furst Construction of West Valley City, Utah, has been contracted to build the new South County Lanes Bowling Center, located just west of I-15 at 200 West 900 So. in Payson. A groundbreaking ceremony will be held on location Monday, December 6, at 11:00 a.m.

Project owner Elden Pierce worked with architect Richard Craven to design the 26,000-square-foot facility, which will include 16 lanes initially (with room for four more in the near future, as well as an expandable wall for future growth), a café, a billiards room, and office areas on a mezzanine level.

The project is being funded by the Pierce family and Central Bank, and is scheduled to be complete in Spring of 2005. Furst Construction's Craig Bennett will act as project manager, and Dave Hohmann and Ken Anderson are job superintendents.

Kier Building New Senior Housing

Kier Construction broke ground on a new senior housing facility in West Jordan. The 54,683 sq ft project will incorporate 65 independent living units.

Amenities for the facility include a water feature, computer lab, craft room, library, community room, and wellness center. The project is adjoined by a 3 acre park and trail system desinge dto enhance the shores of Bingham Creek.

Funding for the project is provided thorugh a grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Harold Woodruff of Salt Lake City is the project architect. It is expected to be completed in October.

Reeve & Associates recognized by Utah Heritage Foundation

Reeve & Associates recently received a 2004 Utah Heritage Foundation award for their role as part of the design team for the renovation of the historic Scowcroft building in downtown Ogden. The building is part of the IRS's regional services complex located at 105 23rd Street in Ogden. Working closely with the architectural firm, Cooper Roberts Simonsen, and Jacobsen Construction, Reeve provided all infrastructure engineering services for the development. Through a public/private partnership with Cottonwood Realty, Ogden City, and the General Services Administration, the project demonstrates how the adaptive reuse of a 124,000-square foot vacant industrial building can create a center for employment for over 1,000 people.

A Utah-based firm, Reeve & Associates works closely with architects and developers engineering public and private sector projects throughout the western U.S.

Staker and Parson lauded for commitment to environment

Staker and Parson Companies recently received the industry's top award from the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association (NSSGA). The company received three Environmental Eagle Awards for its Utah locations. The Environmental Eagle Award was created to provide national recognition for aggregate-producing companies actively contributing to the maintenance of the environment in and around their operations, as evidenced by the full use of environmental controls and systems. Staker and Parson Companies received
Silver awards for its Brigham City and South Weber facilities and a Bronze for its Beck Street facility.

"We hold a corporate commitment to act as a good neighbor to the communities and environment we work in," said John Parson, CEO of Staker and Parson Companies. "We have taken tremendous measures in our operations to deliver on that promise and are honored that the NSSGA has recognized our team's efforts."

Companies were judged on the following criteria: 1) the quality and effectiveness of the operation's proactive environmental programs, 2) the degree of employee involvement in environmental programs and community environmental outreach, 3) the quality and effectiveness of an operation's pollution prevention and waste minimization programs, and 4) the extent to which an operation has implemented effective environmental controls that produce measurable results that go over and above regulatory requirements.