DLZ Designed Dover Firehouse Near Completion

The building is at more than 80 percent completion

The project was funded 100 percent by a Community Development Block Grant for $500,000 and is the only 100 percent grant-funded project in the region.

The building should reach "substantial completion" by mid-December. When substantial completion is reached, the fire department can make the move into the new building.

Source: Maysville Online

DLZ assisted the City of Valparaiso, Indiana in their application for a federal grant under the
Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER III) Discretionary Grant
program for a $32 million transit downtown.

To learn more please click below: 

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/valparaiso/valpo-plans-m-transit-center-downtown/article_5245b361-389a-5170-803e-586ae9a793a1.html

Valpo plans $32M transit center downtown
.

John Luke | The Times
Valparaiso has applied for a $25.9 million federal grant to build a $32.3 million bus transit center at Lincolnway and Morgan Boulevard. The corner property where a Round the Clock Restaurant stands would have to be acquired for the project, which would include retail and housing components.

The city has been successful the past eight years in getting state and federal grants to help pay for many of its projects, but now it is grabbing for the big brass ring.

Valparaiso filed an application for a $25.9 million federal grant under the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER III) Discretionary Grant program to pay 80 percent of the cost of redeveloping the northwest corner of Morgan Boulevard and Lincolnway into the Valparaiso Area Transit Center.

As described in the proposal submitted to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, the four-story center would cost about $32.3 million. The passenger loading and unloading area for the city's bus services -- the V-Line and the ChicaGo Dash -- would be on the first level alongside retail businesses and parking. The buses would not be housed there.

The second and third levels would provide more parking for bicycles and cars and include charging stations for electric cars. It also would be the hub for Car Sharing rentals. The top level would be residential with some units set aside for the elderly or disabled who want to maintain a lifestyle without a car.

"The bus loading and unloading platforms will be located behind the retail area on the first floor in order to allow users convenient access to the shops," the application, prepared by DLZ, states. "The bus loading area also will feature a raised platform that will allow easy access for disabled persons."

Buses would enter the rear of the building off Jefferson Street and load or unload passengers without subjecting them to rain or snow. Buses then would exit onto Lincolnway through an arch in the front.

"The project will also redesign vehicular and pedestrian circulation, complete pathway/greenway linkages and upgrade existing utilities to accommodate the facility," DLZ states. "The fourth floor will utilize a unique and innovative public/private partnership to construct 20 to 24 housing units."

The plan is for the city to own the building and lease the retail space, but Redevelopment Commission Executive Director Stuart Summers said the option also is available to sell as condominium space the retail and the residential units. The parking and transit features would remain in the city's control. Summers said it would have about 2 1/2 times the existing parking on the site.

The project would require acquiring and relocating the Round the Clock restaurant, but the rest of the property needed already belongs to the city or is within the public right of way. Summers said the restaurant owner was approached about the plan by a city official.

"I understand he would be interested as long as he is treated fairly," Summers said. "There are all sorts of options for him, but we haven't discussed them with him yet. He could be relocated across the street or he could occupy space on the first level of the new building or he could go elsewhere."

The business owner could not be reached for comment.

A decision on awarding the $568 million in TIGER III grants authorized by Congress isn't expected until late January or early February. The minimum grant under the program is $10 million, but competition is fierce and the program still must survive the deficit-reduction efforts in Congress.

If it is approved, the city is pledging about $3.4 million in matching funds and expects about $3 million in private investment to account for the 20 percent local share. The city would spend 2012 doing the engineering plans and acquiring the property to be ready for construction in 2013. Construction would take about a year.

If the grant is not approved, Summers said the city would submit it again if TIGER grants are offered in the future. He said the cost probably would make it impossible to fund strictly with local public-private funding

DLZ was awarded the contract for Construction management services on the $153 million Gary/Chicago International Airport runway expansion project on Monday (7/25/2011) and will be partnering with Jacobs and ILC Consulting LLC to oversee all construction on the project

Please see the Post-Tribune article 'Gary airport expansion moving forward, not affected by FAA woes yet' for additional details.

DLZ was named to the Engineering News Record's Rankings for the 50 Top Program Management and Top 100 CM-for-Fee Firms.

ENR’s Top Firms List, published annually in June, ranks the largest U.S. firms, both publicly and privately held in a variety of disciplines. For more than 130 years, ENR has been the industry standard for news, information and analysis of the global construction marketplace.

To see the complete lists of Top Firms, visit ENR's website here.

Staff from DLZ’s Cleveland, Ohio office recently volunteered at the annual Riversweep Event. Riversweep is Ohio’s largest day-long environmental cleanup effort. Volunteers cleaned up the banks of the Cuyahoga River and surrounding areas to beautify the area as well as make way for new parks and future multi-use trails. Thank you DLZ employees for all your hard work.

Congratualation to Gary D. Bowen, Construction Services Department Manager in DLZ Columbus, Ohio office for passing Certified Construction Manager (CCM) exam. The CCM exam is sponsored by the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA).

The $50 million Indianapolis Department of Public Works project  to provide Water Resources Program Management for the city has landed DLZ as the Cover Story of the February Issue of the Engineering News Record (ENR). For more than 130 years, ENR has been reporting news and intelligence and it is the industry standard for news, information and analysis of the global construction marketplace.

Read the online version of DLZ's cover story here.

DLZ has been selected by the City of Ann Arbor to lead a very high profile project for improvement of the Fuller Road/Maiden Lane intersection. This intersection has been identified by the City as critical to the function of its overall road network. Located adjacent to a major proposed intermodal transit center, rail bridges on two legs, parkland, the Huron River, and the University of Michigan’s Medical Center, this intersection is slated for design as a multi-lane roundabout. The first phase of the project includes a study of roundabout operations and potential pedestrian HAWK signals. After the study phase, design will commence with completion of biddable plans slated for 2012. A major public outreach program is also included as part of the project.

See the full article here.