Flagstaff Development News

[kaneui]

More info. on airport developments:




$19M extension of airport runway,
due for December completion


Consultant to study second airline
By J. FERGUSON
Arizona Daily Sun
April 13, 2007

The city of Flagstaff has begun work on extending the runway at Flagstaff Pulliam Airport by 1,800 feet, an expansion considered essential to improving service and adding destinations for travelers. Currently, the airport's runway is too short to handle some regional jets.

Most of the 37-seat turboprops used by the airport's only commercial carrier, America West Express, do not have enough range to serve airports other than Sky Harbor in Phoenix. But the airline has been noncommittal about bringing its regional 50-seat jets to Flagstaff. So the city is about to hire a consultant to study the possibility of bringing in another carrier that would serve other destinations in addition to Phoenix.

The $50,000 consultant contract comes on the heels of the city's failed bid to recruit Tesla Motors, which told city officials that Flagstaff was hurt by it limited commercial air service compared with Albuquerque. Executives at W.L. Gore & Associates, Flagstaff's largest private employer, have said they prefer to drive to Phoenix for meeting rather than fly out of Flagstaff Pulliam Airport.

But John Lauher, acting airport manager, said he did not expect America West Express to pull its turboprops out of Flagstaff even after the runway extension is finished sometime in December. "My sense is that they will be flying them for quite a while," he said, nothing the older aircraft are more fuel-efficient than the jets.

Lauher said Pulliam could immediately accommodate a second airline, such as Frontier, which serves Denver. But he said the city would only approach the airline if research and surveys suggested a pent-up demand for direct Flagstaff-to-Denver flights. Other destinations mentioned were Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Salt Lake City. "We could go to them and say, 'Here is what Flagstaff needs,'" said Lauher.

Additional flights and added destinations could also by handled by America West's parent company, US Airways, he said. Lauher said the city has recently met with executives with US Airways, but only to show them recent changes locally, including NAU's conference center.

Before the city can begin building the runway, which is 40 feet below grade, it will need to move an estimated 850,000 cubic yards of earth to build up land underneath the planned extension.



Phoenix-based TGen opens a satellite lab at the airport business park:

TGen opens Flagstaff research facility
by Angela Gonzales
The Business Journal of Phoenix
April 13, 2007

The Translational Genomics Research Institute Friday opened its pathogen genomics and biodefense research facility in Flagstaff. Called TGen North, the facility will focus on the detection and prevention of biological threats. Although scientists have been working for the past year in Flagstaff, Friday marked the move to a permanent facility with more than 4,500 square feet of research laboratories and office space.

The new facility has three research centers: Center for Public Health and Clinical Pathogens, Center for Dangerous Pathogens and Center for Pathogen Bioinformatics. Paul Keim, director of TGen's Pathogenic Division and professor of biology and Cowden Endowed Chair in microbiology at Northern Arizona University, said the advances being developed at TGen North will help doctors -- from local hospitals to the battlefield -- quickly identify dangerous pathogens and characterize the nature of those pathogens.

TGen North will focus on common infectious diseases like influenza and valley fever, hospital infections such as drug-resistant staphylococcus, and several bioterrorism agents, such as tularemia and plague. The facility is a collaborative effort between TGen and NAU, with joint and adjunct TGen-NAU faculty members staffing the facility. These scientists have access to the advanced Biosafety Level III facilities on NAU's campus as well as the genomic research capabilities of TGen's headquarters in Phoenix.

John Haeger, president of NAU, said the partnership continues to strengthen the ties between TGen and NAU. "It is my hope that TGen North will further establish Northern Arizona as a premier site for pathogen research," Haeger said.

David Engelthaler, the former epidemiologist for Arizona, will provide the day-to-day management of TGen North. The facility is funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies that support medical diagnostics, forensic analyses and biodefense-related work.

For more: www.tgen.org.

[kaneui]

High Country Conference Center taking shape
Inside NAU
April 25, 2007





The conference center going up on the north end of campus now has a name—the High Country Conference Center at Flagstaff. The name and an update on the entire hotel/conference center complex was shared with the Flagstaff City Council at its work session on Monday. Many of the university's partners on the project were on hand to bring the city up to speed on interior designs and the marketing and branding effort.

The High Country name tested well in surveys and "conveys a sense of character and location," noted Rob Moore, managing partner of Lipman Hearne with which NAU has contracted for initial marketing and branding of the conference center. Moore also emphasized the regional, as opposed to national, focus of the conference center.

Dennis Vollink, president and engineer of Drury Southwest, and his associates showed interior finishes of the hotel that are designed to be representative of the area. "We don't have a cookie-cutter plan that we bring in and try to force on the site," said Drury Southwest architect Dave Alberson. The hotel will have double the number of windows of other Drury hotels and solar domestic hot water, and Drury is seeking certification of the hotel as a green building.

Jack Black, design director for Ayers Saint Gross, which is developing the interior finishes for the conference center, said that the design also draws upon the surrounding area. He described the look as "soft, warm and sophisticated." "In a lot of ways, this sort of raises the bar in Flagstaff," said councilman Joe Haughey about the design of the Drury hotel and High Country Conference Center.

President John Haeger advised the City Council that some matters relating to the conference center remain in negotiation. Those include transportation to and from downtown and to other hotels that provide overflow accommodation for conferences. Haeger said city and university officials continue to evaluate traffic issues at the Milton and Butler interface, and the university is still considering the addition of a restaurant.

Haeger described the project as a unique partnership with Drury, the city and the university and one that will have "enormous impact on Flagstaff and an enormous impact on Northern Arizona University." Three conferences have been booked for spring 2008. Information on the conference center is available at www.meetinFlagstaff.com.

[kaneui]

New residence hall to promote collaboration, learning
Inside NAU
June 13, 2007

The new residence hall going up in the center of campus will not only enhance the look of campus, it's designed to enhance learning as well, said Rich Payne, director of Residence Life.

"Lots of open space, lounges and two full classrooms will support learning communities and students working together," Payne said. "It's part of our ongoing effort to transform campus to meet the ever-changing needs of students."

The suite-style residence hall, scheduled to open in August 2008, will "feature traditional red brick coupled with striking public spaces of three-story glass and aluminum," Payne said. The hall will house 348 students.

[AZPhoenix]

Flagstaff is a beautiful city in the north of Arizona. Flagstaff is not big as Phoenix though. I rather be in a big city like Phoenix. Plus Flagstaff get really cold in the winter. I perfer to live in Phoenix or Prescott Arizona (Prescott was the first capital city of Arizona.)

image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr

[kaneui]

^You sure that last photo is of Flagstaff? None of the buildings look familiar...


A few construction pics of the High Country Conference Center and hotel at NAU:



Workers pull a boom truck around to work on the NAU Conference Center on the corner of Butler and Milton on Monday. The center is set to be completed in January of 2008, wih the first conference slated for April 2008. The center includes a 344-space parking garage, a boardroom that will accommodate 100 and a grand ballroom. (source: Arizona Daily Sun, 6/26/2007)


An aerial shot of the construction:



This aerial view of the High Country Conference Center at Flagstaff was taken from the northeast corner of the site. The parking garage is seen on the left, while the conference center—with its 800-person capacity ballroom—is at the middle right of the image. The Drury Hotel is visible toward the upper right of the picture near the yellow crane (source: Inside NAU, 6/20/2007).

A link to the live construction webcam: http://webcam4.facsrv.nau.edu/view/index.shtml

[AZPhoenix]

Yeah you are right about the last picture. The last picture is from Colorado...

http://flickr.com/photos/molas/410336672/

[AZPhoenix]

Here are some amazing photos from Flagstaff.





Do you see the white dome? The 2nd largest world dome in the world. It is Flagstaff NAU stadium.







Here is another beautiful church

[AZPhoenix]

It is funny how outer states people think Arizona is all desert.

[kaneui]

Responding to Flagstaff's rigorous approval process, Wal-Mart tries for a third time to get their proposed Supercenter approved, downsizing it by nearly 40,000 sq. ft.:


Wal-Mart scales back supercenter plans for second store in Flag
By J. FERGUSON
Arizona Daily Sun
July 21, 2007

Wal-Mart officials are betting a new architect and plans for a smaller supercenter will help them win over city officials. The retail giant has submitted a scaled-back plan for Flagstaff's first Wal-Mart Supercenter, shrinking the two-story building to 175,000 square feet. Previously, Wal-Mart proposed a 212,000 square-foot Supercenter for the 15.6-acre property Wal-Mart owns on Huntington Drive. A supercenter sells groceries as well as discount retail items. Wal-Mart's retail-only store in west Flagstaff is about 105,000 square feet.

In a response to two failed concept reviews with the city last year, Wal-Mart fired its project architect, Sacramento-based LPA Inc. City officials had numerous concerns over the first set of plans Wal-Mart submitted. Those objections ranged from buildings on slopes that were too steep to building materials deemed inappropriate for the setting. A subsequent submission was deemed too large by the city. The new architect, Cleveland-based Middough Inc., has met with city staffers several times in an attempt to better understand the city's design review guidelines. The recent submission to city by Wal-Mart represents the third design for the Supercenter and the first from Middough.

Aside from the smaller overall footprint of the Supercenter, the only major deviation from previous plans is the height of the planned parking garage. In plans submitted to the city, the first floor of the parking garage will be located underground. Wal-Mart submitted the plans as part of a site plan application, the next step in the city's development review board process after a concept review. Site plan reviews are more expensive and require close scrutiny by city staffers when compared to site reviews.

As the Supercenter does not require discretionary review by the city council, the site plan also represents the last step before grading and building permits are issued. This means Wal-Mart could apply for the construction permits as soon as the site plan is approved by the city's development review board.

[kaneui]

map - Aspen Place at The Sawmill


Flagstaff Retail and Residential Project Begins Construction
Arizona News
Southwest Contractor
August, 2007

Aspen Place at The Sawmill, a $100 million shopping/residential project, broke ground in Flagstaff at the corner of Butler Road and Lone Tree Avenue. Led by Butler & Lone Tree LLC, an affiliate of Phoenix-based developer The Aspen Group, and assisted by Granite Capital, the project will encompass 155,000 sq ft of restaurants, cafés, shops and services along with approximately 300 single-family homes, lofts, condominiums and live-work units. Homes will range in price from $400,000 to $900,000.

Designed by DFD CornoyerHedrick, the project will have a rustic yet modern look and feel, including tree-lined sidewalks, winding trails and an outdoor amphitheatre. Anchored by New Frontiers Natural Marketplace, a 24,000-sq-ft neighborhood market, Aspen Place is set to include a mix of local and national restaurants and retailers including Chico’s women’s boutique and Scottsdale-based Wildflower Bread Co.

The first phase of retail space is slated to open next spring, with residential sales targeted for late 2008 and early 2009. Wespac Construction is the general contractor.


For more details: http://www.aspenplace.com/

[kaneui]

Construction photos of a few projects around town:


Aquaplex and Rec. Center (near 4th St.)

A large crane lifts a roof support beam into position at the city aquaplex building site Monday morning.
Work on the pool and multi-generation recreation center is forging ahead with masons throwing up
block walls at a rapid pace.

(photo: Arizona Daily Sun, 8-20-07)



Drury Inn & Suites

New 6-story hotel adjacent to High Country Conference Center at NAU.

(photo: Drury Hotels)


The Marketplace at Flagstaff Mall

Construction progress as of April, 2007 on Phase I of eventual 435k sq.ft. retail expansion.
(Ongoing $30M realignment of I-40 and U.S. Hwy. 89 interchange in background.)

(photo: Westcor)

[kaneui]

The city will select one of five development RFP's later this year for a mixed-use development on 28 acres in East Flagstaff near the Fourth St. bridge:


Rte. 66 project emerges
By J. FERGUSON
Arizona Daily Sun
September 02, 2007

A local developer has come up with a $70 million plan to radically transform the East Route 66 corridor near the new Fourth Street bridge. AZ North is one of five companies vying to develop the 28-acre parcel. The city of Flagstaff envisions a multi-storied, mixed-use development stretching all the way to East Huntington Drive and the new city aquaplex.

AZNorth, the only local bidder, plans roughly 150,000 square feet in commercial space and a range of housing opportunities, including roughly 70 affordable rentals and 70 units offering both living quarters and a work area.

The president of AZNorth, Tom Brewster, says his project would be compact, pedestrian-friendly and will incorporate green building technologies. Brewster said he hired specialized planning professionals so his bid would be on par with out-of-town developers'. "We understand that it is essential for local developers to bring in seasoned and talented planners and other professionals so that we can compete with out-of-town developers," said Brewster. "We believe it is important for local developers to play a role in future development and re-development in Flagstaff because this is our home; we understand our community; and are invested in its future."

AZNorth's bid represents its largest commercial project to date. Despite the mammoth size, Brewster pledges to use local contractors. "We would like to give local contractors and businesses the opportunity to play a role in this development," said Brewster.

Brewster is proposing building a sound wall along portions of project due to its proximity to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail lines. The city's plans to install noise reduction measures at all five railroad crossings would likely coincide with the groundbreaking for the proposed development next year.

Brewster said that, if selected, he would likely start construction next year, but market conditions would ultimately dictate the building schedule.

The development is expected to generate a considerable amount of traffic, said Brewster. His plans calls for right-turn-only lanes at four of the project's intersections and to utilize two existing signalized intersections adjacent to the development.

Other developers listed as bidding on the project include: DeLaVega Group, Hawkins & Companies, Winterland Entertainment LLC and Armstrong Development. As part of the city's RFP, the bids for the 28-acre property must be for at least $6 million for the land alone. Community Investment Director Michael Kerski said the city would meet with several of the top bidders in the coming weeks. The city council would likely make a decision on the sale of the property in late November or early December.

[kaneui]

The city is encouraging owners of the numerous aging motels along historic Route 66 to apply for historic preservation grants to restore their unique buildings:



Vick and Bharti Patel stand in front of the motel they own on east Route 66 Thursday afternoon.
The couple are applying for a historic preservation grant to restore the motel. (photo: AZ Daily Sun)


Route 66 motels going boutique
By J. FERGUSON
Arizona Daily Sun
September 8, 2007

The steep A-frame roof of the Best Value Inn & Suites on Route 66 is an architectural remnant of a bygone era. Both the hotel and Route 66 have long been overshadowed by Interstate 40 and the newer hotels built alongside it.

But Flagstaff city officials are betting the same reason for a decline in guests at the 26 local hotels along the nation's most famous decommission highway may also be the key to their economic salvation. Through the Route 66 Motel Preservation Program, the city is encouraging local hotel owners to apply for state and federal historic preservation grants to help restore their hotels to the glory days of Route 66.

So far, six hotels have indicated an interest in the program, hoping the grants can help them boost their business. One of those hotels is the Best Value Inn & Suites, which Vick and Bharti Patel bought almost a year ago.

A week ago, a woman and her husband spent the night at the Patels' hotel as they traveled along Route 66 from their California home. The couple represented a narrow segment of customers -- those specifically looking for the Route 66 experience -- that the city program is hoping to attract.

Vick Patel says he occasionally gets tourists and bikers who say they are traveling along the decommissioned highway as their vacation, rather than just a road along the way to a final destination. The city's historic preservation officer, Karl Eberhard, hopes to boost the infrequent visits to the Patels' motel and others to a steady stream of visitors.

$12 MILLION SPENT IN WINSLOW

Eberhard touts the La Posada Hotel in Winslow as a successful implementation of the strategy. Allan Affeldt and his wife Tina Mion bought the dilapidated property from Santa Fe Railway in 1990s and spent an estimated $12 million to restore the hotel. "He turned around an abandoned hotel," says Eberhard. "It is a very persuasive business model."

Eberhard suggests if the local hotels embrace their historic roots, they could tap into Route 66 aficionados looking for boutique, niche lodgings. He says some tourists, mostly Japanese and Germans, still seek to get their kicks along Route 66. "They want to have an authentic stay on Route 66," Eberhard said.

A secondary selling point, Eberhard says, is the ability to increase room rates. He notes that some travelers are very specific in their travel plans, preferring bed and breakfasts to national hotel chains. Eberhard notes he tries to avoid fast-food chains when he travels with his family.

Ideally, Eberhard hopes the participating hotels will form a common marketing and booking system to direct interested tourists to rooms. Eberhard said the city has already set aside about 10 Internet domain names to possibly advertise the hotels and has also spent roughly $1,000 on the entire program.

Flagstaff was selected as the location of the 2009 International Route 66 Days.

[kaneui]

September 27 marked the official grand opening of Northern Arizona University's new 60,000 sq. ft. Applied Research and Design Building, expected to become the second LEED Platinum-rated building in Arizona, and the nation's first Platiinum-rated building at a high elevation.



(photo: Jerry Foreman, NAU)


For more building specifications, go to http://www4.nau.edu/insidenau/releas...fact_sheet.pdf

[cheesy bob]

Originally Posted by kaneui

September 27 marked the official grand opening of Northern Arizona University's new 60,000 sq. ft. Applied Research and Design Building, expected to become the second LEED Platinum-rated building in Arizona, and the nation's first Platiinum-rated building at a high elevation.



(photo: Jerry Foreman, NAU)


For more building specifications, go to http://www4.nau.edu/insidenau/releas...fact_sheet.pdf

so what type of rating is that, is it like an enviromental rating or something?

[kaneui]

^LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a rating system created by the U.S. Green Building Council to encourage more sustainable and energy efficient buildings. The three rating levels are silver, gold, and platinum--platinum being the highest and most difficult rating to achieve.

For more information, go to http://www.agc.org/page.ww?section=G...+Rating+System

[kaneui]

Flagstaff's free medical clinic, North Country HealthCare, is moving into a new $8M, 36,000 sq. ft. facility on N. Fourth St. later this month:



A worker loads equipment into the new North Country HealthCare building on Fourth Street.
The $8 million facility is slated to open October 22. (photo: Josh Biggs/Arizona Daily Sun)



New clinic nears completion
By CYNDY COLE
Arizona Daily Sun
October 10, 2007

Fifteen years after starting as Flagstaff's free medical clinic, North Country HealthCare is moving out of its latest home, a roller-skating rink, and into an $8 million building to better accommodate more patients.

North Country is expecting to see patient visits increase 46 percent in the coming year amid shutdowns in Flagstaff's private family practices and growing numbers of uninsured workers and families. Move-in day is tentatively set for Oct. 22.

The new 36,000 square-foot facility will allow medical staff to see up to 400 patients a day -- twice as many as at present. It will allow staff to keep pregnant women segregated from patients with contagious illnesses and provide forensic services for rape victims.

Like the roller rink on Rose Street, the new building will have a pharmacy, dental services, prenatal care and treatment for chronic diseases such as AIDS and diabetes. But in the new digs at 2920 N. Fourth St., 15 doctors will no longer share one windowless office. Instead, they'll share a four-person office suite -- each with a window.

The new facility will have new dental equipment and a digital X-ray machine. And patients -- who are almost evenly split among Medicaid, private insurance and no insurance -- can visit the pharmacy, speak to a counselor and pay their bill all in the same location. Each patient has a specific doctor. "We try to run it like a private office. You should know who your doctor is," Medical Director Andrew Saal said.

Formerly known as North Country Community Health Clinic, North Country HealthCare is in the middle of building a ninth northern Arizona office in Kingman. The community health center accepts all patients. But it targets areas where there is a dearth of dental, medical or behavioral care, such as in Ash Fork, Seligman and Holbrook.

Last fiscal year 24,000 patients accounted for 74,000 visits at the Flagstaff facility alone. Patients with insurance help offset the cost of those with none -- most of the latter are billed on a sliding scale based on income. In the current fiscal year, the organization expects 108,000 visits by patients.

The facility has a heavy emphasis on patient education and preventive care. Patients, in fact, account for half of North Country's board of directors. The new North Country office will become a home for Northern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault. NACASA organizers had been seeking a place to examine rape victims to keep them out of the emergency room after budget shortfalls led to a shutdown of the last exam center.

North Country is 80 percent patient-funded and receives the other 20 percent of its $17 million budget from federal and state sources. Soon it will become a training center for medical students from A.T. Still University Medical School in Mesa, who are seeking to go into family practice.

Students who spend years in medical schools and training hospitals in large cities are unlikely to return to rural areas once they've established lives elsewhere, Saal said. A.T. Still students will take rotations in towns around northern Arizona, with the hope that they will go into medicine in rural areas. "We consider the medical school our recruitment pipeline," President Ann Roggenbuck said.

[kaneui]

Looks like Pulliam Airport's new runway extension will be attracting more flights, which will necessitate a larger and updated terminal:



Runway extension progress - Oct. 11, 2007 (photo: Kimley-Horn and Associates)


Direct to L.A.
The first new direct connection from Flagstaff's expanded Pulliam Airport may be Los Angeles

By J. FERGUSON
Arizona Daily Sun
October 28, 2007

The first new direct connection from Flagstaff's expanded Pulliam Airport may be Los Angeles. That's if the results of a destination survey and talks with Horizon Airlines pan out. Pam Keidel-Adams, a consultant with Wilbur Smith Associates, listed Los Angeles, along with Salt Lake City and Denver, as the top initial destination of Flagstaff residents now forced to fly or drive first to Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix. The three cities are all hubs for major airlines.

Keidel-Adams recently told the city's airport commission that major and regional airlines are in a growth mode, looking to expand service to new locations. She said by adding 1,800 feet to the runway at Pulliam Airport to accommodate regional jets, the city has caught the attention of several airlines. "The runway expansion put you back on the map," Keidel-Adams said.

Calling Flagstaff "one of the most underserved markets in the U.S.," Keidel-Adams predicted airlines would be interested in coming to Flagstaff. The city is putting the final touches on the $19 million runway extension, which is considered essential to improving air service at the airport. Without an extension, the airport's runway is too short to handle some regional jets. The 37-seat turboprops used by America West Express have only enough range to go to Phoenix.

At least one major carrier, Horizon Airlines, has expressed interest in offering service to Flagstaff, said John Lauher, the city's airport manager. Horizon's sister airline, Alaska Airlines, operates a hub out of Los Angeles. He cautioned that the discussions "are in the most preliminary of stages." Lauher also said America West may be interested in adding a second destination after city officials officially submit the results of the consultant's report, which is due in December.

At least one popular destination, Las Vegas, was discouraged as a possible addition to Pulliam's flight schedule. Keidel-Adams warned that the popular destination was "full of cheap, inexpensive tickets" and airlines would be reluctant to start direct service to Vegas, as it would be hard to make the route profitable. She said in-person interviews found many in northern Arizona are willing to drive to Vegas rather than fly.

The consultant's findings come from a recent study of the travel patterns of local residents. The consultant used a variety of sources, including interviews with major employers and local residents as well as reviewing a database that tracks the final destination of flights of northern Arizona travelers. Keidel-Adams told the city's airport commission many travelers, especially those bound for international flights, were willing to pay a premium for reliable air service to Flagstaff. She said most prefer to drive to Flagstaff. "They can't afford to miss their connecting flight," said the consultant.

Lisa Nelson, the director of NAU Public Affairs, said most of the university's 3,000 employees and faculty members schedule their flights out of the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. While Nelson could not cite specific figures, she said most university travel does not include flights to Flagstaff. She cited cost as the primary reason for using Sky Harbor over Pulliam.

Economic development professionals indicated poor air service has become a major stumbling block in the city's attempts to attract new businesses to Flagstaff. The lack of direct air service to California was one of the stated reasons electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors opted not to move a manufacturing plant to Flagstaff.

The consultant has begun to market the airport to various targeted national and regional airlines. The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to survey the runway extension in the coming weeks, the final step before certifying the work. Planes can use the new portion of the runway before FAA signs off on the extension, but won't be able to use some of the instrumentation. Lauher says most planes won't need to use the instrumentation unless poor weather makes takeoffs and landings difficult.




Major terminal upgrade to follow runway extension
By J. FERGUSON
Arizona Daily Sun
October 28, 2007

After spending most of the year working on extending the runway at Flagstaff Pulliam Airport by 1,800 feet, city officials are now looking to fix up the place. City officials are looking to federal and state grants to more than double the size of the airport's passenger screening area, upgrade the baggage claim system and, eventually, increase the size of the waiting area in the terminal.

Airport Manager John Lauher concedes current limitations at the airport might discourage some airlines from bringing air service to Flagstaff. "Conceivably, it could delay bringing another airline to Flagstaff," Lauher said. "We currently can't comfortably accommodate 50 passengers." He said new airlines would take into account counter space, terminal facilities and office space when considering Flagstaff in their expansion plans.

Lauher said that although the airport has recently received new carpeting and other minor cosmetic improvements, the facilities are roughly two decades old and have not changed significantly since the facility was designed to accommodate 19-passenger planes. Currently, the airport is served by 37-seat turboprops by the airport's only commercial carrier, America West Express.

As the city attempts to recruit a second airline for Flagstaff, Lauher concedes accommodating two flights leaving at the same time would be difficult. "It is already inadequate," Lauher said. "The current secure hold would be tight if we had two simultaneous flights. It would be a challenge." Lauher hopes to increase the size of the 2,000-square-foot secure area to about 5,000 square feet and accommodate 100 people.

As increasing the size of the area enhances the security of the airport, Lauher believes the project would be eligible for security-related Federal Aviation Administration grants. The city has recently asked the FAA for $1 million in federal funding for the project, and Lauher hopes to start work on expanding the area in the next year. A portion of the cost would go toward a premium for the salaries of construction workers, who would need to be cleared to work on the runway during airport operations.

Lauher also hopes to enlarge and reroute the baggage claim system, which Lauher calls inadequate. The airport manager expects to ask the state for roughly $100,000 to upgrade the baggage conveyor system. "Right now, it is crowded to try and get your bag," said Lauher. "It is not designed with the space we have right now." Lauher said a new design would allow the baggage area to accommodate more passengers. The current design dates back to when the airport originally opened. A local architect, contracted by the city, has begun developing a design proposal and construction cost estimate for expanding the current secure hold area and enlarging/rerouting the baggage claim conveyor.

Lauher says passengers can look forward soon to one new amenity at the airport: free wireless access. He said passengers waiting for their flight should be able to check their e-mail in the coming weeks.

[kaneui]

Scheduled for a February opening, NAU is building its new High Country Conference Center and hotel in just over a year:



High Country Conference Center, Drury Inn & Suites
(rendering: Drury Hotels)



Drury Inn and Suites construction (photo: Drury Hotels)



Conference Center construction (photo: Drury Hotels)


New Heights for Flagstaff
High Country Hails New Conference Center

By Michele Van Haecke
Southwest Contractor
November, 2007

A new $42 million convention center, 158-room hotel and parking structure are being built in Flagstaff through a unique partnership between private and public entities.

How do you build a 42,000-sq-ft convention space, 450-car parking structure and 158-room high-rise hotel on a four-acre former parking lot in just over a year? It’s a time-and-space puzzle suited to an intellectual enclave like Northern Arizona University, where the High Country Conference Center has been under construction since October 2006 and is scheduled to open in February.

Sean Rosebrugh, project manager for Ayers Saint Gross, the national architecture firm whose Tempe office provided the design, says that initially the team wondered how it could build three buildings at essentially the same time without fighting for space and starting a turf war. He adds that the team for this $22 million, public-private project found solutions that worked and avoided jobsite havoc. “As soon as possible in the design process, we talked about constructability issues and worked out schedules,” Rosebrugh says.

Ryan Cos. of Phoenix served as construction manager for the NAU-city of Flagstaff project, which includes the event center and parking structure, and coordinated with Drury Inns Inc., the St. Louis-based company building and leasing the six-story hotel under a separate $20 million contract. “We knew we needed folks with the wherewithal, the relationships with the subcontractors, the abilities to negotiate costs and all those intangibles that make a project successful,” says Rich Bowen, NAU associate vice president for economic development. “It’s fast track and has been acting like a commercial development. We had to have a team we felt very confident in that definitely could deliver.”

Ryan served in the same capacity for NAU’s $24 million W.A. Franke College of Business project in 2005 and employed the same superintendent, field engineer and project manager for this project. Managers had to juggle 20 to 30 subcontractors, university traffic, materials, equipment and deliveries on the site, and they had to share an access road with the hotel construction team. Weather influenced scheduling and even design choices, such as precast over cast-in-place concrete.

Managers coordinated everything by breaking down packages, communicating schedules and making smart decisions early on, says Steve Jordan, Ryan’s director of construction services. “The project team did a wonderful job working with the architects and engineers to develop a design and procurement price so we could arrive on time,” he says. “Even with all the ups and downs, we were still able to have the quality we needed.”

Quality was high on the list for the university, which conducted extensive feasibility studies and worked with meeting-industry experts to determine design. “They didn’t want to just pop some little conference center in here,” Jordan says. “They wanted it to have appeal not only from an aesthetic standpoint but also a functionality standpoint.”

The university team, led by NAU president John Haeger, wanted a commercially viable facility that could go head-to-head with private competitors, says Bowen, whose background includes real estate development with Chicago-based JMB Realty Corp. “The state of Arizona is robust in the conference market,” Bowen adds. “Our whole goal was to make sure that when we opened the doors, we’d have a truly state-of-the-art, relevant conference center the marketplace would respond to. The facility will include the latest audio-visual technology; upscale finishes; a kitchen a five-star resort would envy; and easy access to the upscale, limited-service hotel. It’s expected to bring 50,000 to 60,000 people and $7 million to Flagstaff each year.

Designers at Ayers Saint Gross focused on creating a facility that would assert university and regional identity while generating a sense of accessibility and comfort, says lead designer Jack Black. “The design is soft and affirming and not hard-edged,” he adds. “That’s what it’s really all about, being comforting.” Black says he wanted to reflect Flagstaff’s historical and regional personality while avoiding clichés, such as what Bowen called “just putting a few pine cones around.” Black designed the curved, multilevel rooflines to suggest softness and respond to the area’s blue skies and mountain surrounds. “This is kind of sculptural but very simple,” he adds.

Downtown Flagstaff’s turn-of-the-century buildings inspired the red brick finishes and pedestrian-friendly perimeters. The area’s expansive views and natural beauty inspired abundant windows, for which Black used special low-E glass sprinkled with random purple, amber and green details. The multicolored confetti effect is repeated with terrazzo flooring in the three-story, glass-enclosed lobby, a structure designed to become a “community lantern” when lighted at night.

Bowen is gearing up for a busy first year in the convention business. NAU has already launched a marketing campaign and by early autumn had booked several events.

[kaneui]

Another view of the High Country Conference Center construction from a webcam, looking northeast:

http://webcam4.facsrv.nau.edu/view/index.shtml