March 9, 2015
Sundt completed a $46.5 million expansion of Tucson International Airport’s terminal in 2005.
The Tucson Airport Authority recently selected Sundt as the Construction Manager at Risk for a terminal upgrade/optimization project that is expected to begin later this year. The Tucson International Airport terminal optimization program, which is Sundt’s third major venture for the airport since 2002, includes relocation of two existing security checkpoints to a new, enhanced configuration, expanded pre- and post-security concessions, and major building infrastructure upgrades.
“Our previous success delivering both a terminal expansion and concourse renovations for the airport played a significant role in our selection for this project,” said Sundt Project Director Kurt Wadlington. “When completed, the new facility will serve as an enhancement to the Tucson International Airport experience, increasing the passenger’s level of service and opening up concessions opportunities that will help build airport revenues.”
Sundt’s previous work at TIA included a partial remodel of existing portions of the ticketing and baggage claim levels.
The project’s construction cost is budgeted at $18-23 million.
The terminal improvements underscore Sundt’s reputation as a leader in aviation construction. Other notable Sundt airport projects include the Wichita Falls Municipal Airport Terminal Replacement in Wichita Falls, Texas; Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport Passenger Terminal Expansion in Phoenix; and San Diego International Airport Landside Modifications in San Diego, California.
We’re pleased to announce that Ryan Abbott, formerly Sundt’s science and technology group leader, has been promoted to Southwest business development manager. In his new role, Ryan is responsible for managing the company’s design-build, CM at Risk and public/private partnership pursuits of vertical building projects throughout the Southwest.
Ryan began his career at Sundt more than 13 years ago as a field engineer, working his way through every level of project management, from the design phase through completion. He has played a key role on many notable Sundt projects, including the $112 million Arizona State University (ASU) Interdisciplinary Science & Technology Building 4 in Tempe; the $87 million Westin Kierland Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona; and the $109 million Biodesign Institute (Buildings A and B) at ASU in Tempe.
We recently asked Ryan a few questions to get to know him better.
What are your goals in your new position?
Sundt provides its customers with fantastically predictable building solutions they can build their businesses on. I want to provide that value at a much greater scale.
Tell us about a current trend in laboratory construction.
Team-based research: Modern science is a team sport. In order to have the built-in capacity to adopt new research approaches as soon as they become available, you need an array of specialized team members housed in an adaptive, connected, responsive laboratory.
Where do you see the most potential for growth in the Southwest’s construction economy?
The population will continue to grow at an increasing rate. Companies will continue to move to the Southwest for its low operating costs and low risk of natural disasters. Healthcare services and the bioscience industry are also pillars of growth. Since 2002 the job growth in these sectors in the Southwest has been three times the national average.
What might you be doing if you weren’t working in construction?
I decided long ago that I’d have a tangible product for my life’s work. You’d never find me too far from construction. I even went so far as to marry my favorite architect.
What’s the most interesting book you’ve read lately?
I’ve been reading Michael Lewis lately. The Big Short (about those who profited from the financial crises of ‘07-’10), Liar’s Poker (an autobiographical account of Lewis’s days selling bonds on Wall Street), Moneyball (how the Oakland Athletics, under manager Billy Beane, redefined the game of baseball by using analytics instead of the conventional wisdom of scouts). Each of these books is shocking, revolutionary and unexpectedly inspiring.
How do you like to spend your free time?
I’m a big fan of endurance sports: running, biking and hiking. You can find me most mornings running the greenbelt and most weekends on my bike. I have three sons whom I strive to keep up with.
Where would you most like to travel?
South America is next on the list: Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires and Machu Picchu.
Do you have a favorite inspirational saying or idea?
I’m a huge fan of Ayn Rand’s Objectivism: Follow reason, not whims or faith; Work hard to achieve a life of purpose and productiveness; Earn genuine self-esteem; Pursue your own happiness as your highest moral aim; Prosper by treating others as individuals; and trade value for value.
What’s your favorite sport, either to play or to watch?
Several years ago I’d have unequivocally answered baseball. Recently I’ve gotten into marathons, and in the future I see myself doing long course triathlons.
What’s your favorite app at the moment?
Definitely the Podcast App on which I subscribe to NPR’s Planet Money, Freakonomics Radio, This American Life, and Radiolab … to name a few.
Preliminary rendering of the reconstructed Sun Devil Stadium at Arizona State University in Tempe
Arizona State University football fans have something extra to cheer about: they won’t have to stop rooting for the Sun Devils while Sundt and joint venture partner Hunt Construction Group perform a $256 million transformation of the school’s football stadium. That’s because the project has been carefully planned to avoid interrupting the fan experience.
The Construction Manager at Risk project involves the complete reconstruction of the lower stadium bowl and the addition of many new amenities and improvements that reflect the university’s emphasis on sustainability, technology and innovation.
“All of the work will be threaded between football seasons, with construction performed in the stadium during the off seasons while the team is practicing,” says Ryan Abbott, Sundt Business Development Manager. “In order to avoid disrupting the football season, we have to control and deliver all of the massive components that will become the seating bowls, structural beds, towers, etc., on a very rigid schedule. We can do it because we’re builders. As far as the football team is concerned, it’s like Disneyland. We’re practically invisible.”
The university construction project is poised to redefine stadiums in the Pac 12 with more and higher quality amenities such as a new concourse, better seating, more restrooms with enhanced quality, a new student athlete facility, premium seating such as founder and club-level suites, better training facilities, improved concessions, a premiere video board and sound system, extensive accessibility improvements, an air-conditioned club, in-stadium technology for fan enjoyment and education, and an expanded student section on the stadium’s south end that will include about 8,000 seats.
Construction of the student section will begin in January (minutes after the Cactus Bowl concludes) and will be complete before the 2015-2016 football season next August. Next January the construction team will simultaneously go to work on the east and west sidelines of the lower bowl. Demolition work has already begun to clear space for the new student section.
Artist’s rendering of Henley Hall at UC Santa Barbara
We’re pleased to announce that Sundt was recently selected as the Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) for the Henley Hall Institute for Energy Efficiency at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The 53,000-square-foot, three-story facility, designed by architect Kieran Timberlake, will include a 125-seat lecture hall, 17 laboratories, 34 faculty and postdoctoral offices, nine administrative offices and group office space to accommodate 74 graduate students.
Designed to create prime research space and leading paradigms in energy efficiency, the building will feature extensive natural lighting areas, adaptable laboratory space for evolving research needs and intelligent energy monitoring and control systems with interactive displays. The $38.5 million education construction project also will feature light emitting diodes (LEDs) with low-voltage wiring throughout the building, as well as windows and lighting that adjust with the building control systems.
With abatement activities complete, the team is now using three 98,000-pound excavators to demolish the existing building.
Sundt is performing its first project for California State University Channel Islands in Camarillo, Calif. The $32 million university construction project includes demolition and abatement of an existing building and construction of a three-story, 66,500-gross-square-foot classroom and laboratory building. It will house state-of-the art labs, offices, lecture halls, and related support spaces to accommodate growth in the departments of computer science, environmental science, geography, geology, psychology and physics. The building will also include a “green roof” planted like a garden.
The Construction Manager at Risk project is scheduled to be complete and ready for use in time for the start of the 2016 fall semester.
