Balfour Beatty Construction has been selected as general contractor for the core and shell construction of Energy Center Three, a Class AA, 20-story office tower in Houston, Texas. The project is under development by a venture of Trammell Crow Company and Principal Real Estate Investors at the southwest corner of I-10 and North Eldridge Parkway in the heart of Houston’s Energy Corridor.
Designed by Kirksey Architecture, Energy Center Three will include environmentally sustainable features and will be targeting LEED Core and Shell Gold certification. The building will feature a post-tension concrete structure with a high performance skin of glass curtain wall. Efficient floor plates and column free outside corners will provide users with maximum space planning flexibility and minimum 9½ foot finished ceiling heights. The building will include additional infrastructure on the first three floors, such as increased slab to slab heights, enhanced floor loading, and oversized stairwells to provide design accommodations for user amenities such as a double height lobby, fitness center, conferencing center, and dining facilities.
Balfour Beatty Construction began working with Trammell Crow Company and Kirksey Architecture in April 2012 as a preconstruction consultant to establish goals and objectives for the project. Since 1998, Balfour Beatty has successfully delivered 12 projects for Trammell Crow Company.
“The Houston leadership group has positioned itself to increase the depth and breadth of services we offer,” said Steve Mechler, division president for Balfour Beatty Construction in Houston. “A key component of our strategy is to work with clients that value and support problem solving and innovation through collaboration. Our relationship with Trammell Crow Company exemplifies our commitment to ensuring the success of our clients’ projects before, during and after construction. We are honored to be a part of the Energy Center Three project team.”
The new 546,000-square-foot building is scheduled to break ground in late January. Other project team members include Haynes Whaley Associates, Wylie Consulting Engineers, Walter P Moore and TBG Partners.
Over the past 20 years, Balfour Beatty Construction has constructed more than 55 million square feet of corporate office projects with a construction value of over $4 billion in Texas alone. In 2012, Engineering News-Record ranked Balfour Beatty as the largest General Contractor and Green Builder in the state of Texas.