Project Portfolio

Hyatt Regency Hotel

Colorado Convention Center

Denver, Colorado

The new 1,100-room, $349 million, Denver Convention Center Hotel is a significant asset to downtown Denver’s economy. Amenities include 25,000-square-feet of meeting space, a 30,000-square-foot ballroom (the largest in the state), a 15,000-square-foot junior ballroom, a health club, and a 300-seat restaurant, lounge, and bar area.  The 37-story facility has a three-level, underground parking structure with approximately 600 spaces.

The hotel is located contiguous to the nearly completed convention center expansion.  As the city’s largest redevelopment effort underway in 2003-2004, the convention center’s hotel “headquarters” are a fundamental element to the expansion’s success.

The structure is normally reinforced and post tensioned concrete with some elements of structural steel framing. The use of high-strength concrete (10,000 psi) was recommended. This type of concrete allowed for use of less concrete, and allows for smaller columns (maximizing floor space) and stronger shear walls, to increase building stiffness, which provided overall cost savings on the project. This type of concrete requires precise mixing of materials.  CTL|Thompson provided all material testing and construction observation for this project. This is the second structure in Denver to use this high-strength concrete.  

CTL|Thompson also provided environmental services during site assessment and project construction.  Preliminary studies focused on investigation of historic land use and potential ground water contamination. During excavation, CTL|Thompson observed soils to confirm that conditions were consistent with the site assessment that was conducted previously by another firm.  The services included developing a soil management plan, collection of samples for characterization of petroleum-impacted soils and ground water, field operations observation; providing support services during the closure of an abandoned underground storage tank; and consultation to support waste characterization and disposal options.

Texas State Highway 130

Texas

The largest single road project ever developed by the Texas Department of Transportation, State Highway 130 is intended to relieve traffic in Central Texas by creating a commuter and NAFTA corridor alternative to Interstate 35.

CTL|Thompson Texas was chosen to execute the pavement design and materials engineering for the 91-mile highway project as a subcontractor of Lone Star Infrastructure, the consortium selected by TxDOT to design and construct SH 130.  Subsurface exploration and geotechnical evaluation was completed in conjunction with analysis and recommendations concerning earthwork, settlement, and slope stability for embankments.  

State Highway 130 is a 49-mile tollway extending from Interstate 35 north of Georgetown southward to U.S. 183 southeast of Austin, passing though Williamson and Travis Counties.  The LSI joint venture partners are Fluor Corporation, Balfour Beatty Construction, and T.J. Lambrecht Co.

The CTL|Thompson team is considered a regional leader in geotechnical and materials engineering and construction testing with significant experience involving large-scale road projects. Successful CTL projects include the President George Bush Turnpike in Dallas, the proposed extension of Farm to Market (FM), Road 2499 over Lake Lewisville north of Dallas, Denver International Airport (DIA) and Interstate 70/Glenwood Canyon in Colorado.

Innovative engineering solutions for the SH 130 Project

• Design of a stabilized subgrade material as part of the TxDOT pavement structural section
• Design of the pavement structure with laboratory measured Resilient Modulus values for the subgrade soils
• Design of pavement structures on highly expansive soils using chemical stabilization, moisture stabilization, and removal and replacement techniques
• Development and evaluation of a field screening protocol for soluble sulfates by team member Dr. Dallas Little
• Analysis and development of remediation recommendations for compaction and settlement of 30-feet deep quarry spoil piles to support roadway embankment

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

Giraffe Exhibit

Colorado Springs, Colorado

CTL|Thompson provided a Soils and Foundation Investigation and full-service Soils and Materials Testing services for the new Giraffe Exhibit at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The construction included a three-level “holding building” that is buried about halfway into the hillside and daylights to the east. Elevated walkways were constructed to access the holding building from an entry plaza to the south near the existing main entrance to the zoo.  A view tower and restroom building were constructed in the northwest corner of the exhibit which are also recessed into the hillside at least one level. Walls retaining up to 15 feet of earth were constructed along the western side of the exhibit.

Subsurface exploration revealed the presence of up to about 27 feet of granular fill overlying erratic combinations of sand, gravel, silt and clay containing cobbles and boulders. Sedimentary claystone bedrock was found at the north end of the site at a depth of 38 feet beneath the ground surface. No free groundwater was encountered at the time of drilling. CTL|Thompson identified the risk of detrimental differential movement for the facility if constructed on conventional spread footings on the existing fill.

Recommendations were provided for removal and reconstruction of a zone of fill beneath the structures or construction of the buildings on deep foundations bearing below the fill.

Vallagio Inverness

Transportation Oriented Development (TOD)

Denver, Colorado

Located next to the Inverness Golf Course, Vallagio is a new TOD featuring a central retail center, dedicated light rail station with pedestrian bridge, public art, various pedestrian pathways, and open space that include outdoor fire pits.

Offering 950 to 3000+ square feet of living space, Vallagio’s homes include Golf Villas, Row Townhomes, Condominiums, and Loft Residences. Metropolitan Homes is the residential developer with Meeks and Partners serving as the commercial/mixed-use architect. Vallagio Inverness is considered Colorado’s largest transit oriented community. Construction started on this project in the Fall of 2005. CTL|Thompson provided the Soils and Foundation Investigation and is currently providing Construction Observation and Materials Testing for the first phase of the project which includes 48 new condominiums.

TOD development is a recent “buzz word” in the construction community in the last several years. It is compact, mixed-use development located within new or existing public transportation infrastructure. Denver’s existing Light Rail line and FasTracks projects are sparking several development projects throughout the area. TOD development is considered to bring sizable projects to the construction industry within the next several years. Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD) is ranked the 16th largest Transit Agency based on unlinked passenger trips; RTD provides approximately 785,843,000 unlinked passenger trips per year.* TOD development is considered to have several benefits including greater mobility with ease of moving around; increased transit ridership and decreased driving and congestion; reduced car accidents and injuries; reduced household spending on transportation, resulting in more affordable housing; healthier lifestyle with more walking, and less stress; higher, more stable property values; increased foot traffic and customers for area businesses; and reduced pollution.