Submitted by Brad Sicard, AECOM
On Thursday, May 14, the Developing Leaders (DL) Group held their second annual DL Project Tour. This year’s tour was held at Westfield Company’s 1800 Larimer in downtown Denver. When completed, 1800 Larimer will be Denver’s first LEED Platinum office tower. Attendees were provided with safety equipment courtesy of Construction building services, Kiewit Building Group, Pinkard Construction Company, and Mortenson Construction. Participants were given a safety briefing and split into four groups. Each group toured the project site with members of the design and construction team including RNL Design, SRI, and Mortenson Construction. The tour focused on the unique challenges faced by the design and construction team as a result of the building location, complex design, and LEED accreditation requirements as well as the innovative solutions that the team used to overcome those challenges. The developing leaders were enthusiastic to learn about the design-build process and asked many questions of the project team. Touring the project site at such an early stage in construction was a rare opportunity for the DL members. The project team worked very hard to allow the DL members to access the structure without interrupting the construction schedule.
After the tour, the group moved next door to the Spaghetti Factory. Drinks and appetizers were served while Kevin and Rich McClintock spoke about the project financials. They also described how elements of the project design and financials were driven by Xcel Energy, the buildings major tenant. Their presentation provided the DLs with a unique insight into the process used to secure funding as well as the risk undertaken by the project team. Following the presentation, DL members continued to socialize with each other as well as with members of the project team. This year’s event was chaired by Hillary Ellis. The event was a huge success and feedback from the DL members was overwhelmingly positive.
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