May/Jun 2024

VOLUME 13 ISSUE 3

$5.99 MAY JUNE 2024 SERVING CONTRACTING FIRMS AND THE ARIZONA COMMUNITY. . . THEN & NOW

ELVIS BAKER: THE “KING” BEHIND MID-STATE TRUCK & RIGGING LOCOMOTIVES AND TANKS: DICK BAKER’S HEAVY HAULING CAREER FACILITATOR OF IDEAS: ARCHITECT HERBERT W. SCHNEIDER HIT THE ROAD: THE EVOLUTION OF AZ’S STREETS AND HIGHWAYS PETROL PIPEDREAMS: AZ’S OIL BOOM PRODUCED GULLIBLE INVESTORS

Arizona’s Timeless Magazine

BRINGING BACK LOST VALLEY LANDMARKS: AARON STOUFFER’S ART

A HAULING AND LIFTING SUCCESS: H&R TRANSFER AND STORAGE KE&G CONSTRUCTION BUILDS TUCSON’S PRINCE 10 CAMPUS

GORMAN CONSTRUCTS HOPE IN PHOENIX’S BLACK CANYON CORRIDOR

HOW TO DISRUPT THE GLOBAL CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT MARKET

MCCARTHY FINISHES MATADOR ACTIVITY CENTER IN YUMA

HAYDON BUILDS FUN AT QUEEN CREEK REC CENTER

MAY JUNE 2024

Simply better than the best

480.940.0100 | INSEARCHCORP.COM 8845 S HARDY DR. TEMPE, AZ 85284

ARIZCC.COM

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

FOUR

MAY JUNE 2024

(480) 455-8800

WWW.PACWESTTRADING.COM

CH.Luke@PacWestTrading.com

EXPERIENCED • RELIABLE | PHOENIX, AZ

CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT | WATER EQUIPMENT & VOCATIONAL TRUCK SPECIALISTS

We Offer:

Fuel & Lube Trucks!

Service Trucks!

Water Trucks!

CAT & HAMM Rollers!

Your Source for CAT 613C Parts

Telehandlers & Yard Trucks!

RECONDITIONED EQUIPMENT FOR SALE! OUTSTANDING SERVICE • DELIVERY AVAILABLE * ALL TRUCKS DOT COMPLIANT *

2016 Ottawa T2 Yard Truck

2013 Peterbilt 348 Fuel & Lube Truck

2013 Genie GTH5519 Telehandler

Cummins ISB 200 6.7L Diesel, 200hp, Allison Automatic, Air Ride Cab, Hydraulic Fifth Wheel, 123,000mi. Rebuilt Engine, cleaned, painted, work ready!

Painted & serviced- upholstery & tires; all new reels, hoses, handles and meters. 48K miles, Paccar PX-8, Allison Auto, 60K GVW

OROPS, 19ft Max Height, 5500 lb Max Capacity, Tier 3, 2012 US EPA Label, 47 in Forks, 4 Wheel Drive, 4 Wheel Steer, Crab Walk. 1615hrs

$52,500

$139,500

$59,500

PacWest Trading is locally owned and operated in Phoenix, Arizona. We specialize in buying and selling of construction equipment, water equipment and vocational trucks.

Contact us for all your heavy equipment needs!

ARIZCC.COM

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

YOUR TRUSTED EXPERTS IN ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS

HAVE AN EMERGENCY? CALL 1-888-4-SPILL-4

24/7 EMERGENCY RESPONSE REMEDIATION • DEMOLITION EMERGENCYENV.COM • 480-809-4687 • SALES@EMERGENCYENV.COM

SIX

MAY JUNE 2024

TRUCK PARTS IN STOCK IN GILBERT, AZ! All Construction Truck Part Needs: Water Trucks | Mechanics Trucks Dump Trucks | Flatbeds | Fuel & Lube Trucks Vacuum Trucks | Crash Attenuator Trucks

1145 W Gary Ave, Gilbert, AZ 85233

ARIZCC.COM

SalesAZ@curryfluidpower.com

602-661-6596

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

Dispatch: 602-278-7777 Main Office: 602-278-4444

rizona Materials

Locally Owned and Operated arizonamaterials.net

www.gentechusa.com

7901 N. 70th Ave, Glendale, AZ 85303 \ 800-625-8324 EIGHT

MAY JUNE 2024

RELIABLE... BECAUSE WE ARE

PHOENIX METRO PORTABLE BATHROOM RENTAL SERVICES GET IN TOUCH TODAY! 602-601-2222 INFO@RPBAZ.COM 3014 E MOHAWK LN. PHX, AZ 85050 RELIABLEPORTABLEBATHROOMS.COM

ARIZCC.COM

At reliable portable bathrooms. We are committed to changing the perception of portable bathrooms. Our mission is to shatter the notion that they are dirty and gross. We take pride in our superior cleaning processes, ensuring that every unit we rent is delivered on time and in an immaculate, brand new condition.

Our dedication to cleanliness means that our bathrooms are free of tar, graffiti, urine stains, and any unpleasant odors.

Don’t just take our word for it – explore the glowing reviews from our satisfied customers.

Their testimonials speak volumes about the quality and satisfaction they have experienced with our facilities.

Join us in embracing a new standard of excellence in portable bathrooms. Experience the difference for yourself, and let us exceed your expectations.

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

Garrett 602-541-0554 Jon 602-541-5971 greerparts@hotmail.com

QUALITY HEAVY EQUIPMENT PARTS REASONABLY PRICED

NEW, USED, AND REBUILT

Publisher Billy Horner billy@arizcc.com Port Aransas, TX Hummingbird Festival

Anywhere with my mom as my partner in crime!

KEYSTONECONCRETELLC.COM O: 480-835-1579 SITE CONCRETE DEVELOPMENT BIDS@KEYSTONECONCRETELLC.COM

SAVE UP TO $1.99 AN ISSUE OFF COVER PRICE

1 YEAR, 6 ISSUES FOR $30, OR 2 YEARS, 12 ISSUES FOR ONLY $48!

European castle tour Barcelona, Spain

Editor Douglas Towne douglas@arizcc.com

WHERE HAVE YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO VACATION?

Wimbledon Tennis Contributors Championships James Abell Ro Bhatia Alison Bailin Alastair Hayfield Heather Roberts Luke M. Snell Mongolia Doug Sydnor

Production Manager Laura Horner Vineyard laura@arizcc.com in Italy

In Memoriam Charles “Chuck” Runbeck 1928 - 2020

NAME ADDRESS CITY

STATE

ZIP

Advertising 602-931-0069 arizcc.com/advertise

EMAIL

Subscriptions: Online at arizcc.com

PHONE

Serving Contracting Firms and the Arizona Community… Then & Now

CUT OUT, COMPLETE & MAIL CHECK TO: ACC, LLC. PO BOX 6912, GLENDALE, AZ 85312 FOR FASTER SERVICE, GO TO WWW.ARIZCC.COM AND SUBSCRIBE ONLINE TEN

Arizona Contractor & Community (ACC) magazine is published bi-monthly (Jan/Feb, Mar/Apr, May/June, July/Aug, Sept/Oct, Nov/Dec). ACC is a professional publication designed for the contracting industry, engineers, architects, equipment rentals, suppliers, and others interested in Arizona and its history.

Content including text, photographs or illustrations may not be reproduced without the written permission from the publisher. The publisher does not assume responsibility for unsolicited submissions.

ACC reserves the right to reject any editorial and advertising material and reserves the right to edit all submitted content material.

Arizona Contractor & Community Copyright © 2024 All rights reserved.

MAY JUNE 2024

SPECIALTY COMPANIES GROUP

UTILITY ADJUSTMENTS

There Is Nothing We Can’t Do. There Is No Place We Won’t Go. Contact us anytime!

SPECIALTYCOMPANIESGROUP.COM

623-582-2385

BUILDING OUR FUTURES

Serving all of Arizona KE&G CONSTRUCTION, INC.

SIERRA VISTA: 1601 Paseo San Luis # 202  Sierra Vista, Arizona 85635  520.458.9594  www.kegtus.com TUCSON: 3949 East Irvington Road  Tucson, Arizona 85714  520.748.0188

ARIZCC.COM

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

CONTENTS

“TELL US WHAT YOU NEED AND WE WILL WORK WITH YOU TO MAKE IT HAPPEN”

40

YEARS IN BUSINESS SINCE 1984

480-641-3500

BELLY DUMP-SUPER 16-END DUMP-LOW BOY SIDE DUMP-EXCAVATOR-LOADER-GRADER

14

Contributors - James Abell & Heather Roberts

18

From The Editor: A “Concrete” Wildlife Encounter Douglas Towne

21

Construction Around Arizona: Projects • People • Practices

47

Back When: The Time the Madhouse on McDowell Put on a Happy Face - Douglas Towne

48

A Hauling and Lifting Success: H&R Transfer and Storage Billy Horner

54

Elvis Baker: The “King” Behind Mid-State Truck & Rigging Billy Horner

58

Facilitator of Ideas: Herbert W. Schneider, FAIA James Logan Abell, FAIA

62

Hit the Road: The Evolution of Arizona’s Streets and Highways - Heather Roberts

66

Petrol Pipedreams: Arizona’s Oil Boom Produced Only Gullible Investors - Douglas Towne

70

Saluting Arizona’s Builders: Emery Harper Douglas Towne

74

Old School Equipment - The Eagle Loader: An Elevating Option Before Paddlewheel Scrapers - Billy Horner

78

Building on the Past - 1980: Railcar Dining at McDonald‘s Billy Horner

82

Architect’s Perspective - Payson: Architecture Among The Trees - Doug Sydnor, FAIA

86

Digging Through the Archives: The Heavy Hauling Career of Dick Baker - Billy Horner

90

Bid Results

94

Advertising Index

Front Cover H&R Transfer Co. and the Arizona Sand & Rock Co. team up on the new boiler tank installation at the Arizona Brewing Company in Phoenix, 1953.

Article on page 48 Image Courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community

TWELVE

MAY JUNE 2024

PROUDLY CELEBRATING 10 YEARS IN BUSINESS! COMING SOON CONCRETE READY-MIX NEW LOCATION IN PEORIA! CURRENT LOCATIONS: Avondale Plant #17 & #18 SWC Southern & El Mirage 30 trucks (safely can deliver 250cy/hr.)

Ross 10 yd. Batch Plant Con-E-Co LO PRO 12 yd. Batch Plant SWC Southern & El Mirage Available Products for FOB Sales: #57 Aggregate, 3/8” Chips and Clean Top Soil (Fill Dirt) Inert Landfill: Concrete, Rock, Dirt only. No trash, Organic or Petroleum Products

DISPATCH – 623-925-4743 LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED DIAMONDBACKMATERIALS.COM 11435 W. BUCKEYE RD SUITE #104-276 AVONDALE, AZ 85323 O (623) 925-8966 | F (623) 925-1072 E INFO@AZDBM.COM

Travis Williams - General Manager

Jim Latto - Business Development

Donavon Stewart - Operations Manager

Over 28 Years of experience in the Ready Mix Industry travis@azdbm.com | (602) 292-1224

Over 40 Years of Ready Mix and related Business Experience jim@azdbm.com | (602) 696-4139

Over 24 Years of experience in the Ready Mix Industry donavon@azdbm.com | (623) 271-5042

CONSOLIDATED ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTORS, INC. 1717 E RAIRDAN LANE

PHOENIX, ARIZONA, 85034

3816 W Lower Buckeye Rd. PO Box 19010 Phoenix, AZ 85005-9010

Reuter Equipment & Fabrication provides custom metal fabrication services.

We have sixty years’ experience in the metal fabrication industry.

Let our qualified personal bid and build your special job.

This state of the art facility is equipped to fabricate numerous projects, i.e. conveyors, silos, metal forming, shearing, chassis, platforms, walkways, access ladders & machining.

Phone:602-437-4200 Fax: 602-437-0773 E-Mail: conorq@cedphx.com Website: www.cedphx.com

Est. 1994

REUTER EQUIPMENT & FABRICATION

GRADING/ PAVING CONCRETE UNDERGROUND UTILITIES

CONTACT US

11535 E. Germann Road, Chandler, AZ 85286 | 480.732.9238 www.dcscontracting.com

ARIZCC.COM

For Information Contact: Brent Reuter (623) 695-1204 • brentr@rec-reuter.com www.reuterequipment.com ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

CONTRIBUTORS

JAMES LOGAN ABELL ARTICLE ON PAGE 58

U

P: 928 567-6585 E: btippett@networxcs.com. www.networxCS.com FOURTEEN

nique in being both a practicing architect and landscape architect, James Abell volunteered for 10.5 years on the Tempe Planning and Zoning Commission and helped guide the city’s downtown development.

James was chosen for a special Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation team assembled for the Arizona Biltmore Hotel Restoration in 1973 and has had a lifetime love affair with the many phases of development of the property. He recently served as a consultant to PHX Architecture on improvement projects for the hotel.

One of five founders of the Rio Salado Architecture Foundation in 1984, James has participated for 40 years in advancing public awareness of the built environment. He also serves on the National Architectural Accreditation Board college review panels.

James received the ASU Work-Study Fellowship in Northampton, England, New Town; which began his interest in “social architecture” that nurtures place-making and livable, walkable environments.

He continues to write about urban design, affordable housing, and architectural modernism.

Outside of work, James is a performance singer, most recently with The Mill Avenue Singers, and enjoys gardening and plant propagation. For exercise, he walks daily and has been a lifetime racquet sports player. He played tennis for ASU in 1969-70 and still is often seen at Sun Devil tennis matches.

HEATHER ROBERTS ARTICLE ON PAGE 62

H

eather is truly a native Southwestern – she grew up in New Mexico, graduated from Adams State University in Colorado, and she and her family have lived in Arizona for almost a decade. She is a historian and is Director of Marketing and Communication for Heritage Square – the oldest remaining residential block in the City of Phoenix.

Heritage Square is home to the fully-restored Rosson House Museum, the Lath Pavilion, and nine other historic structures dating from the 19th century.

She’s been with Heritage Square for nine years and has worked in museums for over 20 years in Colorado, South Dakota, and Arizona.

Heather started working at Heritage Square giving tours, quickly moved to marketing and design, and has assisted in exhibits, development, educational programming, and more. She is the primary researcher and contributor for the Heritage Square blog, writing about her favorite subject – history.

She and her husband also own a new restaurant in Mesa, Jimmy G’s Salads & Pastas, which PHOENIX magazine voted “Best Mac and Cheese” in 2023.

They have a daughter who attends high school in Chandler and plays hockey for the Kachinas organization.

Heather loves reading history books and mysteries in her spare time, eating green chili, watching hockey, and spending time with her family.

MAY JUNE 2024

we have expanded our rv service and repair servicing Arizona’s construction industry since 1996!

We have also expanded our RV service and repair business.

Competitive rates ($140/hour service+labor) and Factory Trained and Certified Technicians Services Offered: Problem Diagnosis • Oil Changes/Service • Insurance Repairs & Claims • Chassis Inspection • Rubber Roof Cleaning & Coating • Parts & Accessories • Aftermarket Parts Sales & Installations • Custom Modifications Mobile service availabile As a get acquainted offer, mention this ad and we will give you a 10% discount on all services rendered at that time.

Come to Us or Let Us Come To You Lonnie cell: 602-376-1448 Roy cell: 602-292-5283 5626 S 43rd Ave, Phoenix AZ 85041 dynamicdieselrepairinc.com

Office: 602-237-3377 • Fax: 602-237-3944 • Cell: 602-376-1448

SHARP CREEK CONTRACTING

YOUR TRUSTED SOURCE FOR GRADING, PAVING, AND WET UTILITY SOLUTIONS

GRADING, PAVING, AND WET UTILITIES EXPERIENCE THE DIFFERENCE. REACH OUT TODAY

(602) 437-3040 • Fax (602) 437-3041

WWW.SHARPCREEK.COM/GRADING-PAVING

ARIZCC.COM

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

MAXIMIZE YOUR PERFORMANCE AND RETURN ON INVESTMENT

WITH DITCH WITCH EQUIPMENT ®

Also, an authorized dealer of Doosan ® Air Compressors.

IS NOW Ditch Witch West is proud to announce we are now your authorized dealer. With locations across the west, we look forward to meeting you, serving your needs and are committed to your uptime. Learn more at ditchwitchwest.com 4028 S. 36th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85040 O:602-437-0351 | F:602-437-1544

6975 N. Camino Martin, Tuscon, AZ 85741 O:520-579-0261 | F:520-579-0268 MAY JUNE 2024

THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO WE KNOW THAT YOU WORK LONG, HARD DAYS AND BOMAG PAVERS WILL BE THERE WITH YOU FOR EVERY MILE.

We at BOMAG appreciate your dedication to your job, the way you take pride in your craft, and the long hours you put in building our roads and keeping our country moving forward.

To learn more about our paving products, visit www.bomag.com, or contact BOMAG dealer Power Motive Corporation.

Tucson 3300 E Michigan Street Tucson, AZ 85714 520-649-2858

Phoenix 5052 S 40th Street Phoenix, AZ 85040 602-836-3003

Chandler 25015 S McQueen Road Chandler, AZ 85249 620-463-3772 BOMAG-Long Day Ad 7.5x4.875.indd 1

4/11/24 1:33 PM

Committed to superior quality and results

Ready Mix Concrete Delivery and concrete Pumping Services Arizona trusted company

FREE ESTIMATES PLEASE CALL - 602-503-9391 ORDERS - DISPATCH@BAJAREADYMIX.COM

BAJAREADYMIX.COM A+ accredited business by the better business bureau

ARIZCC.COM

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

Images Courtesy of Author

FROM THE EDITOR:

post office in 1892. Across the Baker River, Cement City began when the Washington Portland Cement Plant set up operations in 1904, followed by the Superior Portland Cement Company in 1906. Three years later, the two communities united and adopted “Concrete” as its name. In 1967, the town’s last outdated coal-powered cement Washington’s “Gateway to the North Cas- plant was closed by Lone Star Cement. cade Mountains.”

I know this because after finishing Baker, home of the Baker River Lumber up another issue of Arizona Contractor & Company’s shingle mill, nabbed the area’s Community last year, my wife and I headed to the Evergreen State on holiday. My goal was to get far away from groundbreaking ceremonies and best construction practices and, amidst alpine tundra, slosh through midsummer snowfields looking for wildlife in North Cascades National Park.

A “CONCRETE” WILDLIFE ENCOUNTER

DOUGLAS TOWNE

W

hat do you get when you consolidate the communities of Baker and Cement City? Concrete, of course! Or at least that’s what happened in 1909 at

Above: The former Superior Portland Cement site, repurposed as Silo Park.

Left: Concrete High School.

EIGHTEEN

MAY JUNE 2024

Images Courtesy of

Author

But ironically, the only grocery stop before the backcountry was located in Concrete. So, I was immediately back in editor mode, researching a place that, not surprisingly, abounded with remarkable concrete construction. Among the impressive historic structures built from locally produced materials was the Henry Thompson Bridge.

When it was completed across the Baker River in 1918, it became the world’s longest single-span reinforced concrete bridge.

Another unusual building is Concrete High School, which opened in 1952 with a structural overpass spanning Superior Avenue. Some readers may recognize it from the 1993 movie, This Boy’s Life. I wasn’t familiar with the film, but Hollywood heavyweights starred in it, including a young Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Ellen Barkin. The movie was adapted from Tobias Wolfe’s coming-of-age memoir of the same name, published in 1989, which recalls his teenage years growing up in the town of Concrete.

This Boy’s Life added a veneer to the town’s most prominent feature: the former

Back in the day, Concrete was served by the now-defunct Great Northern Railroad, whose mascot was Rocky, the Mountain Goat. That sure-footed white beast was a “must-see” for my trip, even though it’s not technically a goat but more closely related to antelopes. The next day, on a hike to Blue Lake, trekkers heading downhill spoke of sightings.

When we reached the alpine lake, I took a side trail that ended at a cliff, searching in vain for Rocky. Then I heard my wife’s excited voice in the distance. Unbeknownst to me, I had been stealthily tracked by a Rocky Mountain goat, who cut off my escape path. After an amusing “King of the Hill” game, I ceded my title.

The mountain goat seemed more curious than anything. Still, I kept reminding myself that wildlife is unpredictable, and these animals had in the past used their horns to fatally gore a hiker and a grizzly Superior Portland Cement site. Rebear. Rocky likely associated me with a purposed as Silo Park, its most evocative potential salt lick, for which these animals feature is the “Welcome to Concrete” sign seek human urine, and soon went on his painted on the silos, a vestige of the Holly- way after creating exciting content for my wood movie. editor’s column.

Above: Editor playing “King of the Hill” with a Rocky Mountain goat.

Right: Blue Lake in the North Cascades.

Below: This Boy’s Life movie poster.

ARIZCC.COM

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

602-586-5909 1-800-208-8913 Take the guesswork out of your pour!

Ready Mix Concrete on Demand!

• on-site concrete mix control • No minimum order • Save time and money • Quantity control and cost savings • Perfect for remote locations • Mixed on-site / eliminate waste

CONCRETENOWAZ.COM

Trucking Services We want to be your Premier Delivery Company!

• Hauling • Import • Export Supply And Delivery Of Dirt • Sand • Rock Agregates • Landscape Material Call today to schedule your delivery!

Serving All of Phoenix and Surrounding Areas Since 2020

ask about our READY-MADE SAND BAGS • • • • • • • • •

Product Specs: Pre-Filled Barricade Bags.

Uses for sandbags: 14’’x26’’ woven poly bag (heavy duty) • Traffic control 4,000 UV Hours / 2 yrs.

• Flood control Sewn shut for repeated use.

• Erosion control Palletized in bundles of 50 or 100.

• Water diversion Filled with 30 lbs of sand.

• Pipeline Construction 40 lb - 50 lb bags available.

• Ballistic Barrier Empty bags and sand available for purchase.

Volume discounts available.

Bags available in different colors and material to fit your needs.

Projects . PEOPLE . PRACTICES

PRINCE 10 LOOKS TO CHANGE TUCSON’S FREEWAY IMAGE

C

urious commuters may have noticed the development of a large swath of land on the west side of Interstate 10 between Prince Road and Miracle Mile, approximately 3 miles north of downtown Tucson.

This land, with spectacular views of the adjacent mountains, has a rich history, including being part of the travel route of Juan Bautista de Anza in 1775 and Lieutenant Colonel George Cooke in 1846. It was later transformed into State Route 84, originating along the east bank of the Santa Cruz River at Miracle Mile and heading west towards Casa Grande.

The property’s new owner, Garry Brav, had this heritage in mind when he set to work on his vision to create a development ARIZCC.COM

for Tucson’s future. He worked to produce a perfect blending of commerce and community, creating a destination that is more than just a location with the Prince Interstate Commerce Campus, aka Prince 10.

Prince 10 will change Tucson’s image for those entering downtown from the west. It will use the half-mile of visible frontage along I-10 to showcase specific architectural guidelines requiring attractive building designs and elevations zoned up to 12 stories, along with modern art.

The Planned Area Development zoning is mixed-use, but ownership envisions tech and manufacturing as the project’s focal point.

The development is a progressive, mixed-use, interstate commerce campus between Interstate 10 and the Santa Cruz River. Prince 10 comprises approximately 110 acres and features 12 development

CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Projects

CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA

Images Courtesy of KE& G

areas with the potential to accommodate high-tech industry and office buildings. Supplemental land uses may include hospitality, restaurants, other commercial uses, and multifamily housing.

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

FINISH BLADE RENTAL WITH OPERATOR EXCAVATING | UNDERGROUND UTILITIES | CONCRETE STRUCTURES

S OA K IN T H E R E L AXAT I O N

BUDDY@EANDECOMPANIES.COM LICENSED | BONDED | INSURED

castlehotsprings.com | 844.276.8052 | Morristown, Arizona

TWENTY TWO

MAY JUNE 2024

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT Garry Brav Owner/Manager Experience: 6 years running Prince Interstate Commerce Campus LLP “Prince 10” Favorite job task: Working with people!

Toughest job task: Leaving work and making time for things away from work.

CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Projects

The Site Selector’s Guild, whose “members provide location strategy to corporations across the globe,” has specific criteria guidelines. Prince 10 meets its top two criteria by having shovel-ready land and direct freeway access. The former has been accomplished by grading, drainage, and utility improvements.

The project is located within two designated zones, including an Opportunity Zone (OZ), which offers potential tax savings for qualified investments, and a Justice 40 Zone, which qualifies for potential Department of Energy funds. Additionally, the City of Tucson has expanded its Central Business District to include Prince 10, which is a property tax-driven development incentive.

The site has convenient pedestrian access, with 1.25 miles of the Chuck Huckelberry Loop shared-use path along the Santa Cruz River. Incorporating artwork throughout the entire Loop network has been a tradition. Pima County has created an “Art on the Loop” map for self-guided tours.

Prince 10 occupies part of a 5-mile section of the Loop between Saint Mary’s Road and Ruthrauff Road, which currently lacks art. With Prince 10’s Loop frontage, art associated with the development will

brighten this stretch along the Santa Cruz existing utilities within the Utility Corridor River and contribute to the Loop’s 131-mile under the old La Cholla/Ft Lowell right of open-space art gallery. “New public art in- way. “Every possible utility that is part of stallations bordering the west side of the Tucson’s utility infrastructure travels indevelopment will help make Prince 10 a side this corridor,” he says. “Great care was destination along the Loop,” Brav says. needed to excavate and identify locations A trailhead/bike park is in design with- and elevations to draft a utility design. The in Prince 10, which includes a Culinary Bike most difficult part followed this construcPlaza providing restrooms, shelter, and tion of the design.” food for recreational users of the Loop and Brav says it is rare in today’s real estate the eventual employees of the Commerce market for a project of this size to have an Center. The owner is also working with the interstate interchange at both ends and for City of Tucson on a plan to provide hous- both to essentially terminate at the proping for law enforcement officers and in- erty. It also boasts an electrical capacity stall a pedestrian bridge across the Santa of 138KV as part of the infrastructure to Cruz River at the northern accommodate the rising end of the project near the for electric vehicle “EVERY POSSIBLE UTILITY demand trailhead. charging stations and the Prince 10’s prime con- THAT IS PART OF TUCSON’S future needs of tech industractor on the project is INFRASTRUCTURE TRAVELS tries. To the latter point, KE&G Construction, which three fiber optic providers INSIDE THIS CORRIDOR.” are installed to meet the has provided invaluable experience during the design project’s future data deand construction phases. “We have had mand needs. several instances of ‘constructability’ issues “Developing a quality, multistory emthat were resolved in design before they ployment campus in a highly visible locabecame a field problem,” Brav says. “Their tion to build upon the momentum found in commitment to client relations as a philos- established and emerging centers further ophy in a world driven by spreadsheets and strengthens the local economy,” Brav says. software is refreshing.”

“Prince 10 offers a unique opportunity to According to Brav, this project’s most expand Tucson’s economic base to an unchallenging aspect has been installing new derdeveloped freeway frontage.” utilities threaded through, over, and under Images Courtesy of KE&G

Most memorable day at work: As the former owner of BFL Construction for 50 years, I remember one of my first jobs, a door installation for $146, and one of my final projects on an apartment complex for $100 million.

Favorite off-job tasks: I enjoy motorcycle touring and have a passion for sailing, one of which is much easier to do in Tucson than the other.

ARIZCC.COM

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

Arizona Contractors mag ad May-june 2024 v1.pdf

1

4/1/24

11:24 AM

GET IT DONE!

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

CASE asphalt rollers provide a full spectrum of drum sizes, vibratory controls and performance options — from compact to large and double drum to combi — to meet the quality and productivity demands of any paving application.

SERVING

ARIZONA

TWENTY FOUR

MAY JUNE 2024

CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Projects

GORMAN COMPLETES PHOENIX APARTMENT COMPLEX WITH HELP FROM A GOOD NEIGHBOR

T

he reactions of neighbors during a construction project can be the elephant in the room. Adjacent property owners have the potential to present daily challenges or offer invaluable assistance that money can’t buy.

A shining example of this is the recently completed Rehoboth Place II, a 66-unit affordable housing community at 2650 West Hazelwood Street in Phoenix’s Black Canyon Corridor. The unwavering support of a neighbor made a significant difference in the construction project for Gorman General Contractors, the construction division of Gorman and Company. This underscores the profound impact of proactive relationship-building within the local community.

From the outset of Gorman’s 17 months of construction, Superintendent Alfred Arrizon fostered a relationship with EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT Alfred Arrizon Superintendent Experience: 2 years with Gorman General Contractors Favorite job task: Providing projects that matter to the community.

Most memorable day at work: Giving the kids from Rehoboth Phase I, who were playing in the tot lot, a tour of the property. It made their day!

Favorite off-job task: Spending time with family and working on muscle cars.

ARIZCC.COM

Above: Rehoboth Place II under construction.

Right: Sally Schwenn.

the pastor of Casa de Oracion, Jose Rivas.

“Pastor Rivas was welcoming to the project and, with his generosity, allowed our subcontractors and visitors to utilize his parking lot for construction vehicle parking,” Jake Wagner, Gorman project manager, says. “Pastor Rivas, as well as Gwen Relf, CEO/Executive Director of Rehoboth Community Development Corporation (CDC), and her amazing staff, would also help with after-hours site security and notify us of any suspicious activity around the project site. The eyes and ears of the community helped ensure that this project finished successfully.”

According to Wagner, the most challenging part of the Rehoboth Place II project was facing global supply problems, specifically obtaining electrical gear. “Products taken for granted before the pandemic quickly became a global problem to obtain,” he says. “Delays such as these often made it difficult to achieve schedule milestones on time.”

The $14.1 million project constructing the second phase of Rehoboth Place is a joint effort between Gorman and Rehoboth CDC. The apartments will serve families earning 30-60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). The property includes one-, two-, and three-bedroom units as well as community spaces that will offer supportive services and resources to improve the quality of life for its residents.

Rehoboth Place II, which had its grand opening in March 2024, utilized the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) from the Arizona Department of Housing and other sources. As part of this, Section 3 worker goals were established. Through collaborative efforts between Gorman and its

Images Courtesy of Gorman General Contractors

subcontractors, the project had 46 percent of total hours worked by Section 3 Businesses and Workers, exceeding the goal of 30 percent. “This was an amazing achievement for the project to provide stable employment for Section 3 businesses and individuals,” Wagner says.

The project complements the original 47-unit Rehoboth Place Apartments, built 13 years ago. It has inviting amenities, including a splash pad, sports court, community garden, and lots of open space. “The combined projects not only bring superior housing to the community but also a wide array of resident services that Rehoboth CDC administers,” says Sally Schwenn, Gorman & Company’s Arizona Market President.

Gorman is headquartered in Wisconsin and is celebrating 40 years of neighborhood revitalization. It has also been recognized as one of the nation’s leading “Affordable Housing Developers” by Affordable Housing Finance magazine.

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

TrenchShoring

rentals.comTRENCH SAFETY RENTALS

TRENCH SAFETY RENTALS

hablamos espanol

The LEADER in Trench Safety in Arizona! www.trenchshorerentals.com

Hydraulic Shores Trench Boxes Trench Plates

LOS ANGELES

(866) 270-9960

Slide Rail TUCSON SAN BERNARDINO Confined Space Equipment TRENCH (520) 352-3311 (909) 381-0244 SAFETY Competent Person Training RENTALS

Now part of the Sunstate Equipment family. SunstateEquip.com

TWENTY SIX

PHOENIX

(602) 253-3311

Proud Member of TRENCH SAFETY RENTALS

EL PASO

(915) 885-7100

SAN DIEGO

(800) 321-5285

MAY JUNE 2024

A

rizona Western College (AWC) and McCarthy Building Companies recently celebrated the completion and opening of the $17.5 million Matador Activity Center. The center, which serves more than 11,000 students, features a two-story, 45,000-squarefoot building at 2020 South Avenue 8E in Yuma.

The most unusual aspect of constructing the Matador Activity Center was the antenna tower structure on the building, which broadcasts to other towers and stations around the state. “It’s been a unique experience to coordinate with the radio and TV stations to ensure that the structure supports the many different devices that will be mounted on it and are correctly positioned for the transmissions,” says Jakob Lund, project manager at McCarthy Building Companies.

ARIZCC.COM

CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Projects

MCCARTHY CELEBRATES COMPLETION OF ARIZONA WESTERN COLLEGE’S MATADOR ACTIVITY CENTER

Images Courtesy of McCarthy

The Matador Activity Center is a hub of modern technology and innovative features. It includes a lecture hall, shared common areas, conference rooms, maker space, an eatery, game areas, and a stateof-the-art multimedia center and esports arena. It also houses the KAWC radio station and broadcast television studio, which are equipped with cutting-edge technology. Visitors can observe behind-the-scenes production on-site through glass walls and TV monitors, adding to the center’s excitement and intrigue.

“The McCarthy team is proud to help make the college’s vision of an enhanced student engagement experience a reality with the completion of the Matador Activity Center,” says Antonya Williams, business unit leader for the Education Group in the Southwest Region at McCarthy Building Companies. “The project was not only completed on time and on budget, it has already received award recognition from APS for its energy savings and sustainability practices. We’re incredibly honored to

have been part of bringing this new asset to the Yuma community.”

APS recognized the Matador Activity Center’s commitment to sustainability and awarded AWC a Clean Energy Project Achievement distinction. As a testament to the center’s energy and water savings and reduced carbon emissions, the college received a rebate check for over $9,300. This recognition underscores the center’s dedication to environmental responsibility and contribution to a greener future.

EMC2 served as the design architect for the Matador Activity Center. Major trade partners included Haxton Masonry, Delta Diversified Enterprises, Yuma Valley Contractors, Pacific Steel Inc., and Progressive Roofing.

“This building is for the students,” says AWC President Dr. Daniel Corr. “It was planned and designed with students in mind. We hope it’s a place where they can connect, engage, and thrive in their experience at Arizona Western College.”

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

GRADING • PAVING •SEALCOATING DEMOLITION • CONCRETE & MORE

(602) 992-2201 | SHANESPAVING.COM ROC #255891 A-5 & #38635 A-14 21801 N. 16TH ST., BOX 5, PHOENIX, AZ 85024

TWENTY EIGHT

MAY JUNE 2024

CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Projects

HAYDON BUILDS FUN AT QUEEN CREEK RECREATION AND AQUATICS CENTER

“T

his project will add a lazy river, competition pool, and leisure pool, as well as a 68,000-square-foot recreation building, which includes a gym and teaching kitchen,” says John Karlsson, project manager at Haydon Building Corporation.

“As located within a larger Frontier Family Park, this facility should provide lots of fun and enjoyment to the Town of Queen Creek for years to come.”

The $62 million state-of-the-art facility is located off Signal Butte, north of Queen Creek Road, and is slated to open by late 2024 after approximately 17 months of construction. Haydon is constructing the center along with some help from others in

Images Courtesy of Haydon

the industry. “We have a variety of skilled craftsmen from many local subcontractors who are contributing to the success of the project,” Karlsson says. DWL Architects designed the facility.

Although the project has been progressing well, it’s not without its challenges. “Making sure all project information is properly communicated to parties to keep the project moving and flowing smoothly from activity to activity,” Karlsson says.

“This is also the most rewarding part to see the project team uniting to move this great project forward.”

Karlsson says that the most unusual aspect of the project was performing underground BIM (Building Information Modeling) clash detection models in addition to overhead, which isn’t common on

all projects. “With pools, there is a significant amount of underground piping with plumbing, storm drain, electrical, sewer, and gas piping, which contribute to an immense amount of coordination needed to ensure proper elevations and pathways for the piping.”

The new facility’s gym will include sports courts (basketball, volleyball, and pickleball), a fitness area, a teen room, childcare, and classrooms. There will be shared space for locker rooms.

Queen Creek residents monitor construction progress and are eager to partake in its amenities. “The project was featured in the town’s “Tidbit Tuesday” update, which is a way to connect with the public on exciting events happening in Queen Creek,” Karlsson says.

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT Heather Marin, Director of Operations Experience: 2 years with Haydon Building Corporation; 27 years in the construction industry.

Favorite job task: Seeing the successful completion of a project that so many hands have had an integral part in building.

Most challenging job task: Time management, juggling challenges across various projects.

Favorite off-job task: Spending time with family, whether local desert trail riding or time on the water along the Colorado River.

ARIZCC.COM

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

SHANES HAULING A Division of Shanes Grading & Paving

(602) 992-2201 | SHANESPAVING.COM | 21801 N. 16TH ST. BOX 5, PHX, AZ 85024 ROC #255891 A-5 & #38635 A-14

ALL THE GEAR YOU NEED Hercrentals.com Call for rates and reservations Gilbert: 480-507-1680 Phoenix: 602-269-5931 Peoria: 623-760-0631 Tucson: 520-573-1344

THIRTY

MAY JUNE 2024

CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Projects Images Courtesy of McCarthy

Left: McCarthy’s topping-out ceremony at the Superstition Mountain Campus of Central Arizona College.

Top: Construction of the new buildings.

Above: Rendering of new buildings at the Superstition Mountain Campus of Central Arizona College.

MCCARTHY TOPS OUT SKILLED TRADES BUILDING AT CENTRAL ARIZONA COLLEGE

T

he picture-postcard backdrop of The Superstition Mountain Campus of Central Arizona College has inspired two memorable additions to the school. The Allied Health and Skilled Trades buildings were the recent site of a topping-out ceremony

by McCarthy Building Companies.

“Our design partners have created indoor and outdoor spaces that complement the natural desert landscaping and EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT Jeff Crosland, Superintendent Experience: 26 years with McCarthy Building Companies Favorite job task: Working with trade partners on a goal.

Toughest job task: Managing all the personalities on a project.

Most memorable day at work: Lifting the last beam into place on the Skilled Trades building as part of the topping out was pretty awesome.

Favorite off-job tasks: Being outdoors and spending time with family.

ARIZCC.COM

provide 360-degree views of the local Arizona mountains,” says Amanda Isaacson, the project’s senior manager for McCarthy.

“The indoor/outdoor feel will give the occupants a positive experience.”

Design-build partners McCarthy and Architekton collaborated with CAC on the $40 million, 51,620-square-foot expansion at 805 South Idaho Road in Apache Junction. But the impressive buildings aren’t simple to construct. “The intricate details of the skin system are challenging to ensure an aesthetically pleasing but functional wall system and will give a great, unique look that complements natural sunlight and visuals of surroundings,” Isaacson says.

“Topping out is a significant milestone for construction projects, and this project is especially meaningful since it will serve career and technical education students interested in pursuing careers in the trades and healthcare sector,” says Andrea Ramos, project director for McCarthy. “We are one step closer to providing two new buildings where students, who represent our future workforce, will learn under the direct supervision of the college’s talented staff.”

The celebration also included the recent completion of renovation work to the college’s existing C building. Completing the new Skilled Trades and Allied Health buildings is slated for late 2024, which is in time for the start of classes in January 2025. Upon completion of the expansion, three existing buildings will be demolished

and replaced with landscaping. Major subcontractors on the project include RN Electric, S&H Steel, Stone Cold Masonry, and Pete King.

The Skilled Trades building will provide classrooms, labs, and exterior yards for mechanical, electrical, plumbing, ceramics, and arts programming. Workshops will mirror real-world work environments, allowing students to develop industry-specific skills and practical experience.

“We extend our gratitude to Central Arizona College and our dedicated McCarthy contractor team for achieving this noteworthy milestone of topping out,” says Daniel Childers, senior associate architect with Architekton. “This brings us one step closer to unveiling these exceptional trades, arts, and healthcare facilities to the students and faculty of CAC, and the surrounding communities of Apache Junction.

It has been the unwavering commitment and collaborative efforts of this incredible team that have brought us to this instrumental and memorable juncture. Thank you for your enthusiasm and expertise as we continue this journey towards opening these facilities to a brighter future.”

“McCarthy’s relationship with Central AZ College and Architekton continues to grow on a positive trajectory, and together, we are creating amazing pieces of functional art in the form of a high-quality education facility that will be training our future workforce,” Isaacson says.

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

WE MOVE MOUNTAINS

FOR OUR CLIENTS Sunstate can help you move loads of material more efficiently.

Building roads. Preparing job sites. Moving construction materials.

Do it faster and more efficiently with our durable, dependable quality rental equipment. Our team works as hard as our tools do to minimize your downtime and maximize your productivity. In fact, we’ll move mountains to earn your trust.

( 888 ) 456-4560 | SunstateEquip.com PAGE

MAY JUNE 2024

ALISON BAILIN

O

n April 11, the Frankel Family Trust – a privately-owned, multi-family property developer and owner – joined forces with Gilbert Mayor Brigette Peterson, general contractor CHASSE Building Team, and other community leaders to commemorate the groundbreaking of Tuscany at Gabriella Pointe. This luxury apartment project at 3545 East Warner Road in Gilbert will span 39 acres and feature 760 well-appointed units. The groundbreaking heralds the first project to launch in the new mixed-used Gabriella Pointe development, with initial occupancy expected by summer 2025.

“This development signifies our commitment to the Town of Gilbert,” says Mike Kron, chief operating officer of the Frankel Family Trust. “We are creating a one-of-akind living environment for our residents.

Every detail of Tuscany was planned for their enjoyment. Our goal was not only to provide them with a quality place to call home but to engage all of their recreational desires without ever having to leave the community.”

At completion, Tuscany at Gabriella Pointe will feature 14 three-story buildings and three four-story buildings. Residents will have the option of several one-, two-, and three-bedroom floorplans and amenities akin to country club living.

“The community will house both a main clubhouse and a comprehensive athletic club,” reveals Kron. The clubhouse will Top: The CHASSE Building Team at the groundbreaking.

Below: Mike Korn of the Frankel Family Trust.

Right: Barry Chasse at the groundbreaking.

Bottom right: Gilbert Mayor Brigette Peterson at the podium.

ARIZCC.COM

host a game room, a state-of-the-art cardio fitness center, and a versatile Pilates-yoga-spin classroom with workout programs available on demand. The expansive athletic club will boast a fitness center, a basketball court with opposing goals, and pickleball, badminton, and racquetball courts.

“The community also has a host of outdoor amenities, notably courts for pickleball, tennis, bocce ball, sand volleyball, and cornhole games,” Korn adds. “Beyond this, we believe the focal points outside will be the three sparkling swimming pools and two hot tubs, which are complemented with cabanas and ramadas outfitted with televisions and conveniently located barbeques. There is also a poolside fireplace and fire pit.”

Tuscany will boast two separate dog parks designed with fenced leashing areas and agility obstacles. “A dog washing station will allow your dogs to bathe easily after they enjoy the dog parks,” Kron says.

“Our Tuscany apartment homes also come with Smart Home Technology including wireless door locks and thermostat control, Energy Star-certified washer/dryer, and two USB ports to make charging electronic devices more convenient,” Kron says.

CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Projects

CHASSE BREAKS GROUND ON TUSCANY AT GABRIELLA POINTE IN GILBERT

Images Courtesy of CHASSE

To reduce Tuscany’s carbon footprint, the project will be constructed with low-e3 windows to minimize outside heat, LED lighting in shared areas and units, and lowflow water fixtures. Four EV charging stations are located conveniently throughout the project, and a dedicated ride-share waiting area is also available.

“CHASSE Building Team is thrilled to have been chosen to bring this project to the Town of Gilbert. We’ve developed a phased schedule that allows for just 16 months of construction time before buildings become occupied,” says Mike Leibold, CHASSE building team project director. “To maximize Frankel Family Trust’s investment, we will then turn over one-to-two buildings every 30 to 60 days following initial occupancy.

Leibold adds that this effort is only possible thanks to the collaboration between CHASSE’s experienced project team and longtime partnership with Frankel Family Trust and Foursite Consulting. “As this is the fifth project together, our team has learned to operate with both speed and precision,” he says. “We look forward to bringing future residents into this new, ultramodern Gilbert community.”

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

MAY JUNE 2024

CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA People

BRINGING BACK LOST VALLEY LANDMARKS: THE ART OF AARON STOUFFER DOUGLAS TOWNE

A

CC magazine has long admired Aaron Stouffer’s art with its vibrant colors, which captures Phoenix’s midcentury buildings, sometimes bringing them to life long after they’ve been razed. We recently caught up with this uber-talented artist/architect about his local pop art series.

Images Courtesy of Aaron Stouffer

palette. It was an instant hit, and before we designed the first series, titled “Lost.” long, I received inquiries for custom illus- It focused on iconic mid-century modern trations of friends’ and neighbors’ homes. works that had met an early demise but Q: So, this led to the idea for a local series? were still remembered. As they say, the A: I discovered a store specializing in rest is history. vintage furniture and art called Modern of Melrose and pitched the idea of creating art pieces in this graphic nature of works throughout the Valley. The owners soon purchased a concept known as For the People, which was then located in the Biltmore shopping mall. Working closely with Chad Campbell and Shawn Silverblatt,

Q: How do you create the art?

A: Not being a native of Phoenix, I am constantly learning of new buildings that have an emotional and nostalgic impact on the city’s residents. I start with photographs, books, historic aerials, matchbooks, vintage marketing materials—basically anything to begin creating a complete

Q: How did you get the idea for this series?

A: In 2014, I was sitting poolside in Palm Springs, cocktail in hand, leafing through the current issue of Palm Springs Life magazine. The San Jacinto Mountains were seemingly touchable, Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” was flowing through a distant speaker, and I was soaking in my inaugural exploration of the picturesque Vista Las Palmas neighborhood.

The magazine cover boasted a vibrant illustration of the Kauffman residence, designed by famed modernist architect Richard Neutra. Local Palm Springs artist, SHAG, had created the artwork. Majoring in architecture at Kent State University, I was well-versed in digital rendering. Could I create something like this that would capture the essence of Phoenix?

A few weeks later, some friends purchased their first home together in a North Phoenix neighborhood. It was designed by our very own modernist architect, Ralph Haver. I surprised them with a framed piece of art unique to their home and interior

ARIZCC.COM

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

WEESSTATBLRISHOEDC199L4LC

POWERSCREEN WESTERN

GL A DI ATOR

• PRECISION FINE GRADING • ABC PLACEMENT AND FINISHING • EARTHWORK , ALL PHASES • MATERIAL IMPORT/EXPORT HANDLING • DRAINAGE EXCAVATION • FULL TOPCON OR TRIMBLE CAPABILITIES

CONTACT TAYLOR WESTHOFF

Gladiator PT400 Jaw Crusher

Gladiator TP320SR Closed-circuit Impact Crusher

Gladiator MT1150 Open-circuit Cone Crusher

Gladiator MT1150SR Closed-circuit Cone Crusher

Gladiator MT1300 Open Circuit Cone Crusher

Gladiator H6203 Horizontal Screen

480-550-1815

PTWESTHOFF@WESTROCLLC.COM

Gladiator H8203 Horizontal Screen

SVL97-2

KX018-4 16.1 Gross HP,† 3-Cylinder Kubota Diesel Engine $

KX033-4 24.8 Gross HP† Kubota Diesel Engine

SCL1000 24.8 Gross HP† Kubota Diesel Engine

0 DOWN, 0% A.P.R. FINANCING FOR UP TO 36 MONTHS* ON SELECT NEW KUBOTAS* E M AD IN TH

BinghamEquipment.com

E

BUCKEYE CASA GRANDE COTTONWOOD LAKESIDE MESA PARKER PHOENIX PRESCOTT VALLEY TUCSON YUMA * $0 Down, 0% A.P.R. financing for up to 36 months on purchases of select new Kubota kX, SVL & SCL Series equipment from participating dealers’ in-stock inventory is available to qualified purchasers through Kubota Credit Corporation, U.S.A.; subject to credit approval. Some exceptions apply. Example: 36 monthly payments of $27.78 per $1,000 financed. Offer expires 6/30/24. For complete warranty, disclaimer, safety and product information see dealer or KubotaUSA.com.† For complete warranty, safety and product information, consult your local Kubota dealer and the product operator’s manual. Power (HP/KW) and other specifications are based on various standards or recommended practices. KOD-04-151125-1

THIRTY SIX

USA

Gerald McCarthy 602-772-1419 Adam Barber 480-321-9185 POWERSCREENWESTERN.COM

MAY JUNE 2024

Q: What Valley landmarks have you created?

A: Big Surf, Camelview 5 Theatre, Celebrity Theatre, Cine Capri, City Center Motel, Christown Lanes, First Federal Savings and Loan, Gammage Auditorium, Guggy’s Coffeeshop, Helsing’s Coffeeshop, Hotel Valley Ho, Kachina Theatre, Kon Tiki Hotel, Legend City, Mel’s Diner, Metrocenter Mall, Papago Lanes, Phoenix Trotting Park, Round-Up Drive-In, Safari Hotel, Sky Harbor Terminal One, Stewart Motors, Starlite Motel, Tempe Bowl, Trader Vics, Tropics Motor Hotel, and Wigwam Auto Court.

Q: Do you have a favorite?

A: Hands down, Cine Capri, as it holds a special place in so many Phoenician’s hearts. Their first date. Their first kiss. They Q: What are the reactions to your work?

A: An open-mouth stare and emotional saw Titanic or Star Wars there. It is a conwalk down memory lane. I have been fortuversation starter every time! nate to interact with the public on a large Q: How do you select the landmarks? scale in many local vending and pop-up art A: I keep a running list of places that events. have helped define our city. While I cannot rebuild those already lost, a poppy art print Q: Any plans for spotlighting buildings might breathe new life into a few of these from the Victorian or Art Deco eras?

A: Absolutely! I have created custom buildings that survive. Sometimes, they pieces of Brownstones in Brooklyn, Victorijust need a little TLC.

CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA People

image in my mind. I have often built digital 3D models to stitch together grainy photographs.

The next step is to develop the color palette and draw the structure by hand in Adobe software. Referencing photographs and descriptions or use of the space, I assemble a minimal ensemble of color that will tell the story.

Images Courtesy of Aaron Stouffer

ans in Canada, and everything in between.

Color plays a huge role in defining the decade and focusing on the critical architectural details.

Q: What buildings are you eyeing for future art?

A: Rise Hotel and Egyptian Motor Hotel come to mind; we’re seeing a resurgence in adaptive reuse.

Q: How does your art differ from and reinforce your architectural work?

A: Architecture teaches you to focus on the details. I always emphasize the details of the historic buildings to be prominent in the artwork. Studying what made these iconic works beautiful can be utilized in modern-day design. We always learn from the past.

Q: Why has your art been such a hit?

A: It goes back to the emotional connection. Not everyone is passionate about architecture, but art can evoke feelings from across generations in different places and times. Phoenix has a reputation for destroying our historic structures, so I hope my art brings a smile to the owner’s face and memories of the past.

Q: What’s down the road for you?

A: I have religiously watched The Golden Girls TV show since I was young and have always wanted to create a Miami art deco series.

ARIZCC.COM

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

THIRTY EIGHT

MAY JUNE 2024

coat the aggregates and inhibit the cement from attaching or bonding to them.

When the aggregates have excess maLUKE M. SNELL, P.E. terials passing the #200 sieve, the strength of the concrete is decreased. The precaster hen are aggregates for concrete too will need to use more cement to obtain the fine? ASTM and AASHTO specifica- required strength, thus increasing the cost tions state that natural aggregates must of the concrete. not have more than 3 percent of the mateSo, how do we know if our aggregates, rial passing through a #200 particularly sand, have exsieve. In comparison, man“SILT, CLAY, AND DUST cess materials passing the ufactured aggregates are #200 sieve? This information allowed up to 5 percent. A # PROVIDE LITTLE STRENGTH is usually available from our 200 sieve has 200 wires per aggregate supplier; we only TO CONCRETE.” inch; the spacing between need to ask. A straightforthe wires of the sieve is 0.003 inches. ward assessment I used when I thought the The material that passes the #200 sand had excess fines was to perform a silt sieve is silt and clay, which provide little test from the publication “Permanent Farm strength to concrete. These fine materials Construction,” produced by the Portland are the clay from grade school art classes Cement Association in 1916. that were provided to mold into ceramic To do this test, you need a see-through creations. Clay was used because it is easy container. I have used soda and juice botto shape when moist. Clay and silt, along tles; all that is needed is a jar about 8 inchwith the dust from the crushing operations es high with straight sides. The test procefor manufacturing aggregates, will also dures are as follows:

W

CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Practices

AGGREGATES FOR CONCRETE PART 2: MINIMUM-SIZED AGGREGATES

1. Get representative sand samples from several locations in the pile.

2. Mix the sand samples and put them into the bottle to a depth of 2 inches.

3. Add clean water until the container is about 3/4 full.

4. Put a cap or thumb on top of the bottle and shake vigorously for one minute.

5. Place the bottle on a flat surface and let it set for one hour.

After one hour, measure the fine particles that have settled on top of the sand. If it is less than 1/8 inch, the sand is considered clean with allowable amounts of clay and silt and acceptable to use in concrete.

If it is greater than 1/8 inch, the sand is considered to have excess amounts of clay and silts.

If the test has over 1/8 inch of silt and clay, the precaster must decide what to do. They can look for a different source of sand, require the supplier to wash the sand, or use this sand and add extra cement to maintain the required strength of the concrete.

Images Courtesy of Author

Above: Putting aggregates through a #200 sieve.

Top right: Auguste Rodin’s clay sculpture of Carrie-Belleuse.

Right: Different-sized aggregate stockpiles.

Below: Different-sized concrete aggregates.

ARIZCC.COM

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

BRANDON GALLIMORE

WWW.SUNLANDASPHALT.COM

602.323.2800

Land Surveying Services Construction Staking

7777 N 70TH AVE GLENDALE, AZ 85303

O. 623.466.6640 I F. 623.879.0611 C. 623.707.7067 I E. BRANDON@METROAZ.NET

CONSTRUCTION & MAINTENANCE SERVICES » CRACK SEALING » SEALCOATING » ASPHALT REPAIRS » CHIP SEAL » MILLING/PULVERIZING

» PAVING & OVERLAYS » EARTHWORK & GRADING » UNDERGROUND UTILITIES » CONCRETE STRUCTURES/ FLATWORK

NEVER MISS OUT ON THE LATEST ISSUES DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS NOW AVAILABLE! SUBSCRIBE TODAY AT ISSUU.COM/ARIZCC.

VERMEERMOUNTAINWEST.COM/TRAINING

FORTY

MAY JUNE 2024

RO BHATIA, CEO – PLANHUB

T

he construction industry stands at the brink of a revolutionary shift driven by the rapid integration of technology and digital tools. This transformative journey — once considered a futuristic vision — is now a present reality, reshaping the foundational practices of project management, design, and collaboration. In an era where efficiency, accuracy, and real-time communication are paramount, adopting digital advancements is not merely an option but a critical necessity for staying competitive and meeting the increasing demands of complex construction projects.

Integrating digital tools for smoother operations: The digital revolution in the construction industry has paved the way for smoother, more efficient operations, fundamentally transforming the preconstruction phase. With the advent of sophisticated software solutions, the era of manual processes, characterized by inefficiencies and data silos, is giving way to automated workflows and centralized data systems.

This shift streamlines tasks and significantly enhances accuracy in cost estimation, laying a robust foundation for project success.

Central to this transformation is integrating digital tools that facilitate seamless collaboration across all project stakeholders. By breaking down traditional barriers between architects, engineers, contractors, and clients, these platforms ensure that every team member has access to real-time information, fostering an environment of transparency and informed decision-making. The result is a streamlined process from planning through execution, where Images Courtesy of Author

ARIZCC.COM

CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Practices

CONSTRUCTION TECH AND DIGITAL TOOLS: REVOLUTIONIZING EFFICIENCY AND COLLABORATION

project timelines are optimized, risks are proactively managed, and communication flows effortlessly. In embracing digital tools for smoother operations, the construction industry is enhancing efficiency, redefining project management standards, and setting a new benchmark for success in the digital age.

Facilitating real-time communication and coordination: In today’s modern world, the ability to facilitate real-time communication and coordination has become a cornerstone for project success, ensuring that all stakeholders — from architects and engineers to contractors and clients — are seamlessly connected throughout the project lifecycle.

Digital collaboration platforms are at the heart of this transformation. These sophisticated tools enable instant sharing contracts. By digitizing paperwork, these of updates, modifications, and new plans, systems ensure critical information is easily ensuring that everyone involved has ac- accessible to all stakeholders, reducing the cess to the latest information at their fin- time spent searching for documents and ingertips. This immediacy accelerates the creasing the time dedicated to productive decision-making process and enhances the work. overall project coordination, reducing misIntegrating these digital tools into daily understandings and potential conflicts that operations does more than just accelerate can lead to delays and increased costs. project timelines; it enhances overall projMoreover, these platforms support ect management by providing a holistic networking and relationship-building be- view of the project’s progress, facilitating tween construction better decision-makprofessionals, which is “ADOPTING DIGITAL ADVANCEMENTS ing, and improving vital for success in such collaboration among IS NOT MERELY AN OPTION BUT A teams. In an industry a collaborative industry. Having contractors, CRITICAL NECESSITY FOR STAYING where time is money, subcontractors, and the ability to complete suppliers in one digital COMPETITIVE IN CONSTRUCTION.” projects faster through environment increases digital tools drives profinteraction, strengthens connections, and itability and delivers greater value to clibuilds trust. ents, setting a new benchmark for success For ongoing dialogue, these relation- in the construction sector. ships and channels foster better collaboraAs construction professionals and tion and outcomes on current and future firms navigate this digital terrain, the foprojects. Whether it’s resolving design cus should be not simply on implementing issues, adjusting schedules, or managing technology but on leveraging these tools resources, the ability to communicate in to build smarter, safer, and more sustainreal-time and leverage professional rela- able projects. The journey towards digital tionships creates a collaborative ecosys- integration is ongoing, and those who emtem that drives projects forward more brace these changes will lead the industry efficiently. into a new era of construction and will set Implementing tools for more efficient new benchmarks for what can be achieved project completion: when technology and human ingenuity Digital tools in construction are de- converge. signed to optimize project schedules by facilitating detailed planning and resource Ro Bhatia, the CEO of PlanHub, is passionallocation, allowing for the meticulous or- ate about simplifying preconstruction for ganization of timelines, milestones, and everyone and helping businesses of all sizes tasks. Automating repetitive tasks and en- increase productivity and efficiency. With abling predictive analytics helps preempt over 500,000+ contractors in our nationpotential delays and quickly reallocate wide network, PlanHub is an all-in-one hub resources as necessary, ensuring projects that simplifies the bidding process from stay on track. start to finish. PlanHub is a game-changer Moreover, digital document manage- platform, empowering contractors to save ment systems revolutionize the handling time, boost productivity, and gain valuable of construction documents, permits, and market intelligence.

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

16+ LOCATIONS & NOW OPEN IN CHANDLER

197 E WARNER RD. CHANDLER, AZ

DELAWARE

COUNTRY CLUB DR.

WARNER RD.

FEATURING: » » » » »

15+ premium brands Huge inventory of top-quality equipment 24-hour emergency service Complimentary operator training Easy app to call-off & manage all rentals

1-800-RENT-CAT | CatRentalStore.com/Empire LOOP 202

LOOP 101

PRICE

3RD ST.

SMITH

McCLINTOCK

RIO SALADO

UNIVERSITY

YOUR ONE STOP SHOP FOR ALL TOOL NEEDS •Tools and Accessories •Tool Repair •Family Owned and Operated 480-968-0123 www.FisherTools.com

Paving & Compaction

New Machines, Parts, Warranty & Service

FORTY TWO

SWJCB.COM

MAY JUNE 2024

ALASTAIR HAYFIELD, SENIOR RESEARCH DIRECTOR AT INTERACT ANALYSIS

A

frequent question that comes to me is, “Who is the Tesla of the construction equipment market?” Leaving aside the sloppy notion that Tesla is the only innovative company, I think what is meant is “who might disrupt the construction equipment market in such a way as to gain significant market share, using technology and a change in business model to do so?”

Every industry faces the challenges of emissions reduction, supply chain bottlenecks, and labor shortages. There is an opportunity presented by these challenges for companies to disrupt the status quo by offering a new solution or new ways of approaching the problem.

The construction industry has typically been slow to evolve. This isn’t meant to be a criticism; rather, the industry has thrived with long-established machines, processes, and solutions that “get the job done right and on time.” There is little time for companies and technologies that aren’t reliable or don’t provide significant value.

Certain parts of the construction market have challenges that a new approach could solve. End users (construction companies) typically have low margins and are suffering from skilled labor shortages and pressures to be more environmentally sustainable. In comparison, those companies that manufacture or sell construction equipment typically have higher margins and generally make sizeable profits through service and aftermarket parts.

If I had to draw up a plan to disrupt the construction equipment market, these are the 14 steps I would take: 1.

2.

I would target the development of an all-electric fleet.

These machines would be purposely designed to be electric from the start and would focus on maximum efficiency in hydraulics, other components, and machine material choice. This would also make the machines less expensive to operate.

3.

I would design the battery packs to be a standardized size that could be scaled based on machine size. I would also consider how these packs could be used in battery swapping and how they could be pushed into second-life applications – such as mobile charging stations – at the end of life.

4. Machines would be fully connected, permitting remote updates and access to operational data, performance information, etc. This would both enable predictive maintenance and allow me to iterate future machines to have the right battery size, etc. for certain tasks.

It would also enable me to manage the performance of all battery packs across machines and replace/move them based on performance.

5. Alongside electric machines, I would aggressively develop mobile charging solutions – battery packs, trailer batteries, and battery shipping containers – so that end-users would be able to operate machines in as similar a way to internal combustion engine (ICE) machines as possible., particularly if site power is not available.

6. Since my machines will be electric and, in some instances, fluidless, they will be much cheaper to maintain and service. This would reduce costs for both myself and end users and also improve the operational availability of machines.

7. I would probably want a sizeable initial fleet – 5,000 machines, say – since this would enable me to offer a service to many customers and would also give me the benefit of scale purchasing, reducing the cost of sourcing electric machines.

8. I would negotiate a low-cost electricity rate with a utility, possibly through a partnership, to recharge batteries and provide users with a rate for their sites if they use my equipment.

9. Initially, I would target a region or city that has a focus on decarbonization, ideally with a slant on construction equipment.

10. I would probably also want to target those end users with a profitability problem AND a sustainability drive.

CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Practices

HOW TO DISRUPT THE GLOBAL CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT MARKET

Images Courtesy of Author

Large civils or housebuilders could be good prospects.

11. I would want to target end users directly. There would need to be a support network to do this, and getting machines to end users would be key.

However, a direct-to-consumer model would reduce my overheads significantly (no dealer network to develop) and mean that I could minimize my costs.

12. As for my business model, I might opt to charge end users based on energy usage only for the length of fixed contracts. Since electric machines are significantly cheaper to run than ICE equivalents, I could offer a daily or weekly rate that includes machines and chargers and is much lower than my competition while maintaining a sizeable profit margin. I would probably build in a sliding fee for extensions beyond the original contract. It would incentivize end users to be as efficient as possible since it would cost them less and motivate them to finish projects on time. This would also help me to maximize machine utilization.

13. A lower cost would help construction firms to boost their margins and the use of all-electric machinery would be a significant lever in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

14. Over time, I would rigorously enhance the performance of my fleet using telematics data and look for ways to enhance product availability, utilization, and machine health.

Is all this fantasy? Maybe. However, elements of the points listed above are already in use or being examined by the construction equipment market. It won’t be long before a start-up or brave major looks to disrupt the norm to solve the problems we see today.

ARIZCC.COM

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

FORTY FOUR

MAY JUNE 2024

safety track records plan around their downtimes. “Leaders can be looking ahead THE UTILITY EXPO STAFF at their training calendars,” says Monica here are inherent risks in being a utility Rakoczy, owner of EnterTRAINING Soluor construction worker. To ensure those tions. “Determine which trainings are rerisks don’t become a reality, utilities and quired, then book them.” the contractors they hire must be on their A-game regarding safety.

UTILIZE MULTIPLE TRAINING TOOLS First, safety training and systems As Rakoczy explains, there are four should be geared toward the types of tools styles of learning: seeing, hearing, reading/ and equipment workers will be using. The writing, and doing. “We need to rememmost common risks OSHA identifies should ber the importance of focusing on all four remain front and center, including elec- styles,” Rakoczy says. “Companies can bring trocution, fire, and explosion; chemical back more human, personal interaction to exposure; high-pressure line bursts; falls; manage behavior-based safety better.” sprains, strains, and fractures; injuries in confined spaces; heat or cold stress; and BEWARE THE LOCATING LOGJAM worker fatigue.

In many instances, underground locaIn addition to focusing on the “what,” tors have been struggling to meet demand safety managers must also think about the over the past couple of years. This has put “when” and “how.” Good safety training additional pressure on contractors needing is more than just the subject matter. The help to stay on schedule. “Short of takstyle and timing of the training help make ing control of part of the locating process it stick—likewise, good worksite protocols themselves, there is no easy solution for factor in utility workers’ varying job site contractors,” says Mike Parilac, Founder of conditions.

Planet Underground. Some contractors feel We asked two utility safety experts for forced into doing their own locates, which advice on how companies can create safer is usually not a good idea and perhaps iljob sites. legal in some states. Nonetheless, some contractors decide to roll the dice and see GET PROACTIVE if they’ll get fined. But rolling the dice on Some utility companies scramble getting a fine is very minor compared to throughout the year, constantly trying to the risk of hitting a line. identify training needs and trainers. On That is why Parilac says some contracthe other hand, companies with successful tors are starting to take more control of

T

ARIZCC.COM

CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Practices

TIPS FOR A SAFER JOB SITE

the locating process. There are a couple of ways they’re going about it. “More contractors are employing their own locating crews,” Parilac says. “There are added costs to equipping and training your crews, but there are also many advantages. Crews are being trained on how to verify 811 marks as well as locate existing utilities.”

CATER TO THE GROWING FEMALE DEMOGRAPHIC The number of women working in the construction and utility industry continues to grow, which comes with challenges.

“One area is PPE,” Rakoczy says. For many years, women often had to wear the smallest size of men’s boots because that’s all they could find in the store. But wearing the wrong size boot creates a safety risk.

She says that nowadays, many companies are expanding women’s PPE and workwear, including smaller sizes to tighter fits that are more tailored to the female body.

“There are also more options for pregnant women,” Rakoczy adds. “Some companies are developing zip-in panels for hi-vis vests because going to an overall larger vest is unsafe.”

RECOGNIZE THE FATIGUE, STRESS, AND MENTAL HEALTH Stress and fatigue can impact a utility worker’s ability to do their job safely. Rakoczy says there are some innovative tools available to help manage this variable.

There are mobile apps that can help determine if an individual is “mentally available for work” on a given day. Rakoczy likens them to the “brain games” a person may play on their smartphone. AlertMeter is one example. After using the app briefly, the app establishes a baseline for that user.

Then, when the user is about to embark on a specialized work task, they will log back in to complete a test. Based on the result, the app can help determine if the person is mentally sharp.

Beyond a temporary loss of mental acuity, Rakoczy reminds us that there is a startling reality about our industry. While suicide is a nationwide problem, it impacts the construction/mining/utility industry at a significantly higher rate.

Fortunately, there are a lot of great ideas for managing mental health. “One of the simplest yet effective things I’ve seen a company do is hang up mental health posters,” Rakoczy says. But rather than hang the posters on the breakroom bulletin board, the company hangs them in the portable bathrooms on job sites. “When someone struggles, they don’t always want someone else to know. So, giving them this information in a private place makes the information much more accessible.”

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

23

PUBLIC ONLINE AUCTIONS HELD MONTHLY PREVIEW EVERY MONDAY - FRIDAY 7AM-4PM CONSIGNMENTS WELCOME Western Sales Management 1616 S 67th Ave Phoenix, AZ 85043

PAGE

623-936-3300 wsmauctioneers.com info@wsmauctioneers.com

MAY JUNE 2024

Back When

THE TIME THE MADHOUSE ON MCDOWELL PUT ON A HAPPY FACE DOUGLAS TOWNE

T

here was much to smile about when the $6.9 million Veterans Memorial Coliseum opened in 1965. During construction, its original wordy moniker, Arizona State Fairgrounds Exposition Center, had been changed to honor Arizona’s war veterans. The new venue was the Southwest’s “most modern, fully-equipped and luxurious coliseum,” according to an ad in The Arizona Republic.

The Ice Follies, hosted by Bob Hope, was the first of many popular events to grace the Coliseum. Over the next few years, it became a stage for legends like Elvis Presley, the Jackson 5, Jimi Hendrix, the Monkees, and the Rolling Stones. From 1968, it proudly served as the home court for the Phoenix Suns for 24 years. The Coliseum also welcomed Pope John Paul II, the Phoenix Roadrunners hockey team, trade ARIZCC.COM

shows, and rodeos; it was the place where the circus set up when it came to town.

Phoenix architect Leslie Mahoney’s design of the Coliseum was a feat of engineering, with a tension-cable roof that supported over 1,000 precast concrete panels. However, in the early 1970s, it faced a unique challenge when a smiley face was painted on it, turning it into an oversized emoji. This whimsical addition, while a testament to the Coliseum’s popularity, also brought about issues. The roof leaked during a storm, leading to the cancellation of a Suns exhibition game in 1974. A few ceiling tiles even fell during another event, highlighting the need for repairs.

Architect Jim Fiakas inspected the roof and found sections that were never adequately sealed during construction, and subsequent patching jobs had only created new leaks, according to a 1974 article in the Republic. He urged an end to insignias atop the Coliseum because the paint dried out portions of the roof more quickly, leading to cracks. Despite his plea, the community’s

Images Courtesy of Arizo na Cont

ractor & Community

desire to celebrate America’s 200th anniversary was strong, and the smile was replaced by a bicentennial-themed emblem in 1976.

Top: Veterans Memorial Coliseum with a smiley face on the roof during the Arizona State Fair, 1971.

Above: A State Fair employee holding a photo of the Coliseum’s smiley face roof logo, 1971.

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

A HAULING AND LIFTING SUCCESS: H&R TRANSFER AND STORAGE BILLY HORNER

M

ining engineer Harold J. (H.J.) Hart would find his pot of gold not in a mine but in the bed of a transfer truck, noted a 1971 article in The Arizona Republic. Over three decades, Hart, his family, and loyal employees grew the transfer and rigging business from one bobtail truck to a company featuring more than 100 trucks and other equipment, with locations in Phoenix, Flagstaff, and Sierra Vista.

Hart was born in Sedalia, Missouri in 1905, and his family relocated to Arizona in 1911. Operating a crane and rigging

FORTY EIGHT

company wasn’t initially in Hart’s plan.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Hart had dreams of striking it rich by hitting a mining bonanza. “Like everybody, I had to have my try at my own mine but instead ran into quicksilver down on the Mexico border, which nearly ruined my health and made me broke,” Hart said.

After Hart’s unsuccessful mining ventures, he moved back to Jerome in 1935. He and his wife, Mackie, had two daughters, Jean and Betty Ann. He initially worked a $2.35 per shift job as a laborer to support

his family. But Hart soon left manual labor behind and landed a more lucrative position as a bookkeeper and later sales manager at an auto dealership.

Then Hart was hired by Phelps Dodge Corporation to run their chemical laboratory night shift, based on his engineering skills learned from mining. He worked with the company’s mining operations in Jerome and the smelter in Clarkdale.

While at Phelps Dodge, Hart befriended Dan Richie. As a side hustle, they and a third co-worker purchased and operated a service station in Jerome. Although successful, Hart and Richie sold their shares to their other partner to pursue a new venture.

The duo saw a new opportunity when they learned that the Jerome Transfer Company was closing in 1939. Hart borrowed $500 from the Clarkdale bank, with MAY JUNE 2024

Image Courtesy of H&R

Above: H&R Transfer and Storage’s new warehouse at 411 South First Street, 1957.

Top right: H.J. Hart and Dan Richie (l-r) in Jerome, 1930s.

Right: An H&R crane mishap during construction of Camelback Village Apartments near 15th Avenue, 1959.

Below: Elvis Baker manning an H&R crane with his Irish Setter on board during the thirdfloor expansion of Hanny’s department store in downtown Phoenix, 1953.

Image Courtesy of Tom Baker Image Courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community

Image Courtesy of Arizona Republic

ARIZCC.COM

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

Image Courtesy of Tom Baker

Above: Hart with his wife Mackie and daughters Betty Ann and Jean Hart in Jerome, 1931.

Right: H&R Crane & Rigging Co. working on Del Webb’s electrical power substation in Tucson, 1952.

Left: H&R zippo lighter.

Richie borrowing $500 from the Jerome bank. Each acted as the other’s co-signer and, with $1,000, purchased the transfer company.

The new venture, H&R Transfer & Storage Company, hauled coal sacks, furniture, FIFTY

Image Courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community

firewood, and other materials in Jerome and eventually expanded to northern Arizona, Ajo, and Bisbee.

In 1943, Hart took two vehicles, a pickup and a bobtail truck, and opened a shop in Phoenix. He had purchased a Phoenix heavy-haul certificate from a father who’d been holding it for his son, who was killed in World War II. The following year, H&R closed their Jerome operation and relocated to Phoenix. The company operated 15 trucks for freight delivery service, with a few dedicated to moving household goods.

MAY JUNE 2024

A year later, it joined the North American Van Lines system. Hart would later become the local dealer for Greyhound Van Lines.

Richie died in 1948, and his widow sold her interest to Hart two years later. Keeping the H&R name and company colors of yellow and red, with a black stripe, Hart incorporated with his two sons-in-law, Elvis L. Baker and Quentin K. Zeigler, joining as stockholders and officers.

“H&R had several cranes, preferring the Bay City brand, and the 30-ton, 40-ton, and 50-ton were the first to have hydraulic ARIZCC.COM

outriggers,” says Dick Baker, Elvis Baker’s son. “At the time, there were only five heavy haul certificates in Phoenix, with H&R one of them.”

The 1950s proved a prosperous time for H&R as it started performing crane and rigging work in 1952. The original corporation, H&R Transfer & Storage, operated the transportation business, and H&R Crane & Rigging Co. handled the mobile crane business.

One of H&R Crane & Rigging’s first big contracts was with Del Webb Construction

to assist with installing an electrical power substation incorporating three 500 KVA transformers. The U.S. Air Force flew the three transformers, used for a B-47 modification project, to Tucson from Pittsburgh, PA. In 1952, Hart had Arizona Sand & Rock Co. assist in transporting an 81-ton hydraulic press from a Phoenix railyard to the Garrett AiResearch facility near Sky Harbor Airport. The Republic noted that this was the heaviest piece of equipment ever to be trucked through Phoenix.

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

Images Courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community

H&R Transfer & Storage ranked 26th in total business volume among the 1,100 North American Van Lines agents in 1956.

Hart was notified of the impressive performance by North American’s CEO in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

In 1957, Hart used $102,000 to purchase the former Sears Roebuck Co. warehouse at 411 South First Street, across from the N. Porter Saddle & Harness shop. The Republic noted that T.C. McReynolds built the 46,000-square-foot building before World War II. The warehouse building is Top left: H&R setting new light columns at ASU’s Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, 1958.

Above: An 80-ton gantry crane loading a Treadwell ladle onto an H&R semi-trailer during construction at Glen Canyon Dam, 1960.

Left: Hart (H.J.) as a member of the El Zaribah Shrine clowns, 1950s.

Below: H&R measuring tape, 1950s.

Image Courtesy of H&R

FIFTY TWO

MAY JUNE 2024

PacWest RENTALS

HEAVY EQUIPMENT RENTALS AND SALES Locally Owned & Operated Articulated Dump Trucks · Dozers · Excavators · Scrapers Motor Graders (grade control available) · Wheel Loaders Water Wagons · Water Trucks · Fuel & Lube Trucks Mechanics Trucks · Stand Tanks · Water Pumps · Compactors

still part of Downtown Phoenix’s landscape. H&R Transfer & Storage also operated in Flagstaff at 1941 East Butler Avenue and in Sierra Vista. Both locations opened in 1959.

Hart later launched the H&R Investment Corp, for which he built an 8,000-square-foot air-conditioned warehouse at 525 South Central Avenue in Phoenix. The building housed computers and electronic gear and served as an administrative center.

Three of Elvis Baker’s four sons, Tom, Dick, and Harry, were involved with H&R. “At 16, I worked in the shop during summer break in 1967,” recalls Dick Baker. “During school, I would finish up and head directly over to H&R and gas up the trucks at night.”

In 1966, Hart suffered a heart attack. “I had just received my driver’s license when Harold had the heart attack,” Tom Baker recalls. “I was in the car with my mom and Harold, and she kept telling me to go faster.

I was speeding very fast when I was passed by a police car. I thought for sure he was going to pull me over just as I got my license, but luckily, he didn’t.”

By the early 1970s, the H&R umbrella had around 100 employees, with a business of $1.3 million annually. Upon retiring in 1971, Hart divided H&R between Elvis Baker and Quentin K. Zeigler.

“Hart’s heart attack prevented him from doing physical activities,” Tom Baker says. “Despite this, he still traveled, was a novice artist, and made ceramics. H.J. Hart died on November 7, 1984, at Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital.

ARIZCC.COM

James Bagshaw

Rental Account Manager jbagshaw@pacwestrentals.com

602-723-6838

Justin Peterson

Rental Account Manager jpeterson@pacwestrentals.com

Tyler Denton

480-737-4885

President tdenton@pacwestrentals.com

Mike Rayala

602-541-3633

Field / Shop Supervisor mrayala@pacwetrentals.com

480-710-9358

Bill Masters

Director of Service bmasters@pacwetrentals.com

480-684-4470

1339 West San Pedro Street, Gilbert AZ 85233

www.pacwestrentals.com Phone: 480-832-0855

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

Images Courtesy of Dick Baker

ELVIS BAKER:

THE “KING” BEHIND MID-STATE TRUCK & RIGGING BILLY HORNER

I

n 1953, a photographer from The Arizona Republic spotted a scene sure to amuse newspaper readers. As part of Hanny’s department store building’s third-floor expansion in Downtown Phoenix, Elvis Baker operated a Bay City crane for the H&R Crane & Rigging Co. on Adams Street.

Baker was joined by Rusty, his Irish setter companion, who calmly sat on a flat part of the machine. “Rusty went everywhere with him, no matter what,” says his son, Tom Baker.

FIFTY FOUR

Elvis Baker loved his dog and was a skilled crane operator and businessman who would later launch Mid-State Truck & Rigging Co. His story is one of several fascinating stories from the H&R Transfer and Storage Co., which his father-in-law, Harold “H.J.” Hart, co-founded in 1939.

Born in 1921, Elvis Leroy Baker moved from Arkansas to Arizona with his family in 1927. Baker had an older sister, Louise, and three younger brothers, Asa, Curtis, and Herbert. The Baker family settled in Tempe

on 4 acres on old Eighth Street, now called University Drive. Baker’s father worked odd jobs, from harvesting fruit and vegetables to lugging 10-pound milk cans from dairies to the local creamery.

Elvis Baker worked at a local grocery store as a teenager. “His nickname was Tuffy,” says Dick Baker, his son. “A big Mexican kid would always bully and beat him up. He finally had enough and took on the kid and beat him to a pulp, to the point another boy told him to stop, that he was going to kill him.”

Above: A Mid-State Mack truck hauling an electrical transformer, 1970s.

Below: Mid-State Truck & Rigging’s yard at 1601 South 19th Avenue in Phoenix, 1970s.

Bottom left: Elvis and Betty Ann Baker standing by an Aeronca Chief airplane, late 1940s.

MAY JUNE 2024

Image Courtesy of Mid-State

Images Courtesy of Tom Baker

Top left: Elvis Baker during World War II, mid1940s Top right: Elvis Baker and his father, Tom Henry (l-r), are painting Elvis’s new home on Eighth Street in Tempe, 1949.

Left: Elvis Baker with his dog onboard a Baker’s Auto Body Cushman scooter, Tempe, 1946.

Above: Elvis Baker and his brother Curt (l-r), who also worked for H&R Transfer, show off their fishing catch in the early 1950s.

Baker graduated from Tempe High School and attended the nearby Payne Training School. At the outbreak of World War II, Baker enlisted in the service at 19, serving in the South Pacific. He was a flight engineer and top turret gunner on a B-25 medium bomber in the 13th U.S. Army Air Force. “My dad did a lot of low-level missions, dropping para-frag bombs, equipped with parachutes slowing the bombs down for the planes to clear the area,” Dick Baker says. Baker made the rank of sergeant before he returned home. In a 1986 interview ARIZCC.COM

with Arizona Flyways, Baker stated he flew 87 missions in battles stretching from Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands to the Philippines and sunk many Japanese ships.

Once stateside, Baker returned to Eighth Street and started Baker’s Body Shop, hiring his future brother-in-law, Quentin Zeigler. The business didn’t last long as a fire destroyed the building. Baker subsequently met a neighbor, Betty Ann Hart, and they married in 1947. Coincidentally, Betty Ann’s sister, Jean Hart, was dating Zeigler. After the shop fire, both men

went to work for the H&R Crane & Rigging Co., owned by Hart, his father-in-law.

“He was an inventive guy,” Dick Baker says of his father, Elvis Baker. “He took a 1945 Studebaker G.I. truck and mounted a 30-foot stick of pipe on the rear for a boom, with some sheaves and a winch connected to the truck’s transmission. It was a ‘stiff leg’ truck, meaning if you wanted to change the direction of the boom, you had to move the truck around accordingly.

While positioning the truck, he removed the rear window and reached through the ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

Images Courtesy of Mid-State

Above: Mid-State transporting an International Harvester axle and wheels with a Mack truck, 1970s.

Right: Elvis Baker using a forklift to move a smaller forklift, 1987.

opening to work the crane levers. With the PTO engaged and the truck in neutral, he controlled the winch by working his foot on and off the clutch. As he pushed on the gas, the crane would go faster. The front of the truck was packed with steel punching as ballast for a counterweight.”

Elvis Baker was a resourceful person in other ways, too. With the help of his father, Tom Henry, he dismantled former U.S. Army barracks at the Camp Papago Park POW internment facility and used the wood to build his first house.

H&R Crane & Rigging contracted with the City of Phoenix to transport and plant palm trees along Central Avenue. “He played a big part in coordinating and moving all the trees for that contract,” Dick

Bakers says. “H&R also did heavy hauling for large contractors, like M.M. Sundt.”

Throughout the 1960s, Baker excelled as a crane operator and performed shop duties and rigging supervision, and his two oldest sons also were H&R employees.

“Dick and I worked the night shift to earn extra cash, fueling and servicing all the equipment at night,” Tom Baker says.

When Hart retired in 1971, he divided the assets between his two sons-in-law.

Zeigler took the Bay City cranes, hoping to branch out independently, but soon sold the assets and retired to a homemade cabin at Roosevelt Lake Estates near Globe.

Baker acquired three B-Model Mack trucks, two forklifts, and a self-made tilt-bed trailer from H&R. He rented a yard at 1601 South

19th Avenue and opened Mid-State Truck & Rigging in 1972.

Baker preferred Mack trucks for his rigging operations. In 1970, the Mack Company started its “All-American Truck” ad campaign and painted its truck fleets in a patriotic red, white, and blue scheme. “He loved the idea and decided the scheme would also be Mid-State’s company colors,” Dick Baker says. There are still hints of the old Mid-State color schemes around Phoenix as Southwest Industrial Rigging (SWIR) still operates a few with this pattern.

Mid-State was successful into the 1980s and hauled unique equipment to some interesting places. Dick Baker brought the first 4100 Manitowoc crane from the railyard at Arlington, west of Buckeye, to Left: Betty Ann and Elvis Baker with their five kids: Dick, John, Marsha, Tom, and Harry Baker (l-r), 1970s.

Below: Mid-State loading a plane section onto their heavy haul truck, 1980s.

Images Courtesy of Dick Baker

FIFTY SIX

MAY JUNE 2024

the Palo Verde Generating Station to help construct the nuclear plant. “All three reactor hatch covers were made locally in Buckeye and transported by Mid-State,” he says.

Mid-State also transported a locomotive from the Magma Copper Mine in Superior to Scottsdale’s McCormick Ranch and assisted in moving the heavy machinery from the Reynolds Aluminum plant in Phoenix to South America.

Baker’s daughter Marsha and all four of his sons, Tom, Dick, Harry, and John, worked for Mid-State, with the latter two helping the company’s expansion to Tucson in the early 1980s. Dick later worked for SWIR, which Harry Baker started in 1986.

Harry Baker headquartered SWIR in Casa Grande to avoid competition with Mid-State. When Elvis Baker retired, he sold Mid-State assets to SWIR. Unlike H&R and SWIR, who offered heavy cranes and rigging, Mid-State was primarily a transportation and machinery hauler. They would hire local crane companies to assist with their projects when needed.

Outside of work, Baker enjoyed auto racing and flying. His youngest son, John, raced cars, and Baker helped out in his pit crew. John died in a racing accident in 2002.

Baker later had a home built in Hangar Haciendas, a residential airpark in the foothills of South Mountain. He flew and owned several planes, his first being a 1956 Cessna 182. Baker loaned his rare English de Havilland Tiger Moth airplane to an unlicensed friend to assist in a local commercial. The Moth was destroyed when the pilot lost control attempting to land. Baker also enjoyed woodworking and visiting Harry’s SWIR office. When Elvis Baker died in 2016, a celebration of life was held at the SWIR office, and the Arizona Honor Guard did a flyover to honor his military service.

FEEDERS UNLOADERS AVAILABLE FOR RENT OR PURCHASE IN STOCK MESA, AZ Aggregate Machinery Specialist 3038 N Maple Ave Mesa, AZ 85215

480-730-1212 ARIZCC.COM

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

Images Courtesy of Author

FACILITATOR OF IDEAS: HERBERT W. SCHNEIDER, FAIA JAMES LOGAN ABELL, FAIA

I

f history had been different in ever so subtle ways, architect Herb Schneider might have been a politician, a lawyer, a designer of naval vessels, or a structural engineer. This versatile man, who has had considerable influence on Arizona architecture, had many callings in his career, attesting to his broad vision, versatility, and perseverance.

Schneider grew up in Chicago during the Great Depression of the 1930s. In elementary school, he was interested in naval architecture, but his father’s talent might have influenced him to be a finisher of fine furniture. When his family bought an old house in 1942 on the north side of Chicago that needed many repairs, Schneider recalled that those renovation experiences in his young life that led to his decision to study architecture.

One of Schneider’s earliest memories as a budding, skilled draftsman was in 1947 at Lane Technical School, where he would draft “plates” of machine parts to sell to fellow students at 50 cents a plate.

FIFTY EIGHT

Schneider marveled that his distinctive hand lettering on those plates never gave away his authorship to the instructor.

During this time, he met his wife, Sonja, on a train platform in Chicago in the rain. A born salesman, Schneider talked his way underneath Sonja’s umbrella and they became acquainted while riding the northwest train downtown. Schneider quit his high school studies to work as a draftsman for a sanitary engineering firm, Alvord Burdick Howson Engineering. Sonja “mysteriously” enrolled in swimming lessons at the YMCA, where Schneider continued his high school education at night.

At 19 years old, Schneider graduated from Chicago YMCA Night High School in 1949 and was able to continue his architectural studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1951. Schneider recalls his favorite building of all time was the Neoclassical Museum of Science and Industry, by McKim, Mead & White Architects, designed for the 1893 World’s Columbia Exposition. It was one of the few buildings

Top: NAU J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome, Flagstaff.

Above: Herb Schneider.

to survive from that landmark display of building science.

While studying at the University of Illinois, Schneider joined ROTC, and soon after, he and Sonja were married in 1953.

He graduated with a B.S. in Architecture Engineering in 1955. Unfortunately, although Schneider had a solid education MAY JUNE 2024

Images Courtesy of Author

Above and right: Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind, Tucson.

Below right : Chandler Performing Arts Center, Chandler.

in structural systems and analysis, he was swept up in the stalemate years after the Korean conflict.

Schneider was stationed in Germany in 1956, designing and building concrete bunkers as a First Lieutenant in the Army Corps of Engineers, where he refined his structural engineering interests. Completing his military tour of duty in 1957, the Schneiders left Germany and returned to Chicago.

Owing to the projected growth of the Southwest and Sonja’s hay fever, the couple settled in Phoenix in September of 1957.

Joining the Phoenix firm of Bricker and Busby, Schneider recognized the growing need for public buildings and schools and often performed their structural calculations.

Schneider became a partner in a reorganized firm of Dwight Busby, P.E., AIA, and Paul Crossier, AIA, in 1959, while his family at home grew. The couple’s daughter Susan was born in 1956 and was soon joined by siblings Mark in 1958 and Karen in 1960.

Schneider decided to forego taking the structural engineering licensing exam, and became a registered architect in Arizona in 1961.

Schneider’s career in public architecture led him to become interested in politics. As the architectural partnership ended in 1969, he pondered returning to school to study law. Schneider also considered running for the Arizona State Senate in 1972 and would have likely run unopposed in his home district. But he soon realized that if elected, he would have a conflict in designing civic public works and schools. Instead, Schneider’s friend and fellow architect, Don Gadbery, AIA, convinced him to join the architectural firm of Wendell Rossman & Associates in 1969. Thus, Schneider ARIZCC.COM

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

NAU J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome, Flagstaff.

began an association with Dr. Rossman, AIA that would endure for more than 40 years.

Like Schneider, Rossman was a versatile man, a visionary “tinkerer” and inventor with numerous patents in building systems innovation. Rossman would become Schneider’s mentor and inspire him to impressive accomplishments. Soon, the firm was known as Rossman, Schneider, and Gadbery Architects, with school commissions all over Arizona.

In the early 1970s, Don Gadbery and Schneider embarked on a humanitarian effort in south Phoenix that began as a political outreach project. It quickly transmuted into a wholesale neighborhood improvement project for the Santa Rita neighborhood centered at Seventh Street and Buckeye Road.

The architects helped improve the quality of neighborhood housing and a community library and baseball field were added. In addition, they involved Phoenix Mayor Milton Graham in bringing in former President Lyndon B. Johnson to observe the civic improvements their community outreach effort spawned.

Schneider noted that his favorite assignment was the Northern Arizona SIXTY

Images Courtesy of Author

University J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome, a landmark domed athletic stadium in which Rossman is the credited architect. Opened in September of 1977, the indoor multipurpose stadium was the world’s largest clearspan timber dome until it was surpassed in 1983 by the Tacoma Dome in Washington. Schneider served on many boards and commissions and was one of the founders of the state-wide American Institute of Architects that grew to be known as AIA Arizona.

His legacy may be vested in dozens of civic improvement projects, his service on the Phoenix Fire Safety Board and the State Board of Technical Registration, and his induction to the Arizona Rural School Association Hall of Fame. “I wasn’t a design architect, “ Schneider would note with a smile, “I was a salesman and a facilitator of ideas.”

A good chunk of Arizona’s architectural

history is written by Herb Schneider’s civic and educational buildings that span more than 50 years. Arizona is an even richer place for the efforts of this soldier, politician, lobbyist, go-getter, civic activist, and humanitarian. In 2022, Schneider died at age 91 in Scottsdale.

Other Major Works of Herb Schneider • Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind, Tucson, AZ • ASU Armstrong Hall, College of Law, Tempe, AZ • ASU Stauffer Communication Arts Building [KAET-TV], Tempe, AZ • Chandler Performing Arts Center, Chandler, AZ • George Gardner Performing Arts Center, Holbrook, AZ • Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, WA MAY JUNE 2024

602.282.4007 Marrsconstruction.com

Utilities Private / Municipal

Earth Work / Excavation

Paving

Marrsconstruction.com ARIZCC.COM

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

Image Courtesy of HHS

HIT THE ROAD:

THE EVOLUTION OF ARIZONA’S STREETS AND HIGHWAYS HEATHER ROBERTS

R

oute 66 might be Arizona’s and our nation’s most famous road, but other pathways crisscrossed the state and nation long before that bit of pavement hit the desert sand. Today, roads are mostly thought of by how they relate to cars, but these pathways existed thousands of years before the motorized vehicle.

The oldest known paved roads – mud brick in the Indus Valley and stone in Mesopotamia – date as far back as 4,000 BC. Mayans started building their sacbe, a series of roads, walkways, causeways, and dikes that connected communities throughout their empire, around 600 BC. The Romans (don’t all roads lead to Rome!) and the Chinese also created vast paved road systems, beginning around 300 BC, Above: A horse-drawn wagon sprinkling water on a dirt street in Phoenix, 1900.

Right: Road construction in Tacoma, WA, 1896.

SIXTY TWO

example, Pennsylvania Avenue, which runs in front of the White House, was paved with wood blocks after the Civil War. Asphalt and coal-tar roads consisted of a base of usually stone or concrete and were sealed by tar to extend their life. They Image Courtesy of LOC

which mainly connected trade routes for the latter and military routes for the former.

Many roads in the U.S. began as paths and trails established initially

by Native Americans and used for trade, hunting, and communication. The earliest European immigrants followed those paths and would eventually make improvements to the roads for wagons and carriages.

Until the latter part of the 19th century, road “pavement” would consist of materials like logs, bricks, and stones to create a roadbed. For MAY JUNE 2024

right-hand side and in line with the front gate, is a little wooden bridge covering the ditch.

As early as the late 1870s, city streets were sprinkled with water to reduce dust, which still feels familiar today. In 1893, during a city council meeting, a citizen accused street sprinklers of being paid under the table to favor some roads, thereby neglecting others.

Wealth affected how the city treated a neighborhood’s streets. Early Phoenicians wanted to avoid being taxed to pay for citywide infrastructure but would advocate and even pay for their stretch of road to be graded and graveled. When Phoenix in 1911 specified what materials could be used to pave city streets, owners within the Central Business District paid over $100,000 to have the Barber Asphalt Paving Co., established in 1883, pave their dirt roads.

Wanting more streets to be paved, Phoenix asked the Legislature to pass a measure that forced property owners to foot the bill, putting liens on owners’ property until they were paid. Though their focus seemed to be on paving all city streets, poorer neighborhoods, were overlooked.

These streets remained unpaved well into the second half of the 20th century. Some of those neighborhoods no longer exist, as people were forced out when the interstate freeways expanded through Phoenix.

During the Depression, the federal government created the New Deal, which funded infrastructure nationwide through the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the Public Works Administration (PWA), and Image Courtesy of HHS

Image Courtesy of U.S. National Archives

Above: The Rosson House in Downtown Phoenix, 1900.

Right: A WPA roadbuilding project, 1940.

were built in some urban areas starting in the late 1800s.

In Territorial Arizona, the U.S. Army built the first significant roads to move people through the area. These were constructed first for troops during the Mexican-American War and then for prospective miners heading for the California Gold Rush. As the population grew and the Territorial Legislature was formed, responsibility for road building rested on individual municipalities and counties.

Phoenix mandated street and sidewalk grading in 1886 and gutters in 1887.

City streets at the time were unpaved dirt roads, and many had small ditches that ran along either side to carry water runoff and other, more unsavory things. In the picture of Rosson House taken around 1900, on the ARIZCC.COM

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

Images Courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community

Above: A City of Phoenix Galion roller working asphalt pavement along Monroe Street at Second Avenue, facing northeast, 1962.

Right: A City of Phoenix chip seal program in a residential area along 34th Street in Phoenix, 1959.

Below right: Workers for the Civil Works Administration, shooting hot oil from a boot truck during road mix operations along Henshaw (now Buckeye) Road and 24th Street, 1934.

other programs. These new departments would go on to complete enormous projects like the construction of the Lincoln Tunnel, which connected Manhattan to New Jersey, the Overseas Highway, which connected Florida to Key West, and, closer to home, some aspects of the Salt River Project and the Hoover Dam. But multitudes of smaller projects were completed, including hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in employing Arizonans to improve and pave roads, bridges, and sidewalks in their communities.

As time goes on, so do road infrastructure projects. Last year, the City of Phoenix started a pilot program to coat streets in several neighborhoods with a light grey sealant. The material protects the street surface but reflects light from the sun instead of absorbing it like the darker asphalt, reducing the urban heat island effect. The initial application of this new material produced a 15-degree cooler street surface, and the results of this project look exciting.

Other new technology is changing the roads. Recycled plastics are being used to build new roads, other streets glow in the dark, and still other “smart roads” are equipped with sensors that alert drivers to traffic jams and immediately alert the authorities when a crash occurs. Fingers are crossed that flying cars are next up on that transportation technology list!

SIXTY FOUR

Image Courtesy of AZ Library Archives Public Records

MAY JUNE 2024

MADCO RENTALS

ARIZONA’S NEWEST WATER TRUCK RENTAL FLEET 4,000 Gallon Water Trucks | Skid Steers Rentals

We are here to bust the dust Give us a call today!

480.280.0364 madcorentals.com

By Appointment Only 704 W Happy Valley Rd, Phoenix AZ 85085

ARIZCC.COM

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

Image Courtesy of McCulloch Bros

PETROL PIPEDREAMS:

ARIZONA’S OIL BOOM PRODUCED ONLY GULLIBLE INVESTORS DOUGLAS TOWNE

“T

he smoldering fires of the Arizona Oil boom will burst into flame in the next few weeks—and we predict an oil boom which will shake the state—the like of which has never been seen,” read the full-page advertisement in The Arizona Republican in 1917. “Hundreds will be made millionaires overnight—thousands will be made independent.” Unfortunately, this fantasy of prosperity, inspired by petroleum discoveries in Chino Valley north of Prescott, would prove as elusive as the location of the Lost Dutchman Mine in the Superstition Mountains.

The ill-fated treasure hunt of 1917 was one of a series of speculative oil ventures Right: An advertisement about the Chino Valley oil boom in The Arizona Republican, 1917.

Above: Palo Verde Oil and Refining Co. located at 18 North Second Avenue in Phoenix, 1934.

SIXTY SIX

that sprang up around the state beginning in the early 20th century. However, the exuberant forecasts of wealth drilled into one impenetrable fact: Arizona contains negligible petroleum deposits. “Even today, the statewide production of crude oil equals maybe the daily production from one typical Texas well,” says Kristine Uhlman, a Tucson-based consulting geologist. Despite a legacy of wild claims and unsuccessful wells, the quest for riches from oil exploration was slow to abate in Arizona.

Driven by demand for lamp fuel, the first wells drilled for oil occurred in Pennsylvania in 1859, and by the 1900s, Texas and Southern California were significant producers. The latter state had recently hit the headlines when the Lakeview Number One oil well in Kern County created the largest accidental oil spill in history. The gusher blew the top off the derrick and released a soaring column of sand, rock, and

Image Courtesy of Arizo na Repu

blic

an estimated 9 million barrels of crude oil over 18 months in 1910-11. Drillers had expected to encounter natural gas but hit a pressurized oil pocket that created a river of black gold that workers partially contained by dikes. The company captured about 40 percent of the spill, and the rest seeped back into the earth from which it had come.

Located between these two regions, Arizona seemed well-positioned for petroleum deposits, especially since oil seeps were reported in the territory in the late MAY JUNE 2024

Image Courtesy of SHM

Image Courtesy of Shell Oil Co.

Top: Arizona Oklahoma Oil & Gas Co.’s oil derrick in Chino Valley, 1917.

Above: First oil production well in Arizona, 1954.

Right: An oil well on Navajo tribal land in Arizona, 1970.

Image Courtesy of Steve Rauzi

1890s. But Arizona’s first oil exploration wells, 2,000 feet deep in Chino Valley in 1905 and 1,400 feet deep near Safford the following year, didn’t strike any black gold.

Exploration moved to the Verde Valley in 1911, where promising geological conditions sparked oil claims on more than 58,000 acres, the formation of two ARIZCC.COM

oil companies, and the drilling of one unsuccessful 760-foot well. “Despite the great excitement that surrounded its initial development, the Verde Valley oil boom ended with more activity in the county recorder’s office than in the field itself,” wrote Erik Berg in “Big Boom Predicted: Oil Exploration and Speculation in Northern

Arizona, 1900-1930,” in the Journal of Arizona History in 2000.

Despite such failures, oil prospectors known as “wildcatters” were undeterred mainly because of the high price of petroleum, especially during World War I. At the time, an oil gusher or well that erupted with an unchecked fountain of oil, sand, and ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

mud symbolized sudden wealth. To wildcatters, gushers represented money falling from the sky, but they threw good money after bad searching for one in Arizona.

Wildcatters’ interest refocused on Chino Valley, with the fervor peaking in 1918.

Speculators formed numerous companies to capitalize on the rumored hydrocarbon resources, but few actually drilled wells, and those encountered only traces of oil.

“Many of the Chino companies probably started out with good intentions, but the exaggerated claims and high-power sales Above: California’s Lakeview Number One gusher, the world’s largest oil spill, 1910.

Image Courtesy of Author

SIXTY EIGHT

tactics…left the Chino boom with a lasting reputation as a scam,” Berg wrote.

Oil fever influenced the Arizona Legislature to pass a bill in 1919 providing $10,000 for the first company to develop an oil well that produced at least 50 barrels per day. Governor Thomas Campbell, however, vetoed the proposal. That same year, petroleum interest shifted to the Route 66 town of Holbrook in northeastern Arizona, where prospectors launched the most extensive exploration to date. Geologists cautiously expressed optimism, and the Holbrook Tribune temporarily added “Heart of the New Oil Field” to its masthead.

While the Holbrook “oil rush” provided more excitement than previous

explorations, it too was a bust. Drillers sometimes encountered pockets of natural gas, and one outfit ignited the flow from its well to create a 3-foot-tall blue flame in a public relations stunt. But drilling was expensive, and when the oil companies ran low on funds, the Tribune recommended readers to “buy [stock] until it hurts to support local drilling operations.”

Although limited exploration continued around the state, Arizona didn’t produce any oil until 1954, when a well on Navajo tribal land in Apache County pumped a meager 3.6 barrels a day. The state’s only significant oil deposit, the Dineh-bi-Keyah field, also in Apache County, about 36 miles south of the Four Corners Monument, has produced 19 million barrels of crude since 1967. Production peaked at 35,000 barrels a month, and it currently pumps 12,000 barrels a year.

More recent explorations have been tied to the Rocky Mountain “Overthrust Zone,” which was thought to extend into central Arizona. “The Anschutz Wildcat Oil Well was the deepest well ever drilled in Arizona, 18,013 feet below land surface, east of the Picacho Mountains in 1981,” says Frank Corkhill, an engineer associated with the project. “There was essentially no discovery of any hydrocarbons.”

Arizona has the wrong depositional sedimentary environment for oil deposits, according to Uhlman. “You need organic debris transported by water deposited and submerged into a delta, trapped in shale, heated and compressed. As a result, oil forms in the ‘kitchen rock’ and migrates to form pools or remains in the shale, which is when they frack to release the oil.”

The geologic history of Arizona shows there have been no opportunities for a delta to form, Uhlman says. “The river that would have transported the carbon for deposit would have needed to drain a very high-carbon/organic watershed, like the Mississippi River. Geologically, Arizona did not have that. We do have tons of salt from evaporation! Just not the organic-rich watersheds discharging organic sediment into a delta.” Still, optimism reigns with more than 1,100 oil wells having been drilled in the state.

The state’s repeated oil rushes, created by hopeful geology and hyperbolic claims, proved profitable for promotors who attracted investors even though no petroleum was discovered.

But Arizona wasn’t unique in this aspect, according to Steve Rauzi, a former oil and gas administrator at Arizona Geological Survey. “The early oil fever swept through most of the Southwest. Some areas just turned out better than others.”

MAY JUNE 2024

ARIZCC.COM

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

SALUTING ARIZONA’S BUILDERS: EMERY HARPER DOUGLAS TOWNE

P

aul “Emery” Harper worked in the construction industry for a staggering 68 years as a contractor and materials provider. Harper was still helping out his family business, Circle H Sand & Rock in Buckeye, shortly before his death at 92 in 2020.

There was no holding Harper back, a characteristic he showed as a linebacker and defensive signal caller on ASU (then called Arizona State College) football teams in the early 1950s. Harper also showed longevity in his nuptials after marrying Shirley Wirth in 1952. They shared 66 years before her passing in 2018. Here’s a short recap Top right: Emery Harper as a football player at ASU (then called Arizona State College) in 1950.

Above: Arizona State football schedule, 1951.

Right: An Allis Chalmers TD-24 pushing material to a Pioneer 150 crushing plant, which feeds material to Harper’s 10-wheeler dump truck during aggregate operations, 1958.

PAGE

of Harper’s remarkable life.

Harper was born into a family of Arizona pioneers in 1928. His parents, Frank A. and Eva Hill Harper mined aggregate at the Salt River near Seventh Street, later the location of the Arizona Sand and Rock Company. Earlier, his father hauled water using mule teams for the Clifton mines in eastern Arizona.

Emery’s grandfather, Ira Harper, started one of the state’s first sawmills in Alpine.

But when Harper was nine, his father died in an auto accident, leaving behind a wife and nine children during the Great Depression. The family moved to 13th Avenue and Camelback Road, where Harper attended Osborn Elementary School #3. He’d skip school to

Images Courtesy of Emery Harper

MAY JUNE 2024

hang out at Chris Harri’s dairy farm, the current location of Christown Mall. “Chris used to let me ride the tractor with him, and he made sure I got home safely,” Harper said in a 2016 interview.

Times were tough, and Harper bounced around, living with family members before settling with his older sister, Evelyn, near 28th and Belmont [Northern] avenues. He attended Washington Grammar School, excelled at softball, and often ditched school to earn money plowing farm fields. His seventh-grade teacher, Mrs. Pennington, noticed him working. She promised he could play softball if he came back to school. “Who knows where I’d have ended up if it wasn’t for her,” Harper reflected.

At Glendale High School, Harper became friends with country singer Marty Robbins. Robbins performed at Fred Kare’s Cocktail Lounge at 4806 East Van Buren and, later, at the Riverside Ballroom on Central Avenue with Buster Fite and His Western Playboys. “My friends and I would listen to him sing,” Harper said. “Once, these guys harassed Marty, and we told them to shut up or step

outside. They were silent after that.”

Shirley in Wickenburg, and the couple had Harper earned 14 letters in basketball, three sons: Randy, Ronnie, and Larry. football, track, and baseball before graduHarper opened Tempe Sand & Gravating in 1948. He received a football and el with his brothers, Dean and Morgan, track scholarship to ASU, where he played in 1959. He closed the business in 1962 linebacker from 1948-1951. Harper’s team because of a labor strike and a bad econwas twice invited to omy and returned to the long-defunct Salgeneral contracting and ad Bowl at Phoenix’s “THEY FILLED A CEMENT MIXER road building. His next Montgomery Stadium. FROM THE ARIZONA SAND & ROCK business was a materiAlthough Harper’s team als pit at Skunk Creek, COMPANY WITH LETTUCE AND which opened in 1967. lost both games, the toughest opponent was OTHER FIXINGS AND TURNED ON Emery and his sons later the field. “The turf was Harper Sand THE MIXER TO CREATE A HUGE launched like concrete; my cleats & Rock at 115th Avewouldn’t even go in,” nue and the Gila River in TOSSED SALAD!” Harper recalled. “I could 1988. Tragedy struck the barely walk by the end of the game from successful business when his youngest son, hitting the ground.”

Larry, died in a work accident two years Although the Salad Bowl only lasted later. a handful of years, festivities included a In 1999, Harper and his sons opened memorable parade float. “They took a ce- Circle H Sand & Rock at El Mirage Road and ment mixer from the Arizona Sand & Rock Southern Avenue. Emery, his two sons, and Company and filled it with lettuce and oth- two grandsons made for three consecutive er fixings,” Harper recalled. “My brother-in- generations working together in the state’s law, J.H. Robbins, was the truck driver and construction industry. Not many can make turned on the mixer, creating a tossed sal- that claim. ad everyone could enjoy.”

In 1952, after college, he started his Below left: Dean Harper, Alvin Hill, and own company, Emery Harper Contracting, Emery Harper (l-r), standing with Harper’s Pioneer 150 crushing plant during doing road building and hauling with Jim new construction of 3 miles of Attaway Road near Bond, Halsey Royden, Bailey Sanner, Coolidge, 1958. and Gus Gustafson. That same Below: Harper at his Circle H Sand & Rock year, he married office in Buckeye, 2016.

Images Courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community

ARIZCC.COM

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

CONSTRUCTION AND LANDSCAPING EQUIPMENT RENTAL SPECIALISTS EARTH MOVERS Backhoes, Mini Excavators, Excavators, Wheel Loaders, Skip Loaders, Skid Steers, Motor Graders, Trenchers AERIAL EQUIPMENT Telehandlers, Boom Lifts, Scissor Lifts WATER EQUIPMENT Water Towers, 500 Gallon Water Wagons, 2000 Gallon Water Trucks, Hurricane Pumps TRAILERS Dump Trailers, Equipment Trailers MAINTENANCE Chippers, Sod Cutters, Stump Grinders, Backpack Blowers

FORREST EQUIPMENT RENTALS BRIAN COLLINS

Vice President of Sales 602-620-2383

bcollins@forrestequipmentrentals.com

CONSTRUCTION Compressors, Jumping Jack’s, Plate Tampers, Concrete Saws, Rollers

MANNY UCHIDA

Branch Manager 602-831-8000

info@forrestequipmentrentals.com

16835 W OLIVE AVE, WADDELL, AZ 85355 |

ELECTRICAL Generators, Light Towers

FORRESTEQUIPMENTRENTALS.COM

BRANTLEY GALLIMORE TRAFFIC CONTROL SERVICES

DBE/SBE Certified Contractor

Jeff Martinez

(602) 622-6789

Jeff.martinez@rtunderground.com

AZROC 306671

SEVENTY TWO

4950 W Watkins St Phoenix AZ, 85043

O. (623) 879-0610 I F. (623) 879-0611 E. BRANTLEY@METROTRAFFICCONTROL.NET

MAY JUNE 2024

GIFT A SUBSCRIPTION & PUT A SMILE ON SOMEONE’S FACE

PROUDLY SERVING ARIZONA! CONTACT US (602)817-6929

www.calportland.com

EXPECT MORE ... WE DELIVER!

®

SUBSCRIBE TODAY AT ARIZCC.COM/SUBSCRIBE

PHOENIX | TUCSON | FLAGSTAFF CRANES • MACHINERY MOVING • HEAVY HAUL

SWIRUSA.COM

ve o M e W ! t s e w h t The Sou

24/7 ON CALL SERVICE

ARIZCC.COM

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

OLD SCHOOL EQUIPMENT: THE EAGLE LOADER: AN ELEVATING OPTION BEFORE PADDLEWHEEL SCRAPERS BILLY HORNER

I

n the early 1900s, C.L. Woods was an Ohio distributor of Eagle Tractors. He watched farmers improve their dirt roads in the nearby area by adding cobblestones from their fields. Woods took this idea further and created a small jaw crusher to attach to a tractor to crush the stones for road surfaces. His employer, Eagle Tractors, wasn’t impressed with the machine, so Woods founded the Eagle Crusher Company in 1915 in Kenton, Ohio.

Although Eagle Tractors eventually ceased production, Eagle Crusher Company succeeded with its innovations. Woods sold a quarter of the company to Ralph Cobey, facilitating its expansion. By 1952, Cobey acquired the remaining 75 percent and relocated the manufacturing operation to Galion, Ohio.

In the early 1950s, Shriver Machinery Company at 1756 Grand Avenue in Phoenix carried the Eagle Crusher line. Superior Equipment Company, at 2221 South 19th Avenue, would later pick up the Eagle Crusher line through the 1960s. Elevating

PAGE

scrapers were not yet commonplace, and contractors sought out effective methods to pick up loose material. Local contractors like Emery Harper used Eagle’s 400-A loader to move loose dirt between the curbs.

Other Phoenix contractors used similar versions produced by competing manufacturers (see ACC magazine, Volume 10, Issue 3).

The Eagle 400-A loader was attached at the rear of a 6-wheeled flatbed truck.

Operated by one man, a truck driver would straddle a windrow, accelerating the truck in reverse. The self-feeding augers would carry the straddled loose windrow material up the bucket flights and out a chute. The chute hovered over the driver’s cab, where the driver could visually swing the chute with hydraulics in

any direction. This flexibility allowed a dump truck to access either side of the Eagle’s chute.

As manufacturers refined the elevating method of picking up loose material in the late 1950s and 1960s via the elevating or “paddlewheel” scraper, Eagle Crusher abandoned the reverse-driven elevating loader concept and focused on other markets in crushing, aggregates, and recycling.

These days, an internet search for Eagle 400-A elevating machines returns only a few advertisements placed by the company in the 1950s.

MAY JUNE 2024

Images Courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community

Left: An Eagle Crusher operated by the Ohio Department of Transportation loads dirt.

Top: Eagle Loader advertisement, 1954.

Above: Eagle Crusher Co. mentioned in an advertisement for Superior Equipment Co., 1953.

Right: Phoenix contractor Emery Harper uses an Eagle Loader for road construction, 1954.

ARIZCC.COM

Images Courtesy of Galion History Center

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

535 N 51ST AVE PHOENIX, AZ 85043

PARTS - SALES - SERVICE

FULL SERVICE SHOP PARKING AND STORAGE TRAILER SALES PARTS AND REPAIR

(602)415-0222 Superstition Trailers in Phoenix, AZ, have mechanics specializing in heavy and light trucks, trailers, and semi equipment.

We are trained to handle everything from oil changes and engine rebuilds to delicate aluminum welding.

Our shop is open late and on Saturdays.

We are your one-stop truck and trailer shop!

JOBSITE TECHNOLOGY ASK US ABOUT › Trimble Grade Control Systems › Paving Solutions › GPS & Total Stations

› Site Hardware › UAV › Support, Repair & Training

SITECH SOUTHWEST 602-691-7501 | sitechsw.com 1835 S. MACDONALD DR. STE 101 | MESA, AZ 85210

SEVENTY SIX

MAY JUNE 2024

Sales@korfab.us 602.309.2009 www.KorFab.us 23724 N. Central AVE

TUSCON

(520) 682-2158

SIERRA VISTA

(520) 378-2321

GLOBE

(928) 425-5775

YUMA

(928) 343-4150

PHOENIX

(602) 416-2652

FLAGSTAFF

(928) 526-5250

PRESCOTT

(928) 443-9207

CAMP VERDE

(928) 567-0893

BULLHEAD

(928) 763-1022

A GLOBAL READY-MIX, AGGREGATES, ASPHALT, AND CEMENT SUPPLIER

CEMEXUSA.COM ARIZCC.COM

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

BUILDING ON THE PAST

1980: RAILCAR DINING AT MCDONALD‘S BILLY HORNER

W

ho knew that McDonald’s, a drive-up burger chain that hit it big during America’s love affair with the auto in the 1950s, took a retro turn to railroad cars in the 1980s?

This unusual tale of rolling stock at a fast-food restaurant began in Xenia, Ohio.

In 1973, according to the Xenia Daily Gazette, a McDonald’s marketing campaign featured a caboose converted into a 22seat birthday party room for children, which would travel around the city. The campaign’s popularity influenced the fastfood chain to acquire and convert other retired train cabooses.

In Arizona, Mesa resident Dick Baker helped transport a Missouri Pacific Railroad caboose to the McDonald’s at 23rd Avenue and Bethany Home Road in 1980. “In 1979, Mid-State Truck and Rigging Co. had just purchased a new trailer from Cozad in Stockon, California,” Baker says. “I drove our 1979 Mack Superliner to Cozad and hitched up the 7-axle red trailer. Another friend of ours, Clyde McDonald, purchased a blue trailer, which was stacked on top of our red trailer, and I drove back them both to Phoenix.”

Baker used the new 10-foot-wide Cozad trailer to haul one of the cabooses. A Marco carrier crane hoisted them from the trailer into position just west of the restaurant. Although the process took one day, much preparation went on before anything was moved. Employees from Mid-State and Marco had to visit the site and check the power lines, streetlights, and parking

PAGE

lot access to determine how to get a heavy haul in and out safely.

This McDonald’s was the only one in Arizona to feature a railroad theme. In addition to the two birthday cabooses, a G-scale train in the restaurant’s dining area circled above patrons on a small track along the ceiling’s perimeter.

In January 1989, McDonald’s marketing manager Linda Kingery told The Arizona Republic that the two cabooses, valued at $70,000-$100,000, were no longer needed. McDonald’s Corporation encouraged franchises to dispose of the caboose units due to liability issues. McDonald’s offered to donate them to the City of Scottsdale for static displays at McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park. The offer was accepted a month later.

“Caboose #13150 is an ex-Texas and Pacific Railway steel caboose, built in May 1955 and retired September 1978, then sold to a private company,” says Kevin Love, president of Missouri Pacific Historical Society. “In 1951, caboose #12283 was built in the Missouri Pacific’s Sedalia, Missouri shop and retired in December 1978.” Both units made their way along rails to Phoenix, where Baker picked them up.

“The cabooses, now labeled as Paradise & Pacific Railroad, were first placed in the back of the park surrounding the birthday party area, then relocated to the front of the park in 1997,” says Darryl Grimes, the park’s Special Events Coordinator. “In 2009, they were moved to the park entrance.”

Images Courtesy of Mid-State

Right: Missouri Pacific Lines caboose #13150 arrives on Baker’s trailer, with the now demolished Bethany Theater in the background, 1980.

Above: Missouri Pacific Lines caboose #13150 being loaded off the transport, with caboose #12283 already set in place, 1980.

Below: Paradise & Pacific cabooses during transport from the rear of McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park to the front entrance, 2009.

Image Courtesy of City MAY JUNE 2024of Scottsdale

ARIZCC.COM

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

THE LEADER IN PROVIDING TEMPORARY POWER GENERATION SYSTEMS IN THE GREATER PHOENIX AREA

Landco Rentals offers: • Emergency 24-hour response and service • Rugged DOT approved trailers with Portable generator set’s ranging from 20kw-2000kw • Ultra silent Generators • Standby generator capabilities that are Bio diesel capable • Onsite powered light towers along with electric light tower options • Fuel containment for generators • On site fueling • Cable’s for all applications • Electrical Distribution panels and transformers 480-788-1333 info@landcorentals.com 222 S. 52nd St, Suite 2 Tempe AZ 85281

Leaders In The Aggregate Industry

#1 ASTEC Dealer In USA RANKED BY SALES, SERVICE AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

EQUIPMENT | SALES | RENTALS | PARTS | SERVICE

ARIZONA OFFICE (623) 594-5401 5 Locations: NV | NV | UT | AZ | CA EIGHTY

www.goodfellowcorp.com MAY JUNE 2024

ARIZCC.COM

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

P

ayson, located at the base of the Mogollon Rim in the Tonto National Forest, was once a remote town populated by cowboys and lumberjacks. Author Zane Grey used this rugged landscape and its characters as the basis of several Western novels.

These days, retirees comprise much of the town, which has grown to over 16,000 full-time residents. On summer weekends, the community’s population spikes much higher with an exodus of people from the Valley seeking cooler temperatures.

Driving through Payson, I noticed contemporary architecture appropriate for this mountain community. Let’s focus on some examples. The first three projects are on the Beeline Highway near the same intersection.

PNC Branch Bank, formerly Arizona Bank, is located at 613 South Beeline Highway and appears to have been built in the 1960s. The architecture is a humble one-story structure with a lobby, teller line, offices, and a drive-through canopy.

The structure uses a wood post and beam system fully expressed on the exterior and notched to preserve an original tree.

Bearing walls and column piers are natural

Architect’s Perspective: Payson: Architecture Among The Trees Doug Sydnor, FAIA Doug_sydnor@outlook.com stones in horizontal layers and suggest the local geological formations. Exterior nonbearing walls are clad in a wood board and batten siding, which visually contrasts with the stone horizontal patterning.

Full-height glass fills the gaps between the stone walls. Low-pitched roof cantilevers beyond the walls below provide a horizontal fascia that pulls the composition together. This architecture, constructed of local natural materials, is a quiet, elegant piece that addresses the street and aesthetically fits the tree-covered surroundings.

The U.S. Post Office at 100 West Frontier has a rectangular plan, with its long axis perpendicular to the street frontage

and parking along its side. A shaded arcade with full-height glazing in the public lobby provides an open and inviting character. This transparent front also allows the public and staff to view the interior space from a public safety perspective easily. A landscaped planter at the glass provides a pleasant setting for the building and visually connects the outdoors with the indoor spaces.

The structure is masonry with a long planar wall of a tan color, the main structure of off-white stacked concrete masonry units, steel tube framing at the lobby, and wood accents at outreaching canopies.

The roof has a pitched gable of red metal panels. The narrow end has angled and extended walls that give the street a sculptural presence and visual depth. The interior space is tall, with abundant daylight, and it is very spacious and has a comfortable ambiance. This post office was given design flexibility to be sensitive to Payson and its natural environment.

Gila County Community Action Program occupies a relatively new facility at 514 South Beeline Highway that was designed by the Tempe-based architectural firm Architekton. Despite its utilitarian nature, the structure is carefully composed of one-story forms flanking a two-story Left: PNC Branch Bank.

Below: U.S. Post Office.

Images Courtesy of Author

EIGHTY TWO

MAY JUNE 2024

Images Courtesy of Author

Left: Gila County Community Action Program.

Above: Mount Cross Lutheran Church.

Below: Hershberger Residence.

structure with higher clerestory windows for interior daylighting. A recessed and glazed area is an identifiable entry with a generously sized canopy for shelter from the elements. Building forms are clad in vertical metal siding, simulating the more historic wood board and batten. The siding is typically brown with tan accent walls that have an understated but sculptural appearance. The structure fits Payson’s beautiful mountain setting.

Founded in 1967, Mount Cross Lutheran Church at 601 East Arizona Highway 260 sits gracefully among a grove of tall pine trees. The floor plan is U-shaped, with a large forecourt as a multi-functional outdoor space for special events. The entry court frames a view of the dramatic sanctuary entry with its tall cantilevered canopy constructed of diagonal steel struts supporting a wood-framed soffit. The courtyard is flanked by one-story structures for the church offices, classrooms, and support spaces.

Each building component has pitched and strategically composed roofs to focus on the higher sanctuary. Exterior windows are carefully positioned, held higher for privacy and noise mitigation from the surrounding streets, and introduce natural daylighting into the interior spaces, particularly the sanctuary. Building forms are clad in a horizontal siding with a crème color and above a brown siding just below the cantilevered wood-framed soffits. Despite the church’s size, the architect thoughtfully broke down its overall scale and delivered an inviting result. The church is very respectful of its site and how it lightly rests among the trees.

The Hershberger Residence is located on North Forest Park Drive. Robert Hershberger, Ph.D., FAIA, former University of Arizona Architecture Department Dean and ASU Professor of Architecture, was the architect of this retirement home in Payson.

ARIZCC.COM

This 2,900-square-foot residence built in 2004 is at the end of a narrow residential street lined with tall trees on a sloping triangular-shaped lot. Most would avoid such a property, but architects enjoy tackling such sites as they encourage creativity. The residence is two-story with an entry, living room, kitchen, dining room, and bedrooms on the second level, and at the lower level, an artist’s studio, garage, and rainwater storage tanks. A wood-framed roof structure has a butterfly profile for rainwater harvesting and is supported by steel columns. The retaining walls are stacked masonry units, and the upper walls are wood framed with siding. Exterior warm colors, such as the brown and green roof fascia, visually reference the natural colors of the landscape.

The priority was to have an energy-efficient structure reflected in a host of passive concepts, natural materials, and active systems. On the south side, an attached greenhouse mitigates the extreme temperatures throughout the year and is ideal for plants. Daylighting is exploited to bathe the interior spaces throughout the day

and minimize the energy use with artificial lighting.

“I thought of the house as a flower in the forest collecting rain into its roots and sunshine into its leaves,” Hershberger says. “We selected the site because of the surrounding Ponderosa pines and location near the center of town. The primary determinants of form were our lifestyle values and views of the forest canopy and ever-changing sky.”

In recent years, golf course developments with custom homes and escalating construction costs are creating affordable housing issues for Payson’s nurses, teachers, public safety personnel, and retail workers. Commuting from the Phoenix area for work is too far and costly. This community challenge appears to need a holistic master planning initiative to better understand Payson’s future ability to address them.

Douglas B. Sydnor, FAIA, is a Principal at Douglas Sydnor Architect + Associates, Inc. and the author of three architectural books.

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

You will never have to “beware” with Silver Service®.

The normal rules of business just don’t apply here.

Period.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IS OUR ONLY POLICY®

Scan to learn more about how Silver Service® is the safety net you’ve been waiting for!

arnoldmachinery.com

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IS OUR ONLY POLICY® 385-503-4114

CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT • MATERIAL HANDLING EQUIPMENT • MINING EQUIPMENT • GENERAL IMPLEMENT DISTRIBUTORS

PREMIER LUBRICANT & FUEL DISTRIBUTOR SERVING ARIZONA & SOUTHERN NEVADA

USED OIL RECOVERY SERVICES

602-759-5559 | NEWWESTOIL.COM ARIZCC.COM

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

DIGGING THROUGH THE ARCHIVES: THE HEAVY HAULING CAREER OF DICK BAKER BILLY HORNER

D

ick Baker isn’t just the son of Elvis Baker, who was the expertise behind Mid-State Trucking & Rigging. Dick Baker possessed exceptional transport hauling skills, too, according to Tom Wilkerson, a fellow veteran of the Arizona crane and rigging community. When I reached out to interview Dick Baker, he told me, “I may be old, but my memory is still sharp!”

Baker’s passage into trucking began at 16 when he spent his after-school hours fueling trucks and weekends tinkering in his grandfather’s shop at H&R Transfer and

Images Courtesy of Mid-State

EIGHTY SIX

Storage Co. In those mid-1960s summers, he found himself behind the wheel of a pickup truck, trailing H&R’s Bay City cranes to ensure road safety. “Back then, trailing a crane with 80 feet of boom was the norm,” he says. “The crane oiler would steer the carrier while the operator, perched in the crane seat, managed the turns, deftly maneuvering to avoid collisions.”

Baker’s transition to a driving role at H&R was serendipitous, as he stepped in to fill an employee who was unexpectedly terminated. Alongside refueling freight trucks,

Image Courtesy of Dick Baker

Baker mastered the art of shifting various truck and crane configurations, relying on shift patterns affixed above the windshield.

He vividly described H&R’s diesel trucks, devoid of air conditioning, power steering, or brakes, equipped with twin sticks and 5x4 transmissions—a testament to the manual dexterity required in that era.

With his father’s establishment of Mid-State in 1972, Baker embraced the challenge of piloting their new heavyhaul Mack truck. Among his inaugural Top left: Dick Baker standing next to the trailer being loaded with a locomotive from Magma Copper Mine, 1980s.

Above: Dick Baker standing by a giant equipment tire, 1977.

Below: Transporting a locomotive from Magma Copper Mine in Superior to McCormick Ranch in Scottsdale, 1980s.

MAY JUNE 2024

Images Courtesy of Mid-State

Above: Back view of Baker’s rig, showing the locomotive on Ironwood Drive and Apache Trail in Apache Junction, 1980s.

Right: Flushing a 5,000-pound cylinder housing from an extrusion press at the Reynolds Aluminum plant, 1987.

Below: Baker’s rig hauling the cylinder press to a local shipping yard for departure to South America, 1987.

assignments was transporting two colossal 18-foot diameter rings destined for the City Service Smelter in Miami. The rings were damaged at a Phoenix railyard, so Baker first moved them to Pasco Gear & Machine for repairs before continuing their transport to the mine. This project exemplified Mid-State’s commitment to reliable transport solutions.

ARIZCC.COM

Baker’s memorable undertakings included relocating a locomotive from Magma Copper Mine in Superior to McCormick Ranch in Scottsdale, a task shared with his brother Harry. Negotiating through narrow city streets before the completion of the Superstition Freeway, the Mid-State crew showcased their expertise in overcoming logistical challenges to deliver cargo safely.

Baker recalled a particularly tense assignment during the Cold War era when he transported a U.S. Army tank from Yuma Proving Grounds to the Belmont Army Depot near Flagstaff, an event shrouded in secrecy to evade detection by Soviet satellites. An encounter with a spirited young military policeman, who brandished his M-16 automatic rifle in jest, prompted

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

Left: The dilapidated remains of the Reynolds Aluminum plant, 1987.

Below: Dick Baker, with Elvis in the background, 1980s.

Images Courtesy of Mid-State

Baker to assert his authority, prioritizing safety amidst geopolitical tensions.

While en route, the ambitious soldier waved his M-16, pretending to shoot at passing billboards. Baker finally became so angry that he pulled the truck over. A military superior in the chase car behind him wanted to know what was wrong. “I didn’t want to catch a bullet and wanted the kid to just sit still in the cab with his weapon unloaded,” he said. “If the Russians were going to attack, he would have plenty of time to load his weapon.”

Baker’s recollections paint a vivid picture of his experiences, including navigating the decaying Reynolds Aluminum plant at 35th Avenue and Van Buren Street, where he assisted in the dismantling and removal of machinery for shipping. “The plant was incredibly nasty,” Baker recalled. “The entire floor was dilapidated, and wood sheets were placed over the top of the concrete.

Anytime aluminum was spilled, sheets of wood would be replaced.”

Reynolds had sold off their machinery to various companies after closing. “There were three underground tunnels under the plant for immediate evacuation, as it was built during World War II,” he says. “MidState helped dismantle various parts of machinery and hauled it off to various shipping rail yards, most of which went overseas to South America.”

One of Baker’s most memorable projects was his involvement in the early stages of the Central Arizona Project (CAP) construction, an aqueduct that runs from the Colorado River to Tucson. Baker’s journey

started at a rail siding in Parker, Arizona, where he picked up a cutterhead that would rotate to excavate the face of a bore.

He backed his 7-axle rig down inside the canal, 1.5 miles to the face of the mountain.

The cutterhead was lifted off the truck, where the drilling would start heading towards Lake Havasu.

Stints at Anthony Crane and at Crane Service Co. in New Mexico gave Baker diverse perspectives before returning to Arizona to join his brother Harry’s company,

Southwest Industrial Rigging (SWIR). Transitioning from heavy-haul driving to managerial roles, Baker contributed his wealth of knowledge until his well-deserved retirement in Mesa.

As I wrapped up my conversation with Dick Baker, it became clear that his extensive experience on the road and profound understanding of trucks and industry history served as a testament to resilience, ingenuity, and an unwavering passion for the art of hauling.

Right: Baker’s rig loaded with an MX intercontinental ballistic missile, built at Marathon Steel in Phoenix, 1984.

EIGHTY EIGHT

MAY JUNE 2024

BID RESULTS MARCH APRIL 2024

BID AWARDS JUNE 1959

Overgaard Camperland Rd (260-B-NFA) VSS International $1,443,522 3/8/24

Control Rd Roberts Mesa (GGI-0(218)T) Show Low Construction Inc. $682,377 3/15/24

Bob Stump Memorial Parkway (303-A-NFA) Combs Construction Co. $3,688,708 4/5/24

Vinson Const., Phoenix $199,905 Installing water lines/and 45 hydrants Northwesterly section of Phoenix

Nogales Baffert Dr (N0G-0-(210)T) (REBID) Whelcon Contractors $680,385 3/8/24

Switzer Canyon FUTS Trail Falcone Brothers & Associates $2,491,019 3/19/24

Benson Steins East Benson (010-F-NFA) Sunland Asphalt $2,991,941 4/5/24

Kenneth Ethridge, Tucson $118,744 Rebuilding 1.1 miles on State 177 West of Winkleman

Street Preservation Thatcher 2024 CKC Construction & Materials $860,819 3/12/24

Super Star Car Wash Surprise Parkway Construction & Assoc $1,100,000 3/21/24

Coolidge SR 87 Skousen Rd (087-A(214)T) Paveco Inc $2,276,528 4/5/24

TMK Const. Co., Phoenix $255,084 Improving 5 miles of State 85 10 miles south of Gila Bend

(CMAR) Runway 12R 30L Reconstruction Pulice Construction $40,000,000 3/14/24

Offsite Waterline Construction WG Yates $750,000 3/21/24

West Side Park Improvement Package ALCC Corp $925,200 4/9/24

Emery Harper Const., Glendale $41,063 Seal coating 13 miles U. S. 60 south of Gila-Navajo County

OReilly Auto Parts Tucson Gm Northrup Corp $2,500,000 3/14/24

Joe Tank Road AZ FLAP NAV FR136 Monitor Construction $2,899,999 3/28/24

OMP NextWave Tempe Layton Construction Co. $71,000,000 4/11/24

Skousen Bros., Mesa $162,808 Widening and surfacing 35.5 miles US 66, 24 miles northeast of Kingman

Circle K Pinetop Lakeside Alexander Building Co. $1,500,000 3/14/24

35th Avenue Camelback Road Relief Sewer TALIS Construction Corp. $5,180,324 4/2/24

Superstition Area Water Plant Expansion Garney Companies Inc. $10,000,000 4/11/24

Southern Arizona Contr., Tucson $444,170 Rebuilding 6.6 miles U. S. 80-89 Florence Jet.

Needle Mountain Havasu (040-A(382)T) FNF Construction $24,777,783 3/15/24

Goodyear WRF Expansion Archer Western Walsh Contractors $110,000,000 4/3/24

Airport Center Layton Construction Co. $4,000,000 4/11/24

Tanner Bros. Contr., Phoenix $378,740 Rebuilding 2.5 miles US 66 and US 89 near Flagstaff

Gila Houston Mesa Rd (GGI-0(219)T) Earth Resources Corporation $2,910,697 3/15/24

Civic Center Park Desert Services International $3,626,972 4/4/24

Bowie Jct Safford Hwy (191-B-NFA) Sunland Asphalt $6,559,900 4/12/24

Wittman Contr., Phoenix $44,999 Improving Paradise Ln., 37th St. Robin Hood District

Globe Timber Mtn (060-E-NFA) Sunland Asphalt $1,964,864 3/15/24

Yuma Quartzsite Hwy (095-B(217)T) Fisher Sand & Gravel $6,750,000 4/5/24

Kartchner Cavern State Park (090-A-NFA) VSS International $2,252,522 4/12/24

B.B. Bonner, Flagstaff $600,000 Erecting pumice block plant US 89, 35 miles north of Flagstaff

ASPHALT BUSTERS

Asphalt Pulverizing

Setting the standard for soil stabilization and asphalt pulverization Experienced—over 30 years as a leader in our industry.

Lime Slurry Soil Stabilization Focused—soil stabilization and asphalt pulverizing are our only business.

Cost Effective—our knowledge of the specialized requirements of our region ensure the best possible job at the fairest price.

Cement Soil Stabilization

AZ ROC 327820 A

NINETY

For a bid on your next project, call Kim Crenshaw at 623-936-8800. Visit us online at asphaltbusters.com.

MAY JUNE 2024

P: 623-847-3594 F: 623-931-3693 W: newwesternrentals.com 7909 W. Glendale Ave. Glendale, AZ 85303 Operators available upon request, small jobs such as jobsite prep, grading & Cleanup Light Towers Generators Earthmoving Equipment Aerial Equipment Track-Out Shakers Water Trucks Water towers & Backflows

TUC (520) 822-8333

PHX (602) 368-8797

TUCSON & PHOENIX LONG DISTANCE & LOCAL ARIZCC.COM

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

NINETY TWO

MAY JUNE 2024

&3 CAT CAT

328DL L CR 321DL CR

73,000 lb 54,000 lb

Options: Thumb, Hammer, Wheel

CAT CAT

631E 627K

34 yd 24 yd

Trimble-GPS available for certain models

ARIZCC.COM

ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

PLEASE PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTISERS, THEY MAKE THIS PUBLICATION POSSIBLE! Aggregate Machinery 480-730-1212 aggregatemachinery.net

P. 57

DitchWitch 602-437-0351 ditchwitchwest.com

P. 16

Madco Rentals 480-280-0364 madcorentals.com

P. 65

Sharp Creek Contracting 602-437-3040 sharpcreek.com

P. 15

Arizona Materials 602-278-4444 arizonamaterials.com

P. 8

Dynamic Diesel 602-376-1448 dynamicdieselrepair.com

P. 15

Marrs Construction 602-282-4007 marrsconstruction.com

P. 61

Sitech Southwest 602-691-7501 sitechsw.com

P. 76

Arnold Machinery 385-503-4115 arnoldmachinery.com

P. 84

E&E Companies 480-251-8929

P. 22

MDI Rock 602-569-8722 mdirock.com

P. 22

Solterra Materials 602-531-0454 solterramaterials.com

P. 69

Asphalt Busters 623-936-8800 asphaltbusters.com

P. 90

Earnhardt 480-926-4000 nobullfleet.com

P. 38

Metro Engineering & Survey P. 40 623-466-6640 metroaz.net

Sonsray Machinery 844-sonsray sonsraymachinery.com

P. 24

Baja Ready Mix 602-503-9391 readymixconcreteaz.com

P. 17

ECCO Equipment 602-276-2040 eccoequipment.com

P. BC

Metro Traffic Control 623-879-0610 metrotrafficcontrol.net

P. 72

Southwest Asphalt 480-730-1033 fisherind.com

P. 14

BidJudge 602-456-BIDZ bidjudge.com

P. 72

EES 480-809-4687 emergencyenv.com

P. 6

NCS 928-567-6585 networxcs.com

P. 14

Southwest Industrial Rigging P. 73 602-278-6281 swirusa.com

Bingham 888-969-5516 binghamequipment.com

P. 36

Elite Sports 602-899-9200 elitesportsbuilders.com

P. 17

NECA 602-263-0111 azneca.org

P. 28

Southwest JCB 602-454-9808 SWJCB.com

BKR 905-629-0082 bkrelectronics.com

P. 34

Empire Sales Center 520-582-2050 empirecat.com/eloy

P. 42

New West Oil 602-759-5559 newwestoil.com

P. 85

Specialty Companies Group P. 11 623-582-2385 specialtycompaniesgroup.com

Blueline Grizzly 928-308-1901 bluelinerockgrizzly.com

P. 77

Fisher’s Tools 800-390-4063 fishertools.com

P. 42

New Western Rentals 623-847-3594 newwesternrentals.comw

P. 91

Statewide T&T 602-368-8797

P. 91

Branco Machinery 480-892-5657 brancomachinery.com

P. IFC

Forrest Rents P. 72 602-620-2383 forrestequipmentrentals.com

Otto Trucking 480-641-3500 ottotrucking.com

P. 12

STS Materials 602-586-5909 stsmaterials.com

P. 20

Buesing Corp 602-233-3339 buesingcorp.com

P. 4

GenTech 800-625-8324 gentechusa.com

P. 8

Pacwest Rentals 480-832-0855 pacwestrentals.com

P. 53

Sunland Asphalt 602-323-2800 sunlandasphalt.com

P. 40

CalPortland 602-817-6929 calportland.com

P. 73

GoodFellow 623-594-5401 goodfellowcorp.com

P. 80

Pacwest Trading 480-455-8800 pacwesttrading.com

P. 5

Sunstate Equipment 888-456-4560 sunstateequip.com

P. 32

CAMS 602-331-5455 cams-az.com

P. 65

Greer Aftermarket Parts 602-541-0554 602-541-5971

P. 10

PMC 602-836-3003 powermotivecorp.com

P. 17

Superstition Trailers 602-415-0222 stlaz.com

P. 76

Castle Hot Springs 844-276-8052 castlehotsprings.com

P. 22

Herc Rentals 602-269-5931 hercrentals.com

P. 30

Powerscreen 602-772-1419 powerscreenwestern.com

P. 36

Trench-Ade 833-384-1176 trench-ade.com

P. IBC

CED 602-437-4200 cedphx.com

P. 13

Insearch Corp 480-940-0100 insearchcorp.com

P. 3

Preach Building Supply 602-944-4594 preachbuildingsupply.com

P. 3

TSR 602-253-3311 tsraz.com

P. 26

Cemex 602-416-2652 cemexusa.com

P. 77

Insurica 602-273-1625 insurica.com

P. 26

Reliable Portable Bathrooms P. 9 602-601-2222 reliableportablebathrooms.com

Vermeer Mountain West P. 40 480-785-4800 vermeermountainwest.com

Core Machinery 800-989-7121 coremachinery.com

P. 30

JS Cole 602-633-0990 jscole.com

P. 92, & 93

Reuter Fabrication 602-415-0449 reuterequipment.com

P. 13

Westroc 480-550-1815

P. 36

P. 7

P. 11

RT Underground 602-622-6789

P. 72

WillScot 800-782-1500 willscot.com

P. 44

Curry Fluid Power 602-661-6596 curryfluidpower.com

KE&G 520-748-0188 kegtus.com

P. 7

Keystone Concrete 480-835-1579 keystoneconcretellc.com

P. 10

S&S Paving 602-437-0818 sspaving.com

P. 44

WSM 623-936-3300 wsmauctioneers.com

P. 46

Curry Supply 800-345-2829 currysupply.com

P. 81

Korfab 602-309-2009 korfab.us

P. 77

Salt River Materials Group 480-850-5757 srmaterials.com

P. 89

Wyman 480-695-4636 wymanexcavating.com

P. 80

Custom Truck 602-527-4088 customtruck.com DCS Contracting 480-732-9238 dcscontracting.com

P. 13

Landco Power 480-788-1333 landcorental.com

P. 80

Shanes Grading & Paving 602-992-2201 shanespaving.com

P. 28

Lang, Thal, King & Hanson 480-534-4900 lang.law

P. 57

Shanes Hauling 602-992-2201 shanespaving.com

P. 30

Diamondback Materials P. 13 623-925-8966 diamonondbackmaterials.com

NINETY FOUR

P. 42

FOR ADVERTISING INQUIRIES CONTACT BILLY HORNER 602-931-0069 BILLY@ARIZCC.COM MAY JUNE 2024

YOUR LOCAL SHORING SOLUTIONS PARTNER

Phoenix, Tucson and Prescott

(833) 384-1176

ALUMINUM HYDRAULIC SHORING | ALUMINUM HYDRAULIC MULTI-SHORES | ALUMINUM BUILD-A-BOX | STEEL FRAMED ALUMINUM SHIELDS | ALUMINUM END SHORES | TRENCH SHIELDS | MANHOLE BOXES | TRENCH BOX ACCESSORIES | STEEL CROSSING PLATES | CONCRETE BARRIER WALL | BLOWERS AND SIFTER SCREENS | CONFINED SPACE AND PIPE TESTING EQUIPMENT | CRANE TRUCK OR FLATBED DELIVERY AVAILABLE

PRSRT STD US Postage PAID Permit #1662 Phoenix, AZ

602-276-2040

Providing Rentals and Service in AZ, since 1998

Frank Alvarez Operations Manager

O: 602-276-2040 C: 602-769-6725 franka@eccoequipment.com

Jeff Hightower Outside Sales

O: 602-276-2040 C: 602-725-1123 jeffh@eccoequipment.com

Paul Kannapel Outside Sales

O: 602-276-2040 C: 602-647-5816 paulk@eccoequipment.com