TEXAS STATE EDITION
A Supplement to:
®
April 2 2017 Vol. II • No. 7
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.” Your Texas Connection • Dennis Hogeboom • 1-877-7CEGLTD • dennishogeboom@cegltd.com
New Engineering, Science Building Coming to Texas State Preparation work for the 166,851-sq.-ft. (15,500 sq m) building began in August 2016. Completion is slated for summer of 2018.
By Chuck Harvey CEG CORRESPONDENT
A new $120 million engineering and science building — Bruce and Gloria Ingram Hall — is being built on the San Marcos campus of Texas State University.
Preparation work for the 166,851-sq.-ft. (15,500 sq m) building began in August 2016. Completion is slated for summer of 2018. The building will stand five stories tall and will be the largest building on campus. It is located at 310 West Woods St. near where
West Woods Street meets Comanche and Vista streets. The project follows the design guidelines established by Texas State University as part of its campus master plan and the finished building will blend into the architectural fabric of the campus. The design incorporates
arches and red tile roofs. As with all projects at Texas State, Bruce and Gloria Ingram Hall follows LEED criteria for environmental site design and engineering sustainability. However the university is not seeking LEED certification. see TSU page 14
Green Zone Housing Helps Veterans By Matthew Tresaugue HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Green Zone Housing photo
Scores of volunteers will modify the container with things like insulation, air conditioning, electrical outlets, kitchen appliances and a shower and toilet. Then the keys will be given to a military veteran in need of a home.
MONTGOMERY, Texas (AP) In the heart of this small town, on a patch of grass near historic homes and antique shops, is an old shipping container. It’s like ones used in the Port of Houston, hardly a sight to behold. At least not yet. Within weeks, scores of volunteers will modify the container with things like insulation, air conditioning, electrical outlets, kitchen appliances and a shower and toilet. Then the keys will be given to a military veteran in need of a home. It’s a project of Huntsville-based Green Zone Housing, a newly formed nonprofit that is trying to provide veterans with affordable places to live. For co-founder Mark Cook, the repurposing of containers makes sense because they are made of steel that is marine-grade and corrosion-resistant.
“I slept in these overseas” as an oil-field worker, Cook told the Houston Chronicle. “I knew I could make a house out of them. They can withstand winds. They’re water-tight. They’re economical. And they’re everywhere. They’re stacked like cordwood on the Houston Ship Channel.” The project is part of a national movement to use “tiny houses” as a short-term solution for homelessness. A Nashville pastor has built several 60-sq.-ft. (5.6 sq m) units on the grounds of his church. Seattle has pledged to spread 1,000 insulated huts built by volunteers in camps across the city. In Kansas City, some veterans have plans to construct 50 small homes for those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Cook and his partners, Vietnam veteran Dave Nash and author Melanie Davis, said they see a similar need among see HOUSING page 12
Page 2 • April 2, 2017 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Texas State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
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Page 4 • April 2, 2017 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Texas State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
Ditch Witch of East Texas Unveils New Facility at Open House
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itch Witch of East Texas held an open house and customer appreciation day on March 23, at their new facility in Tyler, Texas. Nearly 200 people were in attendance, including customers, Ditch Witch of East Texas staff and other Ditch Witch personnel. Ditch Witch of East Texas president Paul Knuckley and wife, Susan, hosted the event. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.) CEG see FACILITY page 14
A-1 Rental owner Michael Frazier (2nd from R) was welcomed by (L-R) Roger Lane of Ditch Witch; Paul Knuckley, owner of Ditch Witch East Texas; and Bart Young, GM of Ditch Witch of East Texas.
(L-R) are Steve Jester, owner of Ditch Witch of South Louisiana; Jim Gilmore, owner of Ditch Witch Mid-South; and Scott Smith, Ditch Witch director of sales.
Third generation Ditch Witcher, Nicklaus, with his Super Witch V tractor trencher. Nicklaus is the son of Kevin and Elizabeth Knuckley and the grandson of Paul and Susan.
Ditch Witch dealership owners David Klingaman (L), Ditch Witch of Arizona, and Gary Bridwell, Ditch Witch of Oklahoma, had a chance to catch up at the open house.
(L-R): Regina and James Raymond, owners of Raymond Construction, talk with Bart Young, GM of Ditch Witch of Texas; Paul Knuckley, owner of Ditch Witch of East Texas; and J.B. Raymond. The Raymonds are long-time Ditch Witch owners.
Steve Rames (L), senior dealer development specialist of Ditch Witch, catches up with Mark Taylor, general manager of Ditch Witch of Oklahoma and Arkansas.
Coan and Joyce Bateman of Bateman Cable Services enjoyed the day.
Construction Equipment Guide • Texas State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • April 2, 2017 • Page 5
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Page 6 • April 2, 2017 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Texas State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
Dallas Firm Poised to Take Advantage of Growing Markets
Magno Hernandez, secretary/treasurer of West Texas Rebar Placers
(L-R): Project manager Marco Hernandez Jr. and superintendent Max Garcia of West Texas Rebar Placers meet with Pat Farquharson, Kirby-Smith Machinery territory manager.
Marco Hernandez Sr., president of West Texas Rebar Placers
In the spring of 2016, West Texas Rebar Placers completed a small highway project for the Texas Department of Transportation just outside of Cleburne. The Dallas-based company laid nearly 85 ft. (26 m) of storm pipe, placed a new precast box culvert and poured headwalls. It was one of the first state jobs West Texas Rebar Placers completed as a general contractor. “We believe there are many more of those jobs ahead of us,” said Marco Hernandez Sr., who along with his brother Magno is coowner of West Texas Rebar Placers. Marco is president and oversees the office, including estimating. Magno is secretary/treasurer and runs the field operations. “We are looking for highway and other large road and utility projects, either as a general or a sub.” The brothers began seeking those types of projects a few years ago when they sought to diversify West Texas Rebar Placers, a company they founded in 2001. The company’s sole focus for the first decade-plus was placing and tying rebar and reinforcing steel as a subcontractor to concrete companies. “That’s still a solid portion of our business, but approximately three years ago we started doing general excavation, and that’s become an increasingly larger percentage of our work,” explained Magno. “Everything from prepping subgrade to putting pipe in the ground, to concrete work, we do ourselves. If we are the general on a project that calls for paving, we sub that out.”
superintendent Max Garcia, who oversees excavation jobs. “Max has many years of experience in running cranes and general excavation work. He was a superintendent for a large company before coming to West Texas, and that’s all been valuable in helping us get a good start in dirt work,” noted Marco Sr. Other team members include operator Jacob Paloma and longtime employee Manuel Gonzalez, who “ties rebar like crazy,” according to the owners. Project manager Marco Hernandez Jr. helps with a variety of tasks, including estimating, coordinating pre-bid and preconstruction preparations as well as operating machinery. Maria Aguilar is office manager and also does some estimating. “They have helped us grow and complete
Kirby-Smith’s Dallas branch, and they put me in contact with Pat,” recalled Max. “The PC210LC-10 is the perfect size and gives us versatility. We can use it for a variety of tasks, and it has good power to handle all of them, including concrete and asphalt removal.” “There have been times when we need a bigger machine, so we have rented a PC490LC-10 from Pat and Kirby-Smith,” added Marco Jr. “One standout feature of Komatsu is reliability. We get into some remote locations, so we need dependable machinery that doesn’t break down. Komatsu gives us that and more. “Pat and Kirby-Smith have been excellent to work with,” he continued. “They helped us choose the right excavators and with the financing. Because the PC210 is a Tier 4 machine, they will do the first three years of scheduled service through Komatsu CARE. We think that’s a great program.”
Staff Plays Vital Role Including rebar work, the company typically has four to five projects going at once, usually within an hour’s drive of Dallas. West Texas Rebar Placers employs about 15 people, including key individuals such as
several good-sized projects, including our largest to date,” said Marco Sr. “That was in Whitesboro, where we put in close to 1,800 ft. of storm drain. We also have done some other notable projects, including one in Johnson County that involved removing a road, installing precast boxes and placing rip rap and storm drain.” PC210LC-10 Fits Just Right To dig trenches, set pipe and structures as well as for general excavation, West Texas Rebar recently added a Komatsu PC210LC10 excavator with the help of Pat Farquharson, Kirby-Smith Machinery territory manager. “I was familiar with Komatsu from another company I worked for, so when we were looking for an excavator, I stopped into
West Texas Rebar Placers uses its Komatsu PC210LC-10 excavator for multiple applications.
Ready for Growth The owners and employees of West Texas Rebar Placers see a bright future for their business. They are focused on continuing to build the excavation side and eventually expand into larger, more complex projects. “We have established ourselves as an excavation contractor, and now we’re looking to do more, especially in the roadwork market,” said Marco Jr. “Eventually, we want to get into bridge work, and possibly expand into the commercial sector. Dallas, Fort Worth and the surrounding areas are growing, so there are a lot of opportunities. We believe we have positioned West Texas to take advantage of them.” (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)
Construction Equipment Guide • Texas State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • April 2, 2017 • Page 7
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Page 8 • April 2, 2017 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Texas State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
Texas Central Railway...
McCloskey Washing Systems Appoints With Trump on Excel Machinery Ltd. as New Dealer Board, Texas Puts Rail on Fast Track
McCloskey Washing Systems has expanded its global dealer network at one of the world’s most prominent tradeshows, ConExpo-Con/AGG 2017. Excel Machinery Ltd. will join McCloskey Washing Systems as the official distributor offering a full range of washing and classification equipment at its two locations in Texas and Oklahoma. The partnership announcement was made following the trade show, ConExpo 2017, in Las Vegas, where MWS officially launched the immense modular wash plant, SandStorm 620. Since 1989, Excel Machinery has brought decades of Industry experience and a highly-skilled group of designers to create solutions, tailor-made for each customer’s unique operation. Excel Machinery provides materials processing equipment for the quarrying and waste recycling industries. It provides complete solutions from single equipment specification and supply, to the design and installation of complete integrated processing systems. Employing more than 90 people, Excel Machinery serves markets both in the United States and internationally and manufactures everything from crushers, screening, washing plants to conveyors and electrical control packages. With Excel Machinery’s presence in the construction, aggregates, industrial sands and C&D recycling sectors, the synergy between the two companies was immediately seen as mutually beneficial for both parties. “We are excited to partner with McCloskey Washing Systems, to bring innovative washing equipment to Texas and Oklahoma. McCloskey Washing Systems has become a staple in our industry and we feel that we made the right decision to join McCloskey Washing Systems to become the leader in this area. We offer a full line of washing equipment combined with our reputable customer service; [more than] 100 years of experience; and the desire to furnish quality equipment to meet our customer’s needs,” said Matt Garth, director of Excel Machinery, commenting on the recent appointment as North America dealer. “We are looking forward to working with Excel Machinery. They have a wealth of experience and we are confident that they will be able to help customers deliver their mineral washing needs,” said Sean Loughran, MWS director. “We expect 2017 to be a very significant year for McCloskey Washing Systems in North America,” said Loughran. “Excel Machinery is a name associated with quality equipment, exceptional customer service and overall the ability to work with customers to identify issues and develop a system that improves productivity. This matches our own approach to the design and execution of successful materials, washing projects and we are very excited about the opportunities that will present themselves, as a result of our new partnership.” McCloskey Washing Systems and Excel Machinery will work together with customers to understand their needs to select the product most suited to their business requirements. The support continues once the product is on site and incorporates a range of services such as after sales technical service support, spare parts requirements and product warranty. “We pride ourselves on providing our customers with
By Lindsay Wise and Curtis Tate MCCLATCHY WASHINGTON BUREAU
(L-R): David Timmons, Charles Romero, Craig Rautiola, Matt Garth and Jennifer Payne shake hands on the new dealership agreement between Excel Machinery Ltd. and McCloskey Washing Systems.
leading edge technologies, with excellent technical support to support customers,” said Garth. “We aim to help our customers to develop their business and make it as efficient and profitable. By adding McCloskey Washing Systems as an equipment provider, we will be competitively positioned in the market to continue to meet our customers’ needs. McCloskey Washing Systems has planned an aggressive washing equipment portfolio. We believe that the MWS product range will give us significant business opportunities and gain a major part of the market share in North America.” “We designed these wash plants with the operators in mind. Production, efficiency, safety and accessibility were intelligently combined in the engineering of the SandStorm wash plant,” said Craig Rautiola, MWS technical sales and applications manager. “I have had the privilege of working with Excel Machinery as a customer, during my time spent as process engineer working for a silica sand mining company in Texas. I am personally and professionally excited to be partnering with them in such an important market,” he said. For more information, call 414/419-3632 or visit mccloskeywashing.com and excelmach.com. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)
WASHINGTON (AP) Texas is closer than ever to building the first high-speed train in the United States, due to President Donald Trump’s fascination with these transportation projects and a well-timed pitch to his administration. Now developers nationwide are looking to the privately owned Texas Central Railway as a test case of what can get done with Trump in the White House. Former Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane Jr., a member of the company’s board of directors, met recently with Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in Washington. He wasn’t seeking any of the taxpayer-funded grants sought by high-speed rail projects in California and the Northeast. What the $10 billion Texas Central Railway really needs is a green light from the agency Chao oversees. “It was an opportunity to make a first impression,” said Tim Keith, president of Texas Central Railway. The meeting clearly stuck. Soon after, Chao mentioned the Texas Central Railway at the National Governors Association winter conference as an example of the kind of “very impressive” project the administration is interested in. The question now is whether private investment — coupled with regulatory relief — is a model the Trump administration could use to finance and expedite his promised $1 trillion infrastructure push, and not just in Texas. The president has said his plan will include both private and public funding. But there appears to be little appetite in Congress to spend big on infrastructure, especially as Republicans are preparing to cut taxes. Texas Central’s entrepreneurial approach, which neatly sidesteps the politically charged appropriations process on Capitol Hill, could be a faster way. “Texas does big things. This is a big idea,” said Keith. “We’re working hard to transform transportation in America and change the way public infrastructure is conceived, sponsored and financed.” Texas Central’s plan is to build a private 205-mph bullet train that covers the 240-mi. trip between Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth using Japanese technology. Trains would depart every 30 minutes, 18 hours a day. A one-way trip would take 90 minutes, compared with five hours to drive or about three and a half hours by air, if you include all the transit and security, Keith said. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)
Construction Equipment Guide • Texas State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • April 2, 2017 • Page 9
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Page 10 • April 2, 2017 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Texas State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
Residential Boom Bolsters Texas City Sterling Inks Deal By Dylan Baddour HOUSTON CHRONICLE
TEXAS CITY, Texas (AP) Texas City, better known for petrochemical landscapes than landscaped subdivisions, is poised for an unprecedented growth spurt as the region’s residential boom continues its southward advance. The Houston Chronicle reports the transformation of a vast expanse of interstate-fronting prairie into a mixeduse commercial hub began with a fancy outlet mall and a sprawling Bucee’s. It continues with the 3,300-acre Lago Mar subdivision, now in the early stages, that eventually will add up to 7,000 homes on the edge of the Galveston Bayside town. To top it off, construction of an adjacent amusement park is now under way. Texas City officials predict that by the time Lago Mar is filled up, an estimated 15 years from now, the development will have added as many as 12,000 residents to the city’s current population of about 48,000. By comparison, the city added about 7,000 people between 1990 and 2017. “It’s hard to compare any previous growth with this,” said Jenny Senter, vice president of the Texas City-La Marque Chamber of Commerce. “It’s like the Super Bowl compared with Friday night football.” The expansion in Texas City comes as brokers and industry experts in the region report a continued migration of investment toward the southeast, away from the northwest, where a rapid proliferation of new residences during the shale boom left the housing market over-supplied once drillers and oil field service providers cut back. The oil slump didn’t put a damper on the petroleum industry around the Port of Houston and Galveston Bay, however. Companies there deal in downstream products like refined fuels or plastics and can maintain healthy profit margins even when oil prices tank. “Everything on the east side of Houston, pretty much from Baytown south, has benefited from low oil prices,” said Bruce McClenny, president of Apartment Data Services. That’s evident along Interstate 45 in Texas City, where a Buc-ee’s and Tanger Outlet mall rise from about 5 sq. mi. of former rice fields, now overgrown with shrubbery. Work crews there are busy assembling the first of a few thousand homes in the background. Catalon at Lago Mar is prepar-
ing to open the first of 230 planned apartment units next month. Land Tejas was imagining Lago Mar years before the bust — indeed, before the boom that preceded it. Together with three investors, including Houston-based Prime Capital, the developer assembled and bought a vast tract of land that spans both sides of I45 in 2006. Then the housing bubble burst in 2007 and construction was delayed. In the meantime, Land Tejas negotiated building rights with Texas City, and even won status as a tax reinvestment zone, meaning a specified portion of the local property taxes would be dedicated for use in Lago Mar instead of shared among the entire city. “We wouldn’t have done it for almost any other developer,” said Nicholas Finan, Texas City’s executive director of management services. The key, he said, was Lago Mar’s location along the main route through Galveston County; city leaders saw the project as an opportunity to develop an attractive gateway into Texas City, the hub of which sits about three miles east of the interstate, out of sight to passersby. “It’s not going to be just another suburb of Houston,” Finan said. “You’ll know you’re in Texas City.” Good fortune struck Land Tejas in 2011 when Tanger Outlets asked to buy 54 acres off the interstate. Rarely does commercial precede residential development in a wide open field, but Tanger’s business model aims to draw shoppers from across the region. Then in 2012, Texas convenience store chain Buc-ee’s bought a lot adjacent to Tanger, which local officials allowed on the condition that the store’s sign said Texas City. A year later, Webster-based cardiologist Dr. Harvey Slusky bought 35 acres for a theme park, Adventure Pointe, which is now under construction. Slusky’s family owned and operated the miniature train at Hermann Park for decades until 2010. Adventure Pointe will house his collection of mini-trains, and will feature a vintage carousel shipped from Boston, an iceless outdoor ice skating rink, a walk-through pirate ship in a pirate-themed area and an old-fashioned Main Street. Other commercial developments are expected along the interstate’s edge as homes go up. Those homes, according to Land
Tejas director of community sales and marketing Tim Johnson, will feature open floor plans to suit modern tastes and minor accommodations for multigenerational living, which was identified as a popular desire in a Land Tejas survey of 200 home sales professionals conducted last year. There will be fiber-optic cables for internet service and neighborhoodwide hot spots, along with swimming pools, recreation centers and amenity lakes that double as flood-control features. Planners have set aside three sites for schools in Lago Mar and one site for an “education concept village,” with a combination elementary and middle school, said Tammy Dowdy, a spokeswoman for Dickinson ISD, which currently operates 13 campuses. While the sites for future schools are set aside in Lago Mar, voters would need to approve bonds to fund them. If approved, taxpayers from the entire district would contribute to building new schools. In the coming years, however, elementary and middle school students that move into Lago Mar will attend Dickinson’s newest campus, Lobit Education Village, which opened in August 2016. “Population is slowly drifting in from the Houston area,” said Eric Gage, former city manager of La Marque, which neighbors Texas City. Now a real estate agent with Re/Max based in downtown Houston, Gage recently sold one of the first homes built in Lago Mar to a young family from League City, which he said has become crowded after years of rapid growth. The development at Lago Mar, he said, will provide one of the last opportunities for new housing along I45. “It used to be cow pastures,” Gage said. “Now, I don’t really see any land left anywhere.” Ground was broken on the first Lago Mar homes in 2016, and the first model single-family homes opened in January. Land Tejas expects the first phase of construction, 520 homes including 320 in gated communities, to be completed in 2018. For more information, visit http://www.houstonchronicle.com (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)
to Buy Tealstone Sterling Construction Company Inc. announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase Denton, Texasbased Tealstone Construction for approximately $85 million, subject to specified post-closing adjustments. Sterling plans to finance the transaction through a combination of seller financing, common stock and new debt. Tealstone is a commercial and residential concrete construction company in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The company serves commercial contractors and multi-family developers, as well as national homebuilders in Texas and Oklahoma. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2017 and is contingent on customary closing conditions including a new $85 million credit financing and regulatory approvals. Tealstone Highlights • Focuses on concrete construction of commercial buildings, elevated slabs, multi-family and residential housing foundations and serves commercial contractors, multi-family developers and leading homebuilders; • provides Sterling with diversification of revenue streams, a broader range of customers, operational synergies and expanded project opportunities; • double-digit business growth generating double-digit margins; • potential to expand into other regions where Sterling has a major presence; • transaction expected to be accretive to EPS and generate substantial free cash flow in 2017; and • financing the acquisition through a combination of $15 million of seller financing, 1,882,058 shares of Sterling common stock, and $55 million of debt from Sterling’s new $85 million credit facility, which will replace our existing facility. On a pro forma basis, assuming the Tealstone acquisition had been completed on Jan. 1, 2016, the full-year incremental consolidated revenues, net income and earnings per common share to Sterling would have been approximately $165 million, $8 to $10 million and $0.30 to $0.37, respectively. The 2016 pro forma adjustments include estimated financing and acquisition-related purchase accounting costs and the impact from issuing 1,882,058 shares of common stock. The pro forma 2016 average common shares outstanding totals approximately 27 million. Joe Cutillo, Sterling’s recently-appointed president and former EVP of strategy and business development, stated, “The acquisition of Tealstone is well aligned with our growth strategy and meets our criteria for expanding into adjacent markets while improving margins, and diversifying our revenue sources and customer base. More specifically, we expect Tealstone’s expertise in concrete construction to enable us to increase our penetration into the Texas market for commercial projects by strengthening our ability to win attractive airport, parking garage and other, non-heavy highway opportunities throughout the state. Additionally, we believe that this acquisition will allow us to enhance the profitability of our Texas road work given Tealstone’s unique capabilities in the construction of curbs, sidewalks and driveways, which are often a meaningful portion of the costs to complete roadway projects.” (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)
Construction Equipment Guide • Texas State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • April 2, 2017 • Page 11
Delaware Basin...
CLEAR THE WA W A Y WhiteWater Begins Agua Blanca Pipeline Construction WhiteWater Midstream has commenced construction of the Agua Blanca pipeline, an intrastate natural gas pipeline in the Delaware Basin, Texas. This Agua Blanca pipeline will run from Orla, Texas, to Waha Hub and initially service portions of Culberson, Loving, Pecos, Reeves and Ward counties. The pipeline will have several direct downstream connections, including to the Trans-Pecos Header. “Agua Blanca will provide producers and processors with a much needed outlet for the rapidly growing natural gas volumes in the Delaware Basin,” said Christer Rundlof, WhiteWater chief executive officer. “Our customers will have a direct path to multiple delivery points, including the attractive, growing Mexican power market.” The project will consist of a 36 in. (91.4 cm) diameter pipe running to 75 mi. (120.7 km) with a capacity of 1.25bcf/d, which can
be expanded to 1.75bcf/d. The complete project is supported by more than 500mmcf/d of long-term, firm volume commitments. WhiteWater Midstream expects to begin transport of the first volumes in the last quarter of this year through the pipeline. Headquartered in Austin, WhiteWater Midstream specializes in gathering, treating, processing and transportation services to domestic oil and gas plays. Founded last year, the company had received $200 million equity commitments from Denham Capital Management and Ridgemont Equity Partners. Denham Capital is an energy-focused global private equity firm, while Ridgemont Equity Partner is a growth equity investor. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)
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Page 12 • April 2, 2017 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Texas State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
Nonprofit Turns Shipping Containers Into Veterans’ Housing HOUSING from page 1
erty. The first phase would include at least 20 homes, he said. “I’m looking for a place that can have a community to help each other in recovery,” Cook said, adding that he would like to expand the project beyond Montgomery County after the initial phase. The first house will go to William C. Franks Jr., 45, an Army veteran of Desert Storm who suffers from PTSD. After seeing combat in the Gulf War, Franks said, he fought depression and anger. He ended an engagement to his high school sweetheart. One night he woke up and drove 30 mi. to his grandfather’s house to watch TV. He had no idea why. “I couldn’t tell what was going on,” said Franks, who also served seven years in the National Guard and Army Reserve. “There’s a lot of emotions that you don’t process in the military. Then they come out.” Franks inherited his grandfather’s house after he died in 2013 but soon lost it because of a reverse mortgage. He bounced from one relative’s house to another before ending up at a homeless shelter in New Orleans for three weeks last year. That’s when an Army friend connected him with the PTSD Foundation of America’s Camp Hope, which provides temporary housing and care for those with post-combat stress. The program, which is located in northwest Harris County, has allowed Franks to
greater Houston’s veterans. While there are transitional programs providing them with help for PTSD and other combat-related mental illness, “they go out the same door they came in” and often have nowhere to stay, Nash said. Greater Houston has one of the nation’s largest populations of veterans, with more than 78,000 in the city alone. With many of them staying in shelters or on the streets, nonprofit groups and government agencies began a campaign in 2012 to find places to live for them. Since then, The Way Home effort has placed some 5,000 veterans in Harris and Fort Bend counties in permanent housing, generating praise from local advocates and national experts. Officials said there were 537 homeless veterans in the two counties last year. In Montgomery County, there were 35 veterans living on the streets or in shelters in 2015, according to the most recent data available. Green Zone Housing began to build support for its project last year by converting a container previously used as a fireworks stand into an exhibit house. The model, which features a kitchen and living area, is mobile but is found most days outside a hardware store in the city of Montgomery, located about 55 mi. north of downtown Houston. The nonprofit is constructing the first complete home from a 40-ft. (12.2 m)long, 8-ft. (2.4 m)-wide container that was donated by a local equipment company. The work is being done in Montgomery’s historic district to help attract potential donors and volunteers. The builder is Mike Bradford, a Montgomery resident who constructed living quarters and office space from shipping containers during a 20-year career as an underwater welder in the Navy. He now designs and builds custom furniture. The exhibit house “was a rusted, beat-up fireworks stand,” Bradford said. “It was a mild disaster when we got started. But you go into it now, and you’d say, ‘I would live in this.’ That’s what we want.” It’s estimated that each house costs about $20,000 to build. The recipients are expected to help with the construction before the house is installed on a foundation. Cook said the group is hoping to buy as many as 15 acres in Montgomery County for a manufacturing center and Green Zone Housing photo office space, as well as a chapel, gym Huntsville-based Green Zone Housing, a newly and other services for veterans who formed nonprofit, is trying to provide veterans with decide to keep their homes on the prop- affordable places to live.
Green Zone Housing photo
For co-founder Mark Cook, the repurposing of containers makes sense because they are made of steel that is marine-grade and corrosion-resistant.
take a “time out” in order to regain control of his life, he said. He has attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, received counseling and rediscovered the gym. But Franks was unsure about his destination after completing the program. That changed when he was selected in February for Green Zone’s first house. Franks will be involved in the design and construction. Once the work is finished, the house will be moved to a pad at Camp Hope, where he will live rent-free for a
year. By then, he hopes to have a job and be on the path to purchasing a larger home and selling or leasing the repurposed container to another veteran. That’s the goal for Green Zone Housing, too, said J.R. Harris, who is on the group’s board of directors. “This isn’t welfare,” he said. “It’s about a sense of belonging and sense of purpose. That’s what we’re hoping to give them.” For more information, visit greenzonehousing.com. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)
Construction Equipment Guide • Texas State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • April 2, 2017 • Page 13
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Ditch Witch Family, Friends Gather to Open New Facility FACILITY from page 4
The Knuckleys welcomed customers to an open house at the new Ditch Witch of East Texas facility in Tyler.
Among the many Ditch Witch customers on hand were Royce Bane (L) of BAM Diversified and J.B. Raymond of Raymond Construction.
The showroom and parts department of Ditch Witch of East Texas’ new facility is ready to welcome customers.
Mike Bearden (L), Fort Worth representative of Witch Equipment Co., and Terry Hayley of Wood County Electric Cooperative, check out the new facility.
$120M Bruce and Gloria Ingram Hall on Rise at TSU TSU from page 1
The interior spaces of the building are designed to encourage student participation by creating study niches, open laboratories. Funding Through Various Sources Funding is through a combination of tuition revenue bonds, higher education funds, gifts, Texas Research Incentive Program match and revenue financing system bonds. Bruce and Gloria Ingram provided a gift of $5 million to support the construction of research facilities and equipment in the new engineering and science building. The Ingram’s $5 million gift is eligible for a 100 percent matching grant from the Texas Research Incentive Program, thereby doubling the gift’s value to $10 million. In addition, Ingram Readymix, a company started by Bruce and Gloria Ingram in 1957, has given an in-kind gift of $2.1 million worth of concrete to help construct the building. The new building had been a high priority for the university for several years, sparked primarily by rapid growth in engineering programs and research-related activities. The engineering program also plays a critical role in Texas State’s goal of becoming eligible for the National Research University
Fund, a state fund that helps qualifying institutions significantly increase their research activities. “This building will allow Texas State University to be an even bigger player in the economic advancement of the local, regional and national economy,” said Robert Habingreither, interim dean of the College of Science and Engineering, in a release. Architect for the engineering and science building project is Treanor Architects headquartered in Lawrence, Kan., with an office in Dallas-Ft. Worth. Led by Michael Petty, Texas State University Facilities Planning, Design and Construction office serves as project manager. Contractor is SpawGlass Construction of Houston. The employee-owned company builds a variety of buildings including major structures for higher education. Its previous projects include The University of Texas at Austin Liberal Arts Building, phase 2; The University of Texas at Austin Student Activity Center and Liberal Arts Building, phase 1; and Texas State Technical College Harlingen University Center. The project will feature hundreds of subcontractors, suppliers and rental equipment companies. Major contractors include
Champion Site Prep Inc. of Georgetown, Texas, for earthwork and demolition; Big State Electric Ltd. of San Antonio, Texas, for electrical utilities; Young & Pratt of Manor, Texas, for thermal utilities; and The Porter Co. of Manchaca, Texas, for mechanical work and plumbing. Between 50 and 70 workers are on duty at the construction site each day. Walls Now Rising From the Earth SpawGlass Construction began installation of underground site utilities for Bruce and Gloria Ingram Hall in November 2016. “The project is just now coming out of the ground,” said Jayme Blaschke, director of media relations of Texas State University. “The concrete piers are nearing completion, concrete retaining walls are being formed and poured, a construction crane is being assembled and underground utilities are underway. The next milestone for construction will be the forming of the elevated structural concrete floors.” During the early part of the excavation into the hillside, a horizontal drilling rig was used to insert the soil nails for slope stability. Rock excavators are in use for the utility line installation and the tower crane was installed this week.
The site grading phase included milling equipment to utilize the site material excavation. It’s estimated that the project will require about 20,000 cu. yds. (15,291 cu m) of concrete and more than 3,100 tons (2,812 t) of reinforcing steel. Dirt for use as the base material for the building pad was milled and utilized on site. One of the primary challenges of the project so far has been the installation of offsite utilities. That includes working on roadways while maintaining access to buildings for vehicles and pedestrians. Project Noise, Dust Being Addressed Construction impacts are being mitigated through ongoing communication with instructors in the surrounding buildings. Coordination of work activities and street closures are part of the discussions. The contractor will be instructed to work around special events to prevent disruptions. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.) CEG
Construction Equipment Guide • Texas State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • April 2, 2017 • Page 15
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