| American Concrete Institute selects R.R. Simmons project
The American Concrete Institute (ACI), the recognized leader in research and industry support for the use of concrete as a building material with more than 20,000 members in 108 countries, recently selected R.R. Simmons to represent the industrial segment in its new book about the use of concrete in sustainable design. The book will be presented at the upcoming ACI conference March 21st in Chicago.
The ACI singled out R.R. Simmons for its 570,000 square foot Design/Build project for Premier Beverage. Premier Beverage's Central Florida Distribution Center is the only industrial project featured as a case study. The LEED-Silver-eligible facility showcases the use of concrete as a sustainable building material in both the structure of the building and much of the heavy traffic paving need. The R.R. Simmons design and construction team selected the tilt-up design to allow the building to be constructed quickly and to provide a more durable solution than other building systems. On-site tilt-up construction utilizes materials produced locally and minimizes excessive transportation needs often associated with other materials. Moreover, the concrete waste generated by the process can be easily recycled for other uses in the project.
R.R. Simmons is a recognized leader in the use of concrete as a primary building material. Having successfully used the tilt-up system in Florida since 1968, R.R. Simmons is one of the most established experts in this environmentally-friendly building system. Concrete and tilt-up construction harness Florida's limited natural building materials, thereby reducing material transportation costs. As an additional benefit, concrete is known for its ability to use post consumer materials in its production.
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| NAIOP Recognizes R.R. Simmons Design/Build Accomplishments
Tampa, Florida – R.R. Simmons walked away with four NAIOP “Best of the Best” awards for their Design/Build efforts in 2009. The firm was recognized for Outstanding Retail Project, Outstanding Green Project, Outstanding Industrial Project, and as a team member for the Premier Beverage Brokerage Transaction Award given to Brian Rettig at CBRE.
The Hyde Park Publix Greenwise facility received the Outstanding Retail Project award. This project has also received national and local recognition for its unique urban solution to in-fill retail and structured parking. The Riverbend Office building was recognized as the Outstanding Green Project. Located on the scenic upper Hillsborough River in Tampa Telecom Park, the new R.R. Simmons’ headquarters blends a sensitivity to the natural surroundings with a highly advanced work space. Receiving the Outstanding Industrial Project award, Premier Beverage is a 570,000 square-foot wine and spirits distribution center located on Madison Avenue near the Port of Tampa. The building houses more than two miles of high speed conveyors in addition to nearly 60,000 square feet of administrative office space. This special project is slated to receive a Silver LEED award making it one of the largest LEED qualified buildings in the Southeast.
R.R. Simmons has received more than twenty individual project awards from the Tampa Bay Chapter of the NAIOP since the program’s inception. R.R. Simmons is a true Design/Builder with both in-house architects and construction professionals on staff. With expertise in commercial, industrial, and institutional projects and structured parking, R.R. Simmons brings forty-two years of company history to each of their projects.
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| Rocky the Bull is excited and so are we! |
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| R.R. Simmons selected by USF for its Athletic Facilities Project
Friday, October 23, 2009
Tampa Bay Business Journal - by Jane Meinhardt Staff Writer
jmeinhardt@bizjournals.com | 727.224.2299
TAMPA — It’s kickoff for a new University of South Florida athletics complex expected to generate more than $37 million in revenue in its first year. The university estimates revenue from the new and renovated intercollegiate and recreational athletic facilities on its Tampa campus will increase at least 4 percent each year.
USF is now reviewing these numbers while taking the first steps to approve financing and evaluate design-build teams.
“This is a needed investment,” said Fell Stubbs, USF treasurer and executive director of USF Financing Corp. “It’s very important because it promotes student athlete success.”
To boost its chances, the project has a lender pledging support. BB&T has committed a $30 million loan — the full amount of the estimated project cost — with a fixed rate for as long as 20 years, Stubbs said.
“We have support from a new financial partner and support from the community with opening contributions,” he said. “We expect community commitments will grow substantially before the project is completed. Community support will drive this project.”
The university requested proposals from five lenders to obtain a commitment for a long-term loan of $24.5 million after determining it would be cheaper and more flexible than issuing traditional bonds.
Gift agreements of nearly $6.5 million already have been closed. Future private and corporate gifts are expected to reduce the bank debt, and naming rights are possible.
Trustees to consider complex in December
Construction is expected to begin after USF Financing Corp. agrees to incur debt. Its board will consider an authorization resolution Nov. 3; the full USF board of trustees will consider it Dec. 3 and then the Florida Board of Governors will be asked to approve the financing Dec. 10.
The athletics complex project will include a basketball practice facility with two gymnasia and team support facilities and improvements to the existing baseball stadium that will include a natural grass sports field, bullpens, dugouts and a 1,500-seat grandstand with an elevated deck.
A new softball stadium will feature a lighted grass field, dugouts, bullpens and a 700-seat spectator grandstand with a hospitality deck and service amenities.
The new football practice field complex will include a lighted synthetic turf field, two lighted grass sports fields and a service building, all enclosed with security fencing.
Existing recreational fields will be relocated and improved.
Construction is slated for completion in fiscal year 2010-11. The project will be constructed in phases. The university is in design-build negotiations with R.R. Simmons Construction Corp., a Tampa firm that built USF’s athletic training center.
Revenue to MEET debt obligation
Revenue for debt service will come from student athletic fees, ticket sales, NCAA/Big East Conference distributions, corporate sponsorships, event and non-event revenue, game guarantees and bowl game revenues. The number of USF Bulls home football games influences revenue.
“We have at least six home games, and those each tend to generate over $1 million in gross revenue,” Stubbs said. “Of course, this new complex also addresses non-football athletic programs and brings them up to a more appropriate college venue.”For USF trustee Lee Arnold, who attended the university in the early 1970s when there were open fields with lots of sandspurs and no football team, the new sports complex is a vital part of a growing tier one university.
“Collegiate athletic programs provide name recognition, bring top tier students and drive grants,” he said. “Sports give a university a certain notoriety, but USF is first a top notch research institute, a
$1.76 billion education organization, that has a very good football team.”
A successful commercial Realtor, entrepreneur and a member of the university workgroup that makes financial recommendations to the board of trustees, Arnold said the revenue generated by the university’s association with the Big East competition spills over to providing facilities for all USF athletes and other students.
“The university is a huge ecosystem,” he said. “We have, because of the athletic department, the ability to generate millions in revenue that allows us to do things for all student athletes and recruit more.”
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USF Athletic Facilities Project
Conceptual Master Plan
(North is to the right)
The Project includes:
• Basketball Practice Facility to be located at the north side of the Sun Dome
• New venues for softball and baseball
• Three new football practice fields
• New recreation fields, tennis courts, softball and track
• Future venues for soccer and tennis also planned
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| BullsBlast IV - Bang Up Event for USF Athletics
October 21, 2009 – Tampa, Florida
This year’s Sporting Clays event to support the University of South Florida Men’s and Women’s student athletic program was exciting for all participants. More than ninety shooters participated in this fundraising event put on by Philanthropy Partners. The Presenting Sponsor was R.R. Simmons followed by key sponsorships by SteelFab, Gulf Electric and Grow Financial. A change to the format this year had the USF coaches positioned at each shooting station. Under the new format, each team had an opportunity to both meet and shoot with a USF coach. This year’s event was flighted into two levels with teams from Faulkner Engineering, Southern Equipment, Surety Associates and Gulf Electric taking home top honors. Each winning team was presented with either a signed football or helmet by Coach Jim Leavitt and NFL Hall of Famer, Lee Roy Selmon. Fantastic raffle prizes from select vintage wine to shotguns were given away, but the big winner was the USF Scholarship program with a check for $20,000.00. This is the forth BullsBlast with more than $100,000.00 being raised to date.
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Publix Greenwise Hyde Park
Publix Supermarkets selected the trendy and highly urban South Tampa market to launch their new environmentally-friendly concept in the grocery store business. The Tampa Greenwise Hyde Park Store is only the third built in Florida, and the first built from the "ground up". In addition to its upscale organic products, the Hyde Park Store houses a Café with coffees and smoothies, curbside service for prepared meals, a mezzanine with seating and a wi-fi network. This multi-use facility is a one-stop shopping destination for all-natural and earth-friendly products.
Utilizing the design/build delivery method for the very first time, Publix Supermarkets chose R.R. Simmons to provide a total precast solution. The store features nearly 40,000 sf of retail space on the ground with 2 levels of structured parking above the store. Oversized elevators, escalators and cart conveyors transport customers to their vehicles enclosed in a 2-story glass atrium. Accents of thin in-lay brick and architectural detailing are integrated into the exterior precast wall panels. The exposed double tee floor system is seen from below on the sales floor due to integrating the roof insulation into the precast system, thus eliminating the need for a secondary drop ceiling.
This project sets the standard for this new upscale prototype grocery store. R.R. Simmons sets the standard for how it was delivered.
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The Shops at Wiregrass - An Outstanding Parking Solution by R.R. Simmons
The West coast of Florida’s latest shopping experience is The Shops at Wiregrass. This brand-new open air shopping mall is attracting huge numbers of people as we enter the holiday season. When the national retailer Macy’s opted to the join the development it was both great addition but also a challenge for the Forest City Development Team. In order to accommodate a third major retailer a structured parking solution had to be found. The Design/Build Team of R.R. Simmons was chosen to solve the problem.
Working with an organic space plan, R.R. Simmons had to find a way to design and construct an efficient but also attractive parking solution over the existing infrastructure program. The 1,022 car deck covers nearly 4.3 acres, yet this was completely accomplished without any significant change in the customer experience or environmental impact. The new deck is highly illuminated to provide for a safe and secure parking solution to the new patrons of Wiregrass.
In only the first few weeks of operation, the deck has become the most favored parking location for shoppers. With quick access to either the streetscape retail or via the new bridge to Macy’s, R.R. Simmons delivered a stellar parking structure affordably and just in time to meet the opening day. R.R. Simmons provides turnkey parking solutions for retail, office and healthcare in addition to its broad expertise in other commercial fields.
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Volkswagen of America - Opens ahead of schedule, Under-budget
Volkswagen of America has just occupied its new state-of-the-art parts distribution center in Perimeter West Business Park, Jacksonville, Florida. Prompted by the need to more effectively handle their general parts distribution and the demand for more space to serve it’s growing customer base in the region, VW chose the team of Trammell Crow and the Design/Build firm of R.R. Simmons to deliver this outstanding new project.
The project is 260,000 square feet in size, with more than 50,000 square feet of elevated mezzanine for small parts picking. The fully climate controlled distribution center sets new standards in the illumination for the Volkswagen Parts Distribution. The highly efficient T8 fluorescent fixtures are controlled with sophisticated occupancy sensors. These sensors monitor the activity in each row of the warehouse and only trigger the lighting system when a picking employee enters the specific zone. This approach materially lowers the wattage consumption for the operation, yet provides superior illumination beyond warehousing standards when called upon. Volkswagen has determined that pick accuracy and employee morale is elevated under this new approach.
Design/Builder R.R. Simmons designed the facility for a future expansion as the demand for VW parts continue to grow. The project was completed several weeks ahead of schedule and below budget. Comments from key Volkswagen personnel have been outstanding on this new project.
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