The Vantage Cos. headquarters Andres s 401k program grows ANDRES CONSTRUCTION SERVICES CONSTRUCTION PAPER andresconstruction.com DALLAS AUSTIN Developers Ted and Larry Hamilton on the Mosaic amenity deck with its negative edge pool and hot tub. A breath of fresh air Creative problem-solving helps Andres lead the way in adapting older downtown landmarks into residential hot spots W hen it comes to adapting and renovating downtown office buildings, most builders fall into one of two categories those that shy away from them and those that underestimate them. Adaptive reuse projects that require renovation and restoration are often misunderstood, said architect Gary Pitts, AIA of Pitts Design Studio / BGO Architects. They re often taken too lightly, and most clients don t see them as they truly are, which is very complicated. They re not just an interiors project, t he emphasized. d Ad Andres understands that. Surprises lurk behind every corner of such projects. Oftentimes, accurate plans of these older buildings cannot even be found. Then there s finding the craftsmen to renovate art forms no longer practiced regularly in the 21st century. Finally, tight spaces downtown also provide precious little space for the staging of materials and manpower. Building habitats Downtown conversions High-density apartments High-rise apartments Brownstones continued on page 4 Andres restored the Interurban s many architectural flourishes.
NEW LANDMARK The Vantage Companies new headquarters makes a lavish statement on its site overlooking Turtle Creek in Dallas. A Work of Art Andres helps the Vantage Companies create a landmark headquarters building for the ages With a signature site overlooking Turtle Creek just a short walk from The Mansion, John F. Eulich set out to build a monument to his firm and his renowned art collection. Since founding the Vantage Companies in 1959, Eulich has led his firm to develop over 80 million square feet of industrial, office, retail, hotel and multi-family projects nationwide, representing over $7 billion in value. Vantage ranks among the country s largest full-service commercial real estate organizations. But John Eulich also has found time to make a name in the world of art collecting. In fact, his collection of western art received nationwide attention in 1998 when a portion of it was auctioned by Sotheby s in New York. On his beautifully located site, Eulich envisioned a lavish permanent home that would suit both his real estate company and his impressive art collection. The project was designed to be a period piece, reminiscent of European buildings of the 19th century, said architect Cole Smith of Smith Ekblad & Associates Inc. The neo-classical style was enhanced with the highest quality materials, Smith added. Everyone involved in the project understood that this was not going to be an ordinary office building, he added. Limestone, quarried and cut in Lueders, Texas, was used not just as a veneer, but also as part of the structure of the building. Long before construction began, Andres Construction was selected to construct the landmark building, based on the company s reputation for quality and value. Andres, Smith Ekblad and the Vantage team worked for several years creating the design of the building. Eulich, who earned Vantage a reputation for innovative development of industrial and business parks, suburban office parks, community shopping centers, office/showroom and research facilities, hotels and multi-family developments, sat in on many of the design meetings. The primary challenge was adapting the plan for a 19th century mansion into a modern-day office building. Mr. Eulich expected the design to work equally well for business as for public functions and art displays. Smith, who also designed all the hardware for the exterior and interior, infused his designed with a sense of proportion
The project was designed to be a period piece, reminiscent of European buildings of the 19th century. Cole Smith, Smith Ekblad & Associates and permanence. In addition to the limestone façade, slate and lead-coated copper was used for the roof and ornamental metal. Much attention was paid to the pallete of color and materials on the exterior of the building. The construction team helped the owner and architect sift through a wide range of possibilities, from various window types, to different layouts for the garage, to assorted footprints. Andres tested every element for design, cost, and quality. While scheduling and cost played into decisions, quality took priority. Our motivation was to use the best EUROPEAN STYLYING The new headquarters for the Vantage Companies features a great deal of custom detailing like the hand-forged ornamental iron used on the hand-rails. materials we could use, said Fred Albrecht, president of the Vantage Companies, and to make this a truly, one-of-akind building that will stand the test of time. This building designed to house art may in the end be viewed as a work of art itself. Andres invests in employees and vice versa 401(k) program may be one of the best things Andres has ever done The success of the Andres 401(k) plan reflects the trust management places in employees and the love employees feel for the company. Our 401(k) and profit-sharing plan assets grew by 34 percent last year, said Dinah Hays, vice president and administrator of the plan. The increase sprung partly from the firm s growth as the number of employees grew 15 percent in 2006 and 20 percent in 2007. Employees also continue to increase their contributions. I ve been putting in the max ever since it started, emphasized Rodger Harrison, one of the company s elder statesmen and most respected superintendents. I am one of the oldest employees at Andres and it s going to give me a great retirement fund to fall Rodger Harrison back on, he said. The company itself remains the most enthusiastic and largest contributor to the program. The company has put in a ton, said Harrision. I m very happy about that. Each participant in the 401(k) program can handle their own investments individually by computer. That ease of accessibility has contributed significantly to individual education about investment options, Hays insisted. I like it, said Harrision, because I can pick whatever mutual fund I want. The program provides the company with a way to give back to employees who make the success of the firm possible. And the program demonstrates how strongly employees feel about the company. I love Andres, exclaimed Harrison. I may be one of the company s first retirees. I can tell you that the 401(k) program is one of the best things Andres ever did for the employees.
A breath of fresh air continued on page 1 This environment places a premium on construction professionals who react quickly to unforeseen circumstances and propose creative solutions that won t strain relationships or stretch construction budgets and schedules. As an organization, said developer Ted Hamilton, Andres s competency at handling the complications of downtown renovations is unmatched in my experience. Hamilton, who serves as president of Hamilton Properties, has developed a number of downtown projects including the DP&L Lofts and the Mosaic, the largest downtown renovation in the history of Dallas. Hamilton initially selected Andres to adapt the art deco DP&L Buildings after having seen the company s work on the Majestic Loft Residences (adapting the old Joske s department store). As with any historic renovation, said architect Gary Pitts of the three-building DP&L project that was originally constructed in the thirties and forties, there were issues, like the complexity of the cast in place parking garage on the southeast corner that corkscrewed into the ground and tapped into the building s basement. Three different building foundations were uncovered, said Hamilton in fitting the parking layout into its tightly constrained footprint. We like working with Andres, Pitts insisted, because they provide value engineering solutions that improve the design and constructability of a project. Andres is our preferred contractor because they can infer what the drawings mean, he explained. That s important on conversions of old buildings where you cannot draw enough detail or provide sufficient explanations. They will take the next step. They have a very hands-on attitude. They own their solutions and propose them to the team. Their overall approach to a project, said Hamilton, is to look constantly for solutions, rather than pointing out problems and asking the architect to solve them. In addition to the nearly 200 apartments (including penthouse units), the parking garage, lobbies, and retail spaces, the DP&L project featured a 7,000-square-foot bar and restaurant along with a spacious pool deck located on top of the parking garage. The level of finish was extremely high for a residential apartment project, said Hamilton. They spent a lot of time and effort working to achieve that quality. It was shocking, said Hamilton, when they delivered the project ahead of schedule. They have to be one of the first contractors in history to turn over an historic renovation project early. At the same time that Andres adapted the DP&L complex into lofts, they made history at the Interurban Building just across Jackson St. In adapting the Interurban (built in 1916) into 134 apartments, Andres also created a retail space to accommodate Urban Market, downtown Dallas s first grocery store in over 25 years. The grocery store opened months prior the remainder of the building, causing quite a stir downtown as well as a few headaches for the construction team, which had to work carefully around the store and its patrons. But this was just one of a number of construction issues to be navigated. The building s original cornice work extending around the building, eight-feet high and cantilevering out four feet from the building had been removed, said Jerry Merriman of Merriman Associates/ Architects. To achieve an historic designation, this dramatic feature had to be recreated, he explained. Andres developed a costeffective material and way of handling it to make it look like the original stone. It took a lot of effort. Adding a pool and plaza to the project also proved to be a challenge, especially since the pool was twenty feet below ground in the building s basement and yet had to be open to the sky above. Sections of the first-level flooring were removed while preserving the structural support. Then four feet of solid rock was excavated and the rock removed from the area. Wayne Wilson and the Andres team cannot receive enough credit for the job they did on this project, said Merriman. In the Gables Republic Tower, Andres s problem-solving prowess proved invaluable. The 36-story, 400,000-square-foot landmark from the 1950s had been scheduled to be converted into apartments by Gables Residential for several years. The developer, however, had been unhappy with other contractors bids. Eventually, Andres was brought into the job. We took a different approach, said Todd Hahn, Andres s project manager, in order to meet the client s budget. With the help of subcontractors and the Owner s Representative, Andres s professional team came up with several creative solutions to save the client large sums of money so that the project could move forward. The first involved the fresh air required The pool deck of the DP&L Lofts offers lots of room for frolicking.
of HVAC systems in skyscrapers. This socalled make-up air is customarily ducted vertically. At the Gables Republic Tower, these ducts were to be located within an elevator shaft that would not be needed in the residential reincarnation of the building. Costs related to this conventional plan included demolition of the elevator shaft, structural steel reinforcing, the ductwork itself, sheetrock for the surround, plus fire dampers and electrical work to make the dampers function. Andres construction professionals proposed that the make-up air be handled horizontally on each floor to eliminate the costly vertical ductwork. Having studied the alternatives carefully, the construction team was confident despite the fact that this approach had not been taken before. The same thinking was applied to the bathroom exhausts, saving the client $2 million. Andres innovative value engineering of the make-up air system and bathroom exhausts may serve as a model as more and more urban skyscrapers are adapted to residential uses. (Top left) The pool on the 35th floor of the Gables Republic Tower (Top right) Living room with fireplace at Gables Republic Tower. (Below) Apartment at Mosaic. What stands out to me about Andres is that Wade Andres was always there in all the meetings. Talk about hands-on. Jerry Merriman architect Additional savings were gained by an equally unconventional approach to moving men and materials up and down the structure s 36 floors. The challenge, said Sean Harris of Gables Residential, was to move men and materials up and down without damaging the building s historic exterior. Andres proposed using two elevator shafts that were slated to house the residences trash chutes as the location for an interior hoist. With the help of an inventive supplier, a custom mast was fabricated to fit in the elevator shafts. This solution helped Andres move men and materials very quickly and reduce wait times significantly, Harris said. But Andres brought another key to the project. After touring their other downtown projects, we knew they were extremely adept at downtown conversions, Harris insisted, but we were surprised by their multi-family attitude. You don t find multi-family sensitivities in most general contractors. They just made the whole process seem effortless, Harris concluded. You can count on Andres to partner with you to achieve the best value for the project. After his very positive experience with Andres on the DP&L project, Ted Hamilton had no doubts who he wanted to handle the largest residential conversion project in downtown Dallas, the one-million-squarefoot Mosaic (formerly Fidelity Union Tower complex). The project called for converting the 21- story Fidelity Union Building (constructed in 1952) and the 32-story Fidelity Union Tower (opened in 1960) into 440 luxury apartment units. Naturally, there were issues to be resolved. We had to tear down a portion of the existing garage (about 20 percent vertically), said Hamilton, and build a whole new ramping system to provide one ramp for traffic entering the garage and one for traffic exiting (the original system shared a single ramp). Building the amenity deck also required a lot of work, Hamilton added. Andres went through three of four major revisions to value engineer the deck and bring it within our budget. They were very helpful and patient. It paid off by reducing the cost by approximately 35 percent. What stands out to me about Andres, said architect Jerry Merriman, is that Wade Andres was always there in all the meetings. Talk about hands-on here was the president of the construction company taking time to be very involved. What also impresses me about Andres, Merriman added, is that their preliminary estimates for the project were very close to the hard numbers they came back to us with once they had the complete drawings. It shows how accurate they can be very early in the process using preliminary drawings. Andres is a contractor who knows what they re doing. They give everyone involved in a project a lot of confidence. I can t emphasize enough how important that is, he insisted. Owners and architects frequently see prices jump 20 percent or more from the preliminary estimates to the actual hard numbers. They re such a good contractor, emphasized Hamilton, that we don t even bid our jobs out any more.
Andres Construction Services 3838 Oak Lawn Avenue, Suite 1414 Dallas, Texas 75219 NEW LIFE DOWNTOWN Developers Ted and Larry Hamilton of Hamilton Properties at Mosaic. A BREATH OF FRESH AIR Andres problem-solving capabilities help developers turn older buildings into residential hot spots. A WORK OF ART Building a headquarters for the Vantage Companies that will stand the test of time CONSTRUCTION PAPER Construction Paper is published for partners and friends of Andres Construction Services. President: Wade Andres CEO: Gil Andres Senior Vice President: Warren Andres Vice Presidents: Dinah Hays, Tom Feather, and Wayne Wilson 3838 Oak Lawn Avenue, Suite 1414 Dallas, Texas 75219 214-521-2118 Fax 214-521-4620 www.andresconstruction.com E-mail: mail@andresconstruction.com 2007, Andres Construction Services. Construction Paper is published in association with Stewart Publications, Dallas, Texas. Andres begins work on high-rise in Austin Andres is constructing an 21-story apartment building in Austin for Cobalt Land Development. Located at the corner of 21st and Rio Grande on the west side of the University of Texas campus, the apartment units are designed for the upscale student. The building will feature an elevated pool on the seventh floor as well as a six-floor parking garage. Additional amenties will include granite coiutner tops in the kitchens and bathrooms. The project, named 21 Rio, is being designed by Merriman Associates/Architects of Dallas, Austin, and Charlotte. First United Methodist, Richardson wins honor Andres won the 2007 Summit Award for traditional construction ($10-$30 million category) for its work on the First United Methodist Church in Richardson. The award was presented to Andres by QUOIN/ Associated General Contractors of America, Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter. ANDRES NEWS ROOMS WITH A VIEW 21 Rio will offer upscale UT students with a high-rise living option just west of campus. The church, which also was recognized with the Best of 2006 Award in the private/religious category from Texas Construction magazine, features open beam, neo-gothic arch-style architecture in the 1,300- seat sactuary. It was also featured in the March 2006 Structural Engineer Magazine. In all, the project encompasses 118,000 square feet of complex on 22 acres. Andres grows staff by add young talent In order to continue providing top-notch service to our clients, Andres continues to add staff. After the staff grew by 15 percent in 2006, the team has grown by 20 percent so far in 2007. In 2006, four of eight interns were offered positions. In 2007, four of six interns returned at graduation. While adding significant young talent to the team, Andres remains an experienced outfit. Seventeen percent of our staff has 5-10 years with Andres, and 21 percent have been with the firm over 10 years.