Saunders Construction is expected to lead the first wave of the National Western Center redevelopment in Elyria-Swansea.
The Englewood-based firm beat out five other applicants and was selected by the Mayor’s Office of the National Western Center to demolish homes and businesses near the stock show, ahead of street and facility improvements, according to a news release from the city. Late last month, the city announced Saunders would be working on the controversial renovations to Denver’s City Park Golf Course.
Saunders is in charge of finding subcontractors for the National Western project, overseeing the clearing and demoing of properties. Altogether the city's contract with the firm is capped at $18 million, according to the release sent Friday.
“The demolition project is both a historic and crucial first step to one of the most anticipated projects in Colorado,” said Justin Cooper, vice president of project development for Saunders Construction, in a statement.
Saunders Construction is no stranger to taking on big projects for the city and county of Denver. The firm was one of the partners behind the $719 million Denver International Airport Hotel and Transit Center built in 2015 and 2016. Saunders also did a $1.8 million sign replacement on Pena Boulevard after the Hotel & Transit Center opened to provide wayfinding and was involved in the multi-million dollar Central Park Recreation Center, according to the company.
"This successful track record illustrates our ability to work in collaboration with the city and its numerous stakeholders," Cooper told Denverite in a statement.
"As a locally-headquartered contractor, we pride ourselves in building the communities in which we work and live and have enjoyed building transformational, and sometimes iconic, projects all along the Front Range. There are times that we will work on projects with diverse views and needs, we are committed to collaborating with all sides to find solutions that result in built facilities that meet the long term needs of all stakeholders," Cooper said.
Due to a reporting error, this article previously misstated Saunders Construction's participation with the National Western Center redevelopment and the firm's past projects.
Business & data reporter Adrian D. Garcia can be reached via email at [email protected] or twitter.com/adriandgarcia.
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