Denver International Airport Selects Lead Designer and Phase I General Contractor for Great Hall Renovations

DENVER – Oct. 17, 2019 – Denver International Airport (DEN) announced today that it is has selected Stantec as the preferred lead design firm for the Great Hall Project and Hensel Phelps as the preferred construction manager/general contractor for Phase I of the Great Hall Project. Both companies have a strong local presence, are familiar with the Denver community and state and have existing contracts with DEN enabling them to mobilize quickly. The selection is pending consideration by Denver City Council.

“Over the last several months, our transition teams have been working diligently to identify the best and most efficient way to proceed and to select key members of the new project team that will help us successfully deliver the Great Hall Project,” said airport CEO Kim Day. “When we announced the termination of our contract with Great Hall Partners in August, we said that we expected to select a new project team this fall. The selection of the lead designer and contractor is right on schedule and will allow us to begin construction in Q1 2020, as we committed to doing.”

DEN focused its procurement for lead designer and general contractor on contractors with existing contracts or that are already mobilized at the airport. Once contractors who had available funds and resources were identified, DEN requested proposals and conducted interviews to identify the preferred vendors. Representatives from DEN’s airlines and the City’s Director of the Division of Small Business Opportunity (DSBO) participated in the selection process to ensure the selected companies would have a focus on operations, passenger convenience, safety and our small business community.

“As we selected new contractors for the project, it was important that we brought our values of safety, operations and community to the forefront,” added Day. “Both Stantec and Hensel Phelps were selected because of their commitment to these values while also bringing thoughtful proposals with creative costsavings ideas to the table. We are pushing ahead so we can get back to work on the Great Hall project with our new partners.”

As the new lead designer, Stantec will complete the design for the remainder of the project. They will be verifying existing designs, looking for modifications for both cost savings and other design improvements and ensuring plans are adequate for construction to proceed. They will also provide design assistance during construction of future phases. Hensel Phelps will be the construction manager/general contractor for Phase I. They will be the main builder and manage construction activity. DEN has not yet made a determination on the steps it will take to procure the construction manager/general contractor for future phases.

Phase I work primarily includes construction of the airline ticketing pods in the center of the Terminal on Level 6. It also includes new restrooms and conveyances.

DEN will begin the City Council approval process on Nov. 6 by introducing the contract amendments to the “Business, Arts, Workforce and Aviation Services” committee. If approved by the committee, the contract amendments will move to full City Council for approval with hopes of having the amendments in place by the end of the year.

In the meantime, under existing contracts, Stantec and Hensel Phelps will begin assessing the site on Nov. 13, one day after Great Hall Partners vacates the site. Small and minority owned businesses, Gilmore Construction and Sky Blue Builders, will also provide construction services under existing contracts during the transition as DEN takes over the project.

As previously stated, DEN is committed to keeping the design and construction cost of the Great Hall Project at the original $770 million including contingency. The total cost for Phase I has not yet been determined but will be finalized by Q1 2020 once the team has had an opportunity to refine the design and scope. Additionally, the total termination payment amount has not been finalized, but is not a factor in resuming construction which will begin Q1 2020.

Denver International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world. DEN is the primary economic engine for the state of Colorado, generating more than $36 billion for the region annually. For more information visit www.FlyDenver.com, check us out on YouTube and Instagram, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Sign up for DEN’s monthly newsletter Nonstop News.

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