GDI
Commercial Drywall, Inc. Vol. 2
Craftsman
No. 11
September 1981 .
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GaBBeria high-rise
COD adds S^story Trapse® T®w8r to backlog CDI has received another major high-rise to add to its backlog of future projects. The most recent addition is the 64-story Transco Tower, a high-rise office building to go up immediately south of the Galleria on West Alabama between South Post Oak and McCue streets. The building, which will stand 901 feet tall, will be the corporate headquarters for Transco Companies, Inc. and Gerald D. Hines Interests and is believed to be the tallest building in the country outside a central business district. Transco will occupy 905,450 .square feet of the building's 1.6 million gross square feet and will house approximately 1,300 of the company's employees. Additionally, Gerald D. Hines Interests will move some 250 employees into its new corporate offices there. The Transco Tower has been designed by architects Philip Johnson and John Burgee of New York, in association with Morris* Aubry of Houston. It will rise from a five-story base and feature setbacks at levels nine, 49, 56, 58 and 63. Transco’s exterior will be constructed of reflective gray glass set in anodized aluminum. Columns of bay windows of darker glass will project from this facade. A 90-foot arch of Texas pink granite will mark the main entrance into its first floor lobby. Serving as the general contractor on Transco Tower will be the J.A. Jones Company. Initial construction is expected to begin in midSeptember with initial occupancy ^^scheduled for late 1982. For CDI, the Transco Tower will be ^^a team effort with work to include the drywall construction, finishing and the paint on its core.
The drywall portion is expected to get underway in the spring of next year and last approximately a year. According to contract sales manager Alan Jezek, one of the job's biggest challenges will be its accelerated production schedule which calls for the completion of two floors per week. "CDI is probably the only drywall contractor in Houston with the capabilities to meet such a schedule", says Alan. Meanwhile, the paint group under its manager Robin Cravey will handle the painting operation. This phase will also be approximately a year-long endeavor on the 64-story project. "In fact,” says Robin, "this will be the largest high-rise office building we’ve done to date". The CDI paint group has done projects as large or larger, such as the Four-Leaf and Shell Woodcreek,
but Transco will be the first office building of this magnitude. According to Robin, painting operations are expected to commence in late 1982. The Transco Tower will be the first CDI Houston project for J.A. Jones. Previous work for the general contractor has been completed in Austin at the IBM complex on Building 045.
CDI recently received commitment for the Transco Tower, a 64-story building in the Galleria area. At 901 feet, it will be Houston's tallest building outside the downtown area.
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