Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
November 28, 2001
Builders win 5 awards for Arvada church
Spirit of Christ project earns constructions' `academy awards'
By Alwen Bledsoe
Nov. 9 the contractors and subcontractors who built Spirit of Christ Catholic Community Church in Arvada received five of what the church's pastor Father Robert J. Kinkel called "the academy awards for construction in Colorado" for their work on the church.
The five ACE (Award for Construction Excellence) awards were given by the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of Colorado, an association of general contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and professional service providers in Colorado.
Fransen Pittman General Contractors was awarded the People's Choice Award for General Contractor and the silver award of merit, or runner-up award, for General Contractor of the Year in the $3-10 million category. Glover Masonry Associates was awarded Project of the Year Under $1 million Subcontractor and the People's Choice Award for Subcontractors. Duro Electric Company received the silver award of merit for Project of the Year Under $1 million Subcontractor.
According to Dennis Jakubowski, director of governmental affairs at AGC of Colorado, the People's Choice Award is decided at an ACE preview luncheon when attendees vote on 11-by-14 display photos of the projects entered in the contest. All AGC members are invited to attend, and this year approximately 160 attended and had a chance to vote for the People's Choice Award, he said. Spirit of Christ was one of 51 entries, he added. Members make their decision based on the photos and on their prior knowledge of the projects, said Jakubowski.
Though the company expected to take first in the Building of the Year category, the People's Choice Award is even more rewarding because Spirit of Christ was competing with all of this year's building projects, including Invesco Field, not just those in their category, said Einer Peterson, project superintendent for Fransen Pittman and a parishioner at Spirit of Christ
"It's probably a better award than the others," he said. "It says a lot more."
The awards ceremony and dinner held at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Denver Nov. 9 were "wonderful," said Father Kinkel.
"I think the quality of the work our contractors did merited that they all get the ACE award, but their peers recognized it," he added, referring to the People's Choice Awards.
Of the church's new building he said, "Not only do we think it's beautiful, but those in the know think it's beautiful and judged it as such."
Peterson said he believed the design of Spirit of Christ's building led to its award-winning performance Nov. 9.
"I haven't been on a project this unique in the 20 years I've been in the business," he said.
Later he added: "It's not a building you see everyday or build everyday. You see so many different projects in that awards ceremony. They're all very nice. Some are unique in their own way, but in my own opinion, this one went that extra step. (To win) the People's Choice Award it must have been something unique and beautiful in everyone else's eyes."
The church's unusual structure made building it a challenging project, said Einer.
"It was a tough project because of a tight construction site in an occupied building," he confided. "It was a very detailed project."
But despite those challenges, "everyone worked really well together," Einer said.
"It turned out good," he said.
Janette Fayhoe, liturgist at the church, was on the building committee.
"There's just an unbelievable attention to detail that I just marvel at," she said of the intricate masonry.
"There are a few places in the church where it's just the most minute detail," she said. "They put a quarter-of-an-inch-by-one-inch brick in a little space and they cut the whole brick so it was perfectly matched."
The church was dedicated Oct. 5 after a more than one-year building process and a four-year planning process.
"It's been very time consuming, but it's been a wonderful journey," said Fayhoe. "I've enjoyed every minute of it. It's been a great process the whole way from the time we started discerning the will of the people with all the different advisory meetings we had and all the way through. The process was a good one, and really committed to having the community behind it and enjoying the fruits of everyone's labors and input."
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