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UIUC National Petascale Computing Facility Awarded LEED Gold Certification

The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) Petascale Computing Facility has been awarded LEED Gold Certification by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The state-of-the-art, 88,000 square foot facility is home to Blue Waters, the most powerful supercomputer in the world for open scientific research, as well as other NCSA infrastructure.
Such a high tech facility required thorough planning and innovative strategies to achieve LEED and energy efficiency goals. For example, the facility relies heavily on more efficient water cooling for the advanced systems it houses.
In order to establish and maintain an accurate project timeline Cotter Consulting provided scheduling services to Clayco, the construction manager for this project. Cotter congratulates all the project team members who worked towards this achievement.
U of C Joe and Rika Mansueto Library Wins AIA Distinguished Building Award

The new University of Chicago Joe and Rika Mansueto Library project was awarded the Distinguished Building Award, Citation of Merit on Friday, October 18th at the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Chicago 56th Annual Designight Design Excellence Awards.
The Design Excellence Awards recognize the best contemporary architecture produced by Chicago-area firms, in Chicago and elsewhere.
Cotter Consulting served as the Owner's Representative for the Mansueto Library project and would like to congratulate and thank all project team members for making this such a successful endeavor.
For more information click here.
Cotter Congratulates the University of Chicago on the Dedication of New Library
On October 11 the University of Chicago dedicated the new Joe and Rika Mansueto Library, a bold, innovative new research and learning space that will house over 3.5 million materials and provide space for future growth for the next 20 years. Serving as Owner's Representative from preconstruction through closeout for the new glass domed library, Cotter Consulting is pleased to celebrate with the University on this historic accomplishment.
The dedication ceremony was held at Harper Memorial Library Commons on the University's campus. Highlights of the celebration included a keynote address by Anthony Grafton, a University of Chicago Alumnus and Henry Putnam University Professor of History at Princeton University. Author of Codex in Crisis, Grafton spoke on the importance of libraries throughout history.
Cotter Selected for Inc. 5000 list for Second Year in a Row
Cotter Consulting was selected for the second year in a row by Inc. magazine to be included in its fifth annual Inc. 5000, an exclusive ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies. The list represents the most comprehensive look at the most important segment of the economy-America's independent-minded entrepreneurs. Cotter joins online retailer ideeli, Spirit Airlines, television maker Vizio, Honest Tea and Dunkin Donuts, among other prominent brands featured on this year's list.
Cotter's impressive revenue and employee growth over the past three years merited a spot on the 5000 list as well as a ranking in the top 200 of those selected in the construction industry. Cotter is proud to be included in this list that celebrates growth and perseverance in a troubling economic climate.
U of I Ikenberry Commons Featured in College Planning and Management
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's new $64 million residence hall was highlighted in the July issue of College Planning and Management.
The article describes the 180,000 square foot facility that is a key component of the multi-phased formation of the Stanley O. Ikenberry Commons. According to the article, the Commons will transform the area into “a more modern, neighborhood-style student environment.”
Cotter Consulting is serving as a subconsultant to Clayco, the construction manager, for phases E and G of the Ikenberry Commons project. Cotter staff is providing project management services including subcontractor bidding and evaluation, scheduling and oversight of work during the construction phase. The project is expected to be complete in June 2013 with LEED Silver or better certification.
Click here to read the article.
Mansueto Library Featured in Tribune’s “Cityscapes” Blog
The University of Chicago's new Joe and Rika Mansueto Library was featured in Blair Kamin's widely-read Chicago Tribune Cityscapes blog on May 18th. Cotter Consulting served as Owner's Representative for the Library which Kamin describes as a “convention-busting marvel”.
Read the article here.
Northwestern University Prosthetics and Orthotics Center Wins CBC Merit Award
Northwestern University's Prosthetics and Orthotics Center buildout project was awarded the Merit Award for Interior Buildouts at last Wednesday night's Chicago Building Congress (CBC) 2011 Merit Awards Ceremony. Merit Awards are bestowed upon projects that “display distinctive design, outstanding construction, and a positive impact on the surrounding community.” This was the first year for the Interior Buildout category, one of only six awards handed out.
Cotter Consulting served as the Owner's Representative for this project and would like to congratulate and thank all project team members for making this such a successful endeavor, including Northwestern University, VOA Associates, Inc., Kent Consulting Engineers, Klein and Hoffman, Shen Milsom White, and Interior Construction Group, Inc..
Cotter Joins Educare for Groundbreaking of New West DuPage School

More than 100 people celebrated the momentous groundbreaking of Educare's second facility in the Chicago area on April 21, 2011 in West Chicago. Attending the event were philanthropist J.B. Pritzker; West Chicago Mayor Michael Kwasman, and DuPage Community Foundation Executive Director Dave McGowan. Important partners for this initiative include Educare of West DuPage, The Gustafson Family Foundation, The Pritzker's Children Initiative, West Chicago Elementary School District 33 and Positive Parenting DuPage.
Cotter Hires New Vice President of Transportation
Cotter is very excited to announce that we have hired Carma Wood, P.E. as our new Vice President of Transportation. Carma comes to Cotter with 27 years of engineering experience including 20 years with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) with 15 of those years dedicated as Resident Construction Engineer of District 2 - Dixon, Illinois. Most recently, Carma served as the Construction Services Department Manager for Stanley Consultants where she managed projects for IDOT and the Illinois Tollway, including I-55 and the I-294 Bridge Rehabilitation.
Carma has worked in a variety of roles on a range of infrastructure projects such as the I-80 bridge over the Mississippi River, the I-280 bridge over the Mississippi River and the construction of the "Missing Link" of the John Deere Expressway. She previously served as the state-wide Documentation Engineer in the Central Bureau of Construction and then as the Construction Review Engineer in the Office of Quality Compliance and Review in IDOT's central office in Springfield, Illinois. Carma also acted as the Quality Control liaison between the Mississippi Department of Transportation and the contractor for a major $338 million design-build project over the Biloxi Bay.
Loyola University Norville Center for Intercollegiate Athletics featured in Modern Steel Construction
Loyola University Chicago's new Norville Center for Intercollegiate Athletics was highlighted in the February issue of Modern Steel Construction. The piece, titled “More Room to Run”, details the unique use of steel in the construction of the Center.
The layout of the Norville Center is an L-Shape that lines the east and south sides of the existing Gentile Center. In order to avoid demolition and relocation of MEP systems that would disrupt use of the Gentile Center, a 100-ton truss was constructed to bridge the Norville Center to the Gentile Center's systems.
Cotter Consulting's staff provided project management for the construction of the $25 million Norville Center, overseeing the challenges of constructing the truss while staying within an aggressive schedule. Cotter also provided commissioning services through our joint venture, SSRCx/Cotter, for the 77,000 square foot Center that opened March 3rd.
To read the article click here.
Public Building Commissioning Featured on Chicago Works
The Public Building Commission (PBC) of Chicago's environmental sustainability program and green building efforts are showcased in a video on the Chicago Works YouTube Channel. The nearly eight and a half minute video highlights the PBC's many achievements in sustainability and LEED building around Chicago.
Cotter is currently a key part of the Public Building Commission's Program Management Organization (PMO) Team. Cotter's Senior Project Manager, Deeta Bernstein, LEED AP, serves as Sustainability Manager for the PBC and assisted in the development of this video. As PBC Sustainability Manager, Deeta has managed the program sustainability and LEED certification processes for all PBC projects since 2007.
Cotter Certified as a WBE in Wisconsin
Upon recently opening a Wisconsin office, Cotter has been certified as a Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) in the state of Wisconsin by the Department of Commerce, Division of Business Development. Dedicated to supporting the utilization and growth of women-owned businesses, the State of Wisconsin requires that women-owned businesses account for 5 percent of government contracts.
Cotter is already certified as a WBE and DBE (Disadvantaged Business Enterprise) in the State of Illinois.
CTA Dearborn Subway Track Renewal Project Wins ACEC-Illinois Award
Cotter, as a subconsultant to Parson's Brinckerhoff, provided safety oversight and field inspection services for the Chicago Transit Authority's Dearborn Subway Track Renewal Project which has been named an Honor Award winner in the 2011 Engineering Excellence Awards Competition hosted by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) of Illinois.
New Cotter Milwaukee Office Featured in The Milwaukee Business Journal

Cotter's new office, located at 735 North Water Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was featured in the September 24th edition of The Milwaukee Business Journal. Cotter's new office is headed by Nahid Keltner, Group Manager and will serve as a center for business development in Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin offering our full range of program and project management, construction management and commissioning services.
To view the article, click here: http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2010/09/20/daily62.html
To learn more about our new office location and see pictures, click here: http://735northwater.com/
Two Cotter Projects Win Design Evanston Awards

Cotter Consulting provided project management for two 2010 Design Evanston Award winners. Northwestern University's Tech Plaza Restoration (pictured above) has been honored for Landscape Design and the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation (JRC) Synagogue was honored for Architectural Design: Public Use. Cotter also provided commissioning services for JRC, which was awarded LEED Platinum Certification.
West Town Library Highlighted in New York Times

Cotter Consulting provided project management services for the Department of General Services new West Town Library which was highlighted in an article by the Chicago News Cooperative and picked up by The New York Times for their September 16th issue.
Cotter celebrates groundbreaking of Multimodal Transportation Center

Cotter Consulting joined the Town of Normal and state and federal officials to mark the groundbreaking of the new Multimodal Transportation Center in Normal, Illinois on Saturday, August 7. U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff and Cong. Debbie Halvorson, along with Town of Normal Mayor Koos and Amtrak Board Chairman Tom Carper were on hand to take part in the ceremonial groundbreaking.
Exelon 55th Floor Project Certified LEED-CI Platinum
The 55th floor of Exelon's Headquarters located in Chase Tower at 10 South Dearborn Street has been certified LEED for Commercial Interiors Platinum.
Cotter Consulting provided LEED commissioning services for this 24,000 square foot build-out. Exelon's other 10 floors (45th-54th) have also been certified, bringing the total space to over 220,000 square feet and making it the largest commercial office space in the country to be certified LEED Platinum.
Article on Eco-Intel website details HOK Chicago Project

Cotter Consulting's joint partnership, SSRCx/Cotter, provided fundamental and enhanced commissioning services in pursuit of Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design for Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI) certification for HOK's progressive office project.
Normal Multimodal Project featured in AIA

Cotter Consulting is providing owner's representative services for the Normal Multimodal Transportation Center, which was highlighted in the American Institute of Architects' recent article "In a New Decade, During a New Recession, Cities are Going Back to Public Transit."
ENR features photo of Cotter project at Loyola
Cotter is serving as Owner's Representative to Loyola University for their new Intercollegiate Athletic Center. ENR has posted a photo of the 100 ton truss that was recently erected as part of the project.
Jewish Reconstructionist Synagogue wins World Architecture Festival Award

The Jewish Reconstructionist Synagogue, for which Cotter provided Owner's Representative and Commissioning Services, was named 2009's Highly Commended World Building of the year: Civic and Community at the World Architecture Festival (WAF) in Barcelona.
This innovative Synagogue, located in Evanston, is the first house of worship to be awarded LEED Platinum certification in the Nation.
For a complete list of winners and event details see the WAF website:
http://www.worldarchitecturefestival.com/winners.cfm?eventYear=2009
Charles H. Shaw Technology and Learning Center and Henry Ford Academy: Power House High School presented 2010 Chicago Neighborhood Development Award
Cotter provided Owner's Respresentative services for the Charles H. Shaw Technology and Learning Center and Henry Ford Academy: Power House High School which was awarded the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Award for Outstanding Non-Profit Neighborhood Real Estate Project.
Awards were presented on Tuesday, Febraury 9, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency Downtown. Crain's Chicago Real Estate Daily was there to cover the event and announced the winning projects on their website today: http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=37088
All Saints Cemetery achieves LEED Gold Certification
Cotter Consulting provided Fundamental and Enhanced commissioning for Catholic Cemeteries of Chicago's new All Saints Cemetery administration building and chapels.
Anne Edwards-Cotter wins IRTBA Honorary Staff Award

Anne Edwards-Cotter, Founder and President of Cotter Consulting, Inc., has been honored with the Illinois Road and Transportation Builder's Association (IRTBA) 'Honorary Staff' Award. Ms. Edwards-Cotter graciously accepted the award at IRTBA's 2009 Contractor of the Year Awards.
