The Alaska Contractor: Fall 2006

Member NEWS
Happenings on the Alaska construction scene
Left to right: Ron Kruse, President, N C Machinery; John J. Harnish, Chairman/CEO
of Harnish Group Inc. (parent company of N C); Rick Norman, Alaska
Product Support Manager; John Anderson, VP/Project Manager, Roger Hickel
Contracting; Chris Monfor, Alaska Rental Manager; Roger Hickel, President/
CEO, Roger Hickel Contracting; Jeff Scott, Alaska Sales Manager. PHOTO: CLEM MEWMAW
ANCHORAGE MUSEUM
breaks ground on expansion
ANCHORAGE – Work building the
$116 million expansion to the Anchorage
Museum began with a groundbreaking
ceremony at the site Aug.
20. Mayor Mark Begich, Gov. Frank
Murkowski and Sen. Ted Stevens were
among the dignitaries to address the
crowd, as well as Ed Rasmuson, Brian
Davies, Daphne Brown and Mary
Louise Rasmuson.
Alcan General Inc. is the general
contractor for the 70,000 square foot
addition, designed by internationally
acclaimed architect David Chipperfi
eld, and the Anchorage fi rm of
Kumin and Associates, will provide
a new home for approximately 1,000
Alaska Native heritage objects from
the Smithsonian’s collections in the
National Museum of Natural History
and National Museum of the American
Indian in Washington, D.C.
Additionally, the Imaginarium
Science and Discovery Center will
relocate to the museum, bringing its
focus on outreach and education to the
museum while helping it incorporate
experiential exhibits throughout
the building. The museum’s new
exhibit spaces will be designed by
the New York fi rm Ralph Appelbaum
Associates.
The new building will make the museum
more accessible to passers-by on
C Street through a new main entrance
and windowed galleries. The vacant
N C MACHINERY
opens new Wasilla store
WASILLA– N C Machinery (and N C The Cat
Rental Store), the Alaska Caterpillar Machinery/
Power Systems dealer, broke ground on a new N C
branch set to open in Wasilla in 2007. In celebration,
N C hosted a Wasilla-area groundbreaking event
at the site of the new store on West Rupee Circle
on Aug. 1. As well as promoting what will be N C’s
fi fth full-service facility in Alaska, the event also
highlighted the new Caterpillar E-Series Backhoe,
Caterpillar compact construction equipment, the
wide variety of Cat and other preferred-brand rental
equipment offered by N C The Cat Rental Store, and
N C’s comprehensive parts and service support.
two-acre lawn adjacent the museum
will be transformed into a beautifully
landscaped public plaza, designed by
Seattle’s Charles Anderson Landscape
Architecture, that celebrates the environment
while creating an active, vibrant
place for both outdoor exhibits
and recreation. The project is slated for
completion in 2010.
Mary Louise Rasmuson pauses for a picture with Anchorage’s last fi ve mayors. Left to right:
are Tony Knowles, Tom Fink, George P. Wuerch, Rick Mystrom and current Mayor Mark
Begich. PHOTO: CHRIS AREND
12 The Alaska CONTRACTOR Fall 2006