News & Views

School Building Modifications for COVID-19

We must modify existing educational facilities to allow the continued education of our students. We cannot allow the COVID-19 crisis to steal a year from our children.

Re-opening our schools requires planning. Here are a few ideas to help.

It starts with hardware and software that enables students to access all needed textbooks and lessons from their own computers. Sharing textbooks and handouts is no longer acceptable in a COVID-19 world.

In the past several decades, larger new schools have been built. Large schools decrease per-student operating costs, but they are prime environments for spreading communicable diseases. We recommend a return to smaller school buildings. We will not be surprised to see parents consider building size when choosing a school.

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How To Heat Your Building If You Can’t Use Natural Gas

The U.S. Energy Information Agency has reported that 43 percent of home energy usage goes to heating, and another eight percent to air conditioning. The least expensive energy source for heating is natural gas, which is plentiful in the United States.

However, some people in the ‘green’ movement believe we shouldn’t use natural gas as an energy source, because it’s carbon-based. (About 85 percent of the energy used in the world is carbon-based.)

If you’re forced by new ‘green’ regulations to abandon your natural gas heating systems, what are your alternatives?

Read more …

Mick Rich Offers At-Cost Building Modifications Required by COVID-19

ALBUQUERQUE, NM, April 23, 2020 – Mick Rich Contractors, and Albuquerque-based commercial contractor, today announced that it would help schools and businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic by building any modifications they need at cost.

The offer applies to schools, churches, hospitals, medical facilities, and any ‘front-line’ businesses such as grocers, retail stores and restaurants that must modify their buildings as a result of the pandemic.

“Everyone needs to pitch in to help our economy re-emerge from the lockdown,” said Jim Rich, vice president of Mick Rich Contractors. “We decided to perform needed building modifications at cost, because businesses are under tremendous financial pressure right now.”

Rich specified that projects not required as a response to the pandemic would be estimated and billed at the construction company’s standard rates.

“We want to help as many businesses as possible recover quickly and fully,” Rich added. “A rising tide lifts all boats.”

Mick Rich Builds New Gym for City of Albuquerque

ALBUQUERQUE, NM, March 8, 2019 – On Tuesday, March 12 at 10:00am MDT, Jim Rich, vice president of Mick Rich Contractors, will join City of Albuquerque officials to break ground for construction of a new gym at the city’s NorthDomingo Baca Multigenerational Center, located at 7521 Carmel Ave NE at Wyoming Blvd.

Following an open bidding process, the city last month awarded Mick Rich the contract to build the gym. Project cost is $5.23 million.

“This will be a showcase gym for the city,” Rich said. “We’re excited to build it, and we thank City Counselor Brad Winter, who was instrumental in getting this project going.”

The gym will be 19,293 square feet, and include a multipurpose court, an elevated indoor running track, an indoor climbing gym with several climbing walls of different heights, an outdoor playground, and an exterior amphitheater.

North Domingo Baca center provides breakfast and lunch for all ages five days a week. It is the most used community center in the city of Albuquerque.

Mick Rich Receives Patent for Soft Wall Anchor

Mick Rich Contractors Inc., an Albuquerque-based commercial building contractor, has received a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its “soft wall” anchor.

In 2007, the parish of San Felipe de Neri Church selected Mick Rich to renovate and restore its 250-year-old building.

During the project, Mick Rich found the sanctuary’s 150-year-old altar was separating from the adobe wall. The parish requested the altar be fixed without compromising the existing wall. In order to avoid changes to the existing wall, Mick Rich developed a unique solution by designing and fabricating an anchor that holds the altar to the adobe wall without the use components that would be visible to church visitors.

The new “soft wall” anchor developed by Mick Rich uses “butterflies” to hold anchors in place, rather than a large metal plate attached with a nut.

Mick Rich Builds First Platinum LEED Building in New Mexico

Mick Rich Contractors Inc., an Albuquerque-based commercial building contractor, has completed construction of its Southern Sandoval County Arroyo Flood Control Authority (SSCAFFCA) office building expansion project.

The expansion includes a one-story 4,415 square-foot addition to the existing government office in Rio Rancho. It features a 13,000-gallon cistern system to collect the buildings’ rainwater for irrigation and a 16kw photovoltaic shade structure array that will provide power for the expansion.

These features are part of the objective of becoming platinum-level LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified.

To meet LEED certification requirements, 75 percent of all waste from the site must be recycled and 20 percent of all installed materials must be made of recycled content. Also, all paints, adhesives and composite wood items must have a low volatile organic compound content, meaning they are low on environmentally harmful solvents. 

The Forest Stewardship Council has certified all the wood framing material used on the project, which is also one step closer to LEED certification. 

The LEED applications for design and construction will be submitted for the certification process in mid-February.

Mick Rich Builds Classroom in Albuquerque, Transports It to Taos

Mick Rich Contractors Inc., an Albuquerque-based commercial building contractor, has completed construction of an addition for the Anansi Charter School in Taos.

The addition is a 1,836 sq. ft. third-grade classroom. The 27’ x 68’ unit was constructed at Mick Rich Contractors’ Albuquerque facility and later transported to the Taos school. Mick Rich deems this type of building as “off-site conventional construction.”

Professional structural movers loaded the addition onto two giant steel beams for transportation. Once loaded and with escorts in tow, the caravan headed for Taos. 

The building, at a little less than 18’ tall when loaded, does not fit under most overpasses, so the movers must take every exit then reenter the freeway on the other side of the bridge.

A one-piece building, as opposed to a two-piece, offers better quality, more design flexibility and shorter construction time.

Off-site conventional construction projects such as this are the best method of providing economical classrooms without the stigma of “portables,” which is why Anansi proceeded to order a second building to be delivered in 2010.

How Mick Rich Contractors Got Into the Church-Building Business

November 11, 2015

by Juliana Vadnais, Albuquerque Business First

It was almost by accident that Mick Rich Contractors started doing construction work on its first church 20 years ago.

El Santuario de Chimayo had contracted another company to build a set of restrooms outside the santuario. According to Mick Rich, president of Mick Rich Contractors, it wasn’t supposed to be a complicated job. But when he was called in to take a look, “It was a mess,” he said.

Read more …

Commercial Building Security

Fresh out of college, I was assigned as a project engineer on a large waste water treatment facility outside of Washington, D.C. It was a great opportunity for my career – and also great for touring our nation’s Capitol. Back then, you could walk straight into the Capitol Building and the Library of Congress, and stand in line for a White House tour.

Twenty years later, following the 9/11 attacks, Washington became a fortress. Overnight, concrete traffic barriers were installed around our national treasures. Today, the concrete traffic barriers are gone – yet Washington is just as secure.

We want our homes and places of business secure, but we do not want to look out through bars on windows and doors. There are several ways to accomplish this.

The Regulation Chasm:
Middle Market vs. Government

November 4, 2014
Dan Patterson, The Washington Post

Mick Rich Contractors has been in business in Albuquerque, New Mexico since 1988. Rich is a familiar face to government officials and business owners across the Southwest. But his business has fallen from a peak of 100 people to a third as many over the past few years. The reason? Rich, like many small and middle size business owners across the country, blames state and federal regulation – mainly Dodd-Frank — for negatively impacting his business.

We Are Fortunate To Work with Heroes

Mick Rich

Some people stand by and watch an emergency event that calls out for help, but never take action nor tell anyone. Other folks jump in to help, then tell the world of their great deeds. Perhaps the smallest category is people who jump in to help, but say only, “Yesterday was an interesting day.”

This story is about that last, rare category of people.

It was the end of the workday at San Martin de Porres Church in Southwest Albuquerque, when all the workmen were gathering up their tools, ready to head home. One of those workmen was our Vice President, Bobby Jaramillo, who had just completed his site inspection.

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Avoid Paving Travelers

April 12, 2019
Mick Rich

On my way home in Sandia Heights a week ago, I spotted two gravel driveways being re-graded. Always good to see neighbors keeping up their properties. But what caught my attention was the contractor’s well-maintained heavy truck. No company name on the door, but they had their NM and TX DOT Numbers.

The Travelers are coming. The Travelers are here. It’s the warm-weather version of the White Walkers in “Game of Thrones.” The Travelers bring big trouble.

Who are the Travelers?

Read more …

Sustainable

First Solar Cimarron

Owner: First Solar Inc.
Architect: First Solar Inc.
Project: 250-Acre Site Development
Contract Amount: $1,242,973
Contract Date: March 2010
Completion Date: April 2010

Mick Rich Contractors was awarded the “Move On” contract for First Solar’s 30 Megawatt Solar Power Plant in Cimarron. The “Move On” contract was critical path for the $200 million project. We were expected to mobilize within 72 hours, and to complete the project within 30 days. The project was composed of temporary and permanent site utilities, access roads into the site, all SWPP measures including retention ponds,  site fencing and site entry stations. We completed the project on time, despite several late winter snowstorms that construction during whiteout conditions. Twelve months later, we were awarded the “Move Off” contract.

First Solar Macho Springs

Owner: First Solar Inc.
Architect: Lengyel & Associates
Project: Off Site Conventional
Contract Amount: $385,000
Contract Date: June 2013
Completion Date: December 2013

We were asked to submit a price proposal for First Solar’s O&M building at their PV Array in Macho Springs, NM because we had successfully completed an earlier project (“move-on” contract, $1.3 million in 5 weeks) for First Solar at their Cimarron PV Array Facility.

First Solar’s proposal called for a site built structure. We recommended our Off-Site Conventional System. Their site was remote (between Deming and Hatch) and desolate (the only thing at the site was blowing tumble weeds). Thus, the cost of getting material and staff on the site would be expensive. Our solution was cost effective and allowed them to concentrate on the PV Array, not be distracted by a minor component of their facility.

We constructed the office portion of the building in Albuquerque and transported the building in one piece to the site. Once the office was set on the permanent foundation, we constructed the warehouse using conventional wood framing in just a few weeks.

Schott Solar

Owner: CH2M Hill-Lockwood Green
Architect: CH2M Hill
Project: Three Pre-engineered Metal Buildings
Contract Amount: $4,817,418
Completion Date: February 2009

This was Schott Solar’s first photovoltaic production facility in the United States, located in the Mesa del Sol Development that is revolutionizing the southern Albuquerque metro area.

The new facility produces both photovoltaic modules and receivers for concentrated solar thermal power plants. Three pre-engineered metal buildings were designed and fabricated by Nucor Building Systems: a 115,000 square foot receiver building, a 56,000 square foot modular building, and a 22,000 square foot office building. Mick Rich Contractors offered the best delivery schedule, utilizing Nucor Building System’s newest fabrication facility in Brigham City, Utah.

LEED points for using 80 percent recycled steel – the industry’s leading efficiency rating – while remaining competitively priced, made Nucor the optimum choice of manufacturer. Also essential was Nucor’s commitment to meet or exceed stated delivery dates with no cost increases.

The Schott Solar facility comprises 200,000 square feet, and employs 350 people in the first phase, representing a $100 million investment. Eventually, Schott expects to more than double the size of the existing manufacturing plant.

SSCAFCA

Owner: City of Rio Rancho
Architect: Environmental Designs Inc.
Project: Addition
Contract Amount: $1,066,881
Completion Date: November 2009

This project is a one-story, 4,415 square foot addition to the Rio Rancho, NM offices of the Southern Sandoval County Arroyo Flood Control Authority. It is primarily composed of cast-in-place concrete, ICF walls, wood framing, EIFS, TPO roofing, aluminum clad wood windows, aluminum storefronts and polished concrete floors.

Attempting a LEED-NC version 2.2 Platinum level certification, this project emphasizes sustainable building materials and methods. The project showcases an 18” rammed earth wall, as well as two 32’-long built-up parallam wood trusses. To achieve the LEED Certification, 75 percent of all waste must be recycled, 20 percent of all materials must be made of recycled content, and all paints, adhesives and composite wood items must have a low VOC content. The wood framing material was all FSC certified. Bamboo and wheat board were used in the casework to achieve the rapidly renewable materials points.

The site also features a 13,000 gallon cistern system to collect rainwater for irrigation, and a 16kw photovoltaic shade structure array provides power for the addition.

Schools

Anansi Charter School, Taos

Owners: Friends of the Anansi Charter School
Design Engineer: Living Designs Group Architects, Inc.
Contract Amount: $1,060,104
Completion Date: 09/30/2009
Project Type: Modular

Phase I
Construction of a 3rd grade classroom and media center of approx. 1,856 sq. ft., consisting of a wood framed pre-manufactured modular building; which was built on Mick Rich Contractors’ property in Albuquerque and transported, in whole, to Taos, NM.

Phase II
Construction of 4th and 5th grade classrooms of approx. 1,856 SF consisting of a wood framed pre-manufactured modular building; also built on Mick Rich Contractors’ property in Albuquerque and transported, in whole, to Taos, NM.

Both buildings were assembled together and are now a permanent structure.

Aztec High School

Owner: Aztec School District
Architect: Rodahl & Hummel Architects
Project: Renovation
Contract Amount: $2,369,398  
Completion Date: February 15, 2006 

Included in this renovation project were minor demolition of restrooms, lobby, and west corridor of multipurpose building; complete renovation of restrooms, lobby, and storage rooms; replacement of doors campus-wide; renovation of gymnasium lockers and bathrooms; and new electrical and HVAC equipment upgrades.

Bandelier Elementary School, Albuquerque

Owner: Albuquerque Public Schools
Architect: Vigil & Associates
Project: Renovation & Addition
Contract Amount: $2,711,876
Completion Date: October 13, 2008

Mick Rich Contractors demolished the northwest portion of the existing school and constructed a new 4,679 sq. ft., two-story addition containing a new kitchen and upper level tech lab. Additionally, we renovated the existing cafeteria, restrooms, classrooms & teachers’ lounge into a new cafeteria, restrooms, teacher workroom, ramp and reading area, comprising approximately 8,138 sq. ft. Renovation included construction of a new loading dock and dumpster enclosure, and upgrades. We also replaced and added evaporative coolers to the HVAC system.

Gilbert Sena Charter
High School, Albuquerque

Owner: Sena High Foundation Inc.
Architect: NCA Architects
Project: Renovation
Contract Amount: $399,417
Conract date: June 1, 2017
Completion Date: August 15, 2018

Gilbert L. Sena Charter High School is located in the North East Heights of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The project scope was an interior school remodel of over 10 thousand square feet of space.

The existing school interior was primarily an open space. Before becoming a charter school, the space was used as a call center for a phone service provider. Before renovation, the space was divided by thin partition walls and cubicles. The charter school focuses on IT and computer science technology so, there was a huge amount of IT involved in the project.

We were approached by the foundation to renovate the school interior. We were contracted to design and build the interior renovations. We were successful at completing these tasks by working close with the client, their IT contractor, the clients alarm system provider, and by coordinating with our design and construction team.

The entire construction schedule was a duration of 10 weeks. It was a very high pace job and there was little room for error. We have since been contacted by the client for additional work and will start the next project with them the fall of 2018.

Larragoite Elementary School, Santa Fe

Owner: Santa Fe Public Schools
Architect: Bauer, Freeman, McDermott Architects
Project: Addition & Renovation
Contract Amount: $3,338,741
Completion Date: December 7, 2004

A remodel to an existing 9,970 sq. ft. classroom building, this project consisted of complete interior demolition – including mechanical and electrical, construction of new walls, windows, ceilings, doors, casework, floors, bathrooms, roof – and new construction of a 13,850 sq. ft. gymnasium, bathroom and administrative area. Work consisted of concrete foundations; a pre-engineered metal building for the gymnasium and bathrooms with a standing seam metal roof and metal wall panels; and a structural steel frame at the administrative area including metal stud walls, stucco and a built-up roof.

Interior work consisted of gyp board walls, carpet, acoustic ceilings, rubber floor at gym, ceramic tile, casework, athletic equipment, telescoping bleachers, and new mechanical and electrical systems.

 Site work was extensive and included demolition of existing parking lots and sidewalks, installation of new site mechanical and electrical utilities including a fire loop line, new asphalt parking lots that included a loop road around the site, and new concrete sidewalks.

Los Alamos High School
Duane Smith Auditorium

Owner: Los Alamos Public Schools
Architect: FBT Architects
Project: Addition & Renovation
Contract Amount: $1,935,312
Contract Date: July 13, 2017
Completion Date: April 13, 2018

The Duane Smith Auditorium Project was located at Los Alamos High School in Los Alamos, New Mexico. The scope included a remodel of the existing auditorium vestibule area and a covered walk area. We started by demoing the existing vestibule area and the covered walk area. After demolition we laid new plumbing for restrooms and then poured a new foundation.

The new space included a new vestibule that included a concession stand, ticketing stand, 2 offices, a men’s restroom, women’s restroom, family restroom and pre-concert space. The pre-concert space joined the auditorium and band wing of the school.

The project was very challenging because of the age of the building. Challenges were presented when we were demoing the existing structure and during tie in with the new structural elements. We worked close with the engineer, architect and owner to overcome these challenges.

The project was successful and we were able to renovate the building to tie in with the recent building improvements throughout the school.

Nava Elementary School, Santa Fe

Owner: Albuquerque Public Schools 
Architect: Vigil & Associates 
Project: Renovation & Addition 
Contract Amount: $2,711,876 
Completion Date: October 13, 2008 

Our work on Nava Elementary School included demolition of selected site elements and replacement of concrete walks; and a remodel of the existing school building with demolition and replacement of selected walls, finishes and casework. The project also included an addition to the multi-purpose building of approximately 600 sq. ft. with supporting plumbing, mechanical, and electrical work.

Socorro High School

Owner: Socorro Consolidated Schools
Architect: AIA Architects
Project: Addition & Renovation
Contract Amount: $3,219,973
Completion Date: April 12, 2003 

This project consisted of an 80,716 sq. ft. remodel and 6,100 sq. ft. new facility construction. We built the project in three phases, with the final phase completed while school was in session. The first phase of the remodel consisted of the 54,680 sq. ft. north and east wings. This included demolition of all ceilings, old bathrooms and floors, and installation of an all-new electrical service, plumbing, fixtures, acoustical ceilings, lights, quarry tile and finishes.

Concurrently, we constructed the new addition of 6,100 sq. ft. with new biology and chemistry lab classrooms. The first phase of the remodel was performed in 90 days while school was on summer break, while the new addition was completed in 180 days with a lead time for the specialty casework of 150 days.

Upon completion of the new addition and the transfer of classes, teachers and students, the last phase of the project began. We remodeled the south wing, which consisted of 26,036 square feet, in 60 days.

In addition to the upgrade of the entire school to meet ADA requirements, we added an access ramp for the auxiliary gym. For safety, we installed a fire sprinkler system in 92% of the entire building (104,600 sq. ft.), which included a new dedicated water service line.

Mick Rich Contractors successfully met a very tight schedule on this project, working in a confined area with school in service during construction. Communication and relationships were positive and constructive throughout the project.

Taos Middle School

Owner: Taos Middle School
Architect: Living Designs Group
Project: Renovation 
Contract Amount: $1,496,467.00
Completion Date: 09/26/2010 

Taos Middle School project consisted of an extensive remodel of the core use areas in the school. Scheduling was tight, as all work needed to be completed during the summer months before classes resumed. 

Mick Rich Contractors gutted and completely remodeled the locker rooms, kitchen, and 10 bathrooms. We also refinished the floors, painted, added new bleachers in the gymnasium, and added new ceilings, floors, and acoustic treatments in the cafeteria.

Tucumcari High School

Owner: Tucumcari High School
Engineer: Greer Stafford SJCF, Inc.
Project: Renovation
Contract Amount: $3,158,500
Completion Date: January 22, 2012

Vocational Agricultural Building: Interior renovation of approximately 6,721 square feet of class rooms and shop area, including HVAC replacement and site work.

Rattler Gymnasium: Interior renovation of approximately 27,162 square feet of Gymnasium and support spaces; complete HVAC & electrical upgrade and site work. Rhodes Field House site work.

Rhodes Field House: Interior renovation of approximately 11,671 square feet of gymnasium and support spaces; removal & replacement of the roof; electrical upgrade.

Retail

Albertsons Coors Bypass Albuquerque

Owner: The United Family
Architect: MWM Architects, Inc.
Project: General Remodel
Contract Amount: $1,367,579
Contract Date: December 2017
Completion Date: April 2018

The renovation of the Albertson’s Market located near Coors and Alameda in Albuquerque, NM included both interior and exterior renovations. 

The exterior consisted of tearing down the existing façade include tile roofs and replacing with new columns, roofs and colors, giving the store a unique look compared to the adjacent shopping center.  As with any renovation of an existing building, unseen conditions are always a challenge.  With the new columns, the designer did not anticipate the incredibly large roof drains within the existing columns.  Mick Rich and the plumbers worked together to renovate the drains to be concealed in the new façade columns and bring they up to code with overflow drains.

The interior renovation consisted in installing a new soffit throughout the store for new upgraded department signage, the installation of new coolers and freezers and upgrading the plumbing as required for both and new equipment for all department including produce, meat and seafood and the deli.

Although some work was performed during daytime business hours, most work was completed at night after the store closed for business at 11:00 pm, which is typical for so many of our retail remodels.

Walmart #5166
Deming NM

Owner: Walmart Stores, Inc.
Architect: CMA Architecture Planning
Project: General Remodel
Contract Amount: $1,048,000
Contract Date: December 2017
Completion Date: May 2018

This Wal-Mart Super Center is located in Deming, New Mexico. It employs over 400 employees and is a 24/7 operation. The scope of work for this project consisted of renovating the Associates Break Room, the Pharmacy, the Vision Care Center and all restrooms throughout the store.  With replacement of existing refrigeration cases, we cut into the slab to tie into the existing condensation lines to and renovated the refrigeration piping as required for the new cases.  The restrooms in the store had minimal work but did include the replacement of the sinks and toilet accessories.  A portion of the vinyl flooring was replaced throughout the store as a “piece” replacement, meaning that  Walmart construction personnel would pick which tiles will be replaced during the work each night.  Both the interior and exterior of the store was painted. As with most Walmart Store, with the store open 24 hours a day, shopper and associate safety was the number one priority during construction, so generally all work was completed at night. 

Walmart #2270
Durango CO

Owner: Walmart Stores, Inc.
Architect: Shade Lawrence O’Quinn
Project: General Remodel
Contract Amount: $1,020,000
Contract Date: August 2016
Completion Date: November 2016

This Walmart Supercenter employs over 400 employees and is a 24/7 operation. The scope of work for this project consisted of renovating the associates break room, the Pharmacy, the Vision Care Center and all restrooms throughout the store.  With replacement of existing refrigeration cases, we cut into the slab to tie into the existing condensation lines to and renovated the refrigeration piping as required for the new cases.  The restrooms in the store had minimal work but did include the replacement of the sinks and toilet accessories.  All vinyl flooring was replaced throughout the store and both the interior and exterior of the store was painted. As with most Walmart Store, with the store open 24 hours a day, shopper and associate safety was the number one priority during construction, so generally all work was completed at night. 

Renovation

El Zocalo Complex Historic Renovation

Owner: Sandoval County, New Mexico
Architect: James Patrick Lynch
Project: Historic Renovation
Contract Amount: $2,962,249
Completion Date: November 2007

This project covered historical restoration and renovation of two adobe buildings. The Convent, built in 1876, housed the Catholic Sisters and the cafeteria. The Salazar Building, built in 1922, served as the community school. Both buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties.

The project comprised stabilizing the existing structures, removing and replacing deteriorating structural elements, upgrading to meet the current Americans with Disabilities Act, providing a new roof membrane and stucco, and upgrading all mechanical and electrical systems. The renovations followed strict guidelines and standards to maintain their status on the historical registers.

Major issues with the Convent included large voids in the exterior adobe walls, decaying wood viga beams and wood decking, and interior doorways that had settled, as well a heating and cooling system and an updated electrical system. Additionally, the floor had settled a great deal in several areas, necessitating storing original brick flooring and wood doorways while remedial work was performed.

Because of the historical nature of the project, a variable refrigerant flow zoning system by Mitsubishi Electric was concealed in the walls so as not to detract from the building’s historical look. The new electrical systems were also concealed in the walls and ceilings.

The Salazar Building, one of the oldest two-story adobe buildings in the New Mexico, also endured structural damage with deterioration of a section of the adobe wall separating the second floor and roof, and deterioration and damage to the wood beams and interior services. The renovation included installing a new heating and cooling system, updating the electrical systems and an addition to house the elevator and restrooms.

The first challenge was to secure the building structurally to eliminate the chance of collapse, after which, the exterior walls were rebuilt and the roof beams replaced. The roof membrane could not be replaced until the heating and cooling system was designed and the roof trusses strengthened. The second challenge was installation of the heating and cooling ductwork and electrical systems. Damaged sections of floor and ceilings were patched with salvaged material and the walls were re-plastered, and all the windows were refinished. The masonry addition housed the restrooms and elevator.

Mick Rich Contractors has been performing historic renovation for more than 20 years, and the El Zocalo Complex Renovation and Restoration was the most challenging to date. The most challenging issue was the expectation of a renovated and restored historic building that met the budget constraints of Sandoval County. We also needed to meet the historical requirements of the State of New Mexico Historical Preservation Division while ensuring modern-day systems were added to the building. The mechanical systems were re-engineered to meet the client’s expectations to find the optimum system that would be cost effective and have minimal aesthetic impact, structurally and esthetically.

“Mick Rich did a great job on the renovation of these two historical buildings.”

Phillip Rios

Public Works Director, Sandoval County

“Mick Rich conducted a miracle…they completely restored two fragile adobe buildings to their original condition.”

Donna Wylie

Economic Development Director, Sandoval County Tourism

“Your firm made all the difference in the great outcome of this project… this historic resource was saved by your timely involvement.”

Pilar M. Cannizzaro

Architectural Project Reviewer, New Mexico Historic Preservation Division

The Gradely Apartments,
Albuquerque

Owner: Catalina Vista 1, LLC
Contract Amount: $1,500,000
Contract Date: August 2018
Completion Date: January 2019

This enovation of 57 apartment units involved a complete demolition of apartment interiors; replacement of flooring, cabinets, appliances, plumbing and electrical fixtures; and new paint and countertops.

We also added a new deck to the community swimming pool, made other pool improvements, and redid the landscaping for the entire apartment complex.

La Iglesia de Santa Cruz

Owner: Archdiocese of Santa Fe
Architect: Red Mountain Engineers
Contract Amount: $158,857
Completion Date: October 12, 2003

La Iglesia de Santa Cruz de la Canada Church dates back to 1733. The church is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and is the subject of many artists’ paintings and photographs. Repairs were needed on the building, while keeping the appearance intact because the exterior appearance of the church could not be altered. After completion of the project, new soffits, roof panels and minor plastering were not apparent.

The existing sanctuary was in use during the construction period; during special services, construction was stopped in the areas adjacent to the sanctuary. All areas of construction were secured and cleaned prior to work stopping on Friday afternoon.

More than 50 years ago, a pitched roof structure was added to the church for which the roof trusses were structurally failing. Mick Rich Contractors’ responsibility was to reinforce the existing pitched roof structure and install a new metal roof, in addition to correcting drainage problems around the church. The repairs were accomplished by re-grading the site, installing a storm drain system, and re-paving the site.

San Felipe de Neri

Owner: Archdiocese of Santa Fe
Architect: Ortega and Associates
Project: Historical Renovation
Contract Amount: $1,102,916
Completion Date: June 20, 2007

Mick Rich Contractors operated in 11 phases on this project to deliver tiered construction services for the San Felipe de Neri Catholic Church in Albuquerque’s historic Old Town. Mick Rich coordinated with the Parish, Antonio F. Ortega Architects, and the Old Town Merchants Association during the design and construction phases to provide a quality project and safe environment.

This historic adobe building required that the construction team working on this project have the ability to refurbish, restore and construct new sections while retaining the flavor and look of the original. Mick Rich was proud to do its part to preserve the integrity and beauty of this church building, originally constructed in 1793 and now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.