The Huntington Library in San Marino, Calif. is renowned for classic Beaux-Arts structures and lush, sprawling lawns. So when the 96-year-old museum recently decided to build a new $60-million Education and Visitor Center, a major landscaping component was naturally part of the project. Image courtesy ARG Entrances to the new buildings are shaded by transitional trellises which blend into the landscaping. Related Links: Read About Other California Projects "This is the construction of a garden, not just of buildings," says Laurie Sowd, vice president for operations at The Huntington Library. "And that dictates very different construction techniques and sequencing."The project,
Crews are rapidly placing track sections in advance of the spring 2014 opening of the Oakland Airport Connector. Conceived in the early 1970s and started in 2010, the $484-million project will connect the Bay Area Rapid Transit system to the airport. The project is about two-thirds complete, with system testing commencing later this year, a BART spokesperson says. Related Links: Video: Oakland Airport Connector Nighttime Crane Lift Flatiron/Parsons JV Awarded Contract for Oakland Airport Connector Bigge Crane and Rigging, San Leandro, Calif., is providing and operating the cranes on the 3.1-mile project. Several of the lifts have occurred during overnight
As Silicon Valley grows its tenant portfolio of high-tech companies, local cities, developers and architects are preparing to meet the demand for more space and sustainable buildings. A case in point is the city of Mountain View, where San Francisco-based TMG Partners is constructing a $100-million build-to-suit research and development center for Samsung Information Systems America (SISA) Inc. Photo courtesy of TMG Partners The 385,000-sq-ft project includes two, six-story research and development buildings and two, five-story parking structures. Related Links: View Other California Project Stories Last July, the city enacted a new general plan which allows for projects with a
Condos have staged a comeback. The multifamily and hospitality sector achieved a major turnaround in 2012, placing 10 projects, totaling nearly $2.4 billion, on ENR California's Top Starts list. In 2011, only two $100-million-plus projects in that segment got under way. In 2010, there were none. Related Links: View the Ranking of the Top 35 Construction Starts of 2012 in California ENR California The $800-million Graton Resort and Casino was the largest hospitality project to break ground last year. Located about 50 miles north of San Francisco, the project's total cost includes a multistory hotel in a planned later phase.
Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), the owner of Los Angeles International Airport, is in the middle of a $4.1-billion capital improvement plan—one of the largest public works programs in California. A key element of the capital plan is a $438-million replacement for the airport's central utilities plant (CUP). The massive new facility has the complexity, scale and scope to present plenty of challenges for the project team. Related Links: Los Angeles World Airports Named ENR California Owner of the Year (4/19/2012) ENR California "There is something for every discipline: major operating systems, four electrical substations, miles of underground pipe and
By Scott Blair Related Article: Condo, Transit Projects Dominate California's 2012 Top Project Starts 2012 Top Starts In california Rank Project Location Project Cost ($ mil.) Start Date/ End Date Owner/Contractor/Designer 1 New Santa Clara Stadium Santa Clara $1,000 June 2012 March 2016 Owner: Santa Clara Stadium Authority GC: Turner/Devcon, Joint Venture Design: HNTB Corp. 2 The Carlsbad Desalination Project Carlsbad $901 Dec. 2012 June 2014 Owner: Poseidon Resources Inc. GC: Kiewit Shea Desalination (Kiewit Infrastructure West and J.F. Shea Co. JV) Design: IDE Technologies; ARCADIS; Tetra Tech 3 Graton Resort & Casino Rohnert Park $800 June 2012 Late 2013
With billions of dollars in public-sector construction under way, the San Francisco Bay area is an epicenter of activity for design and construction firms that build government-funded facilities.
The new $34-million Eleve Lofts & Skydeck is big on ideas and luxury, yet compact and efficient. When opened next month, the 170,000-sq-ft mixed-use project will feature one of the country's largest active roof and six levels of unique "micro-apartments" targeted at the emerging 20 to 34-yr-old Generation Y crowd of young professionals. Image courtesy American Multifamily inc. The massive roof deck includes all the project's open space, from barbeques to a full dog park. Photo by Greg Aragon The project uses wood framing 65 ft above the podium, which is the maximum allowable height for bearing wood shear wall