Needing a new home for its headquarters, the Aerospace Corp. sought a project team to transform an existing office building into a high-tech headquarters for the 21st century. Related Links: Best of California 2009 The Aerospace Corp.’s A9 corporate headquarters is a four-story, 177,000-sq-ft office building. One of the significant aspects of the project is the amount of advanced technology incorporated throughout the building. The lower level basement houses the Stars Lab, the data control center for satellite launches and features a raised floor, a server room and conference room. The main entry level features a viewing platform with stadium
Arterra is a luxury condominium building in the Mission Bay area which became San Francisco’s first LEED-NC silver-certified highrise residential project earlier this year. Related Links: Best of California 2009 Arterra consists of three interconnected buildings: a 16-level high-rise tower, a nine-level building with a landscaped terrace area and barbecue deck, and a six-level grass-roofed building featuring three tiers of two-level town homes. The $89-million project features 269 one- to three-bedroom units, concierge service, a fitness/wellness center, community lounge, rooftop sundeck, furnished suite for guests and an enclosed garage on and around a four-level podium structure. On Arterra, Bovis, the
The value of new construction starts climbed 12% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $447.6 billion, it was reported by McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Cos. The upward push came from double-digit gains for nonresidential building and nonbuilding construction (public works and electric utilities). At the same time, residential building in October was unchanged from its September pace. Through the first ten months of 2009, total construction on an unadjusted basis came in at $350.1 billion, down 29% from the same period a year ago. The October statistics lifted the Dodge Index to 95 (2000=100), up
Every one of California�s 28 largest metropolitan areas saw a decrease in construction employment between October 2008 and October 2009, according to a new analysis of metropolitan area employment data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. The association says that state regulators need to rethink plans to force contractors to replace existing equipment as shrinking demand for construction wiped out 136,000 construction jobs statewide. “Collapsing demand for construction services throughout the state is devastating workers and forcing contractors to idle billions of dollars worth of equipment,” says the association’s chief economist Ken Simonson. “Requiring contractors to spend
The Richmond Civic Center Revitalization project recently opened with a media tour and speeches by local officials. Y.K. Cheung Photography The Richmond Civic Center Revitalization project recently opened with a media tour and speeches by local officials. The project also recently won the Best of California’s Top Overall Project for 2009 in the Northern California region. It also took home the Best of California award in the Government/Public category. The awards program is hosted by McGraw-Hill Construction and California Construction Magazine. After almost six years of design and construction, approximately 300 city of Richmond employees recently returned to work at
Gregs G. Thomopulos, P.E., Chairman & CEO of Stanley Consultants of Houston, was elected president of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers for a two-year term. FIDIC represents globally the consulting engineering industry. Thomopulos has been on the organization’s executive committee for six years. His election marks the first time in 20 years that a U.S. citizen holds the position, which only three other Americans have held in FIDIC’s nearly 100-year history. Dynamic Lighting Solutions in Pearland announced Robert C. Horswood joined the company as utility sales representative, Eastern Division. He graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor’s
Photo: Caltrans Caltrans Begins Long-Term Repairs to Bay Bridge Eyebar Caltrans has begun a long-term repair of the failed eyebar on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge that was discovered during the Labor Day closure. According to Caltrans spokesman Bart Ney, work on the eyebar will not require a full bridge closure; instead, crews will work overnight, which will require three lanes to close on the upper deck and one lane on the lower deck. The repair and related lane closures will last approximately three weeks, with an additional five weeks possibly needed at a later date. “We would like to
AGC recently held its annual Fall Conference and Division and State Boards of Directors Meetings in Indian Wells. The meetings and conference drew many of the state’s top construction industry leaders, who elected the association’s leadership for 2010 and focused on the future goals and direction of AGC. Photo: Carol Eaton, AGC of California Top leadership of the AGC of California for 2010, elected by the State Board of Directors on Oct. 29 in Indian Wells, include, from left, Treasurer Randy Douglas, Tierra Contracting, Inc., Goleta; Vice President John Nunan, Unger Construction Co., Sacramento; President Bob Christenson, Panattoni Construction, Inc.,
Tutor Perini Corp. reports that Caltrans has informed the firm that it has been awarded a $215-million contract for construction of the fourth bore tunnel at the Caldecott Tunnel section of Highway 24 in Alameda and Contra Costa counties near Oakland. Photo: Caltrans Caltrans awarded the contract to Tutor-Saliba Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tutor Perini Corp. The tunnel will be approximately 990 meters long and will add two additional lanes of traffic in the westbound direction and is designed to alleviate traffic congestion along the Route 24 corridor. Construction is anticipated to start in January and will take approximately
The ULI Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing has selected Casa del Maestro in Santa Clara, The Kalahari, Miller Ranch, and South City Lights as winners of this year’s Jack Kemp Workforce Housing Models of Excellence Awards.