This new 4,600-sq-ft, $2-million restaurant occupies two historic waterfront pier buildings in San Francisco, straddling what was once a railroad passage that the architect modified to create a full-service, 112-seat restaurant and a separate, counter-service cafe. Related Links: Best of California 2009 The Plant is one of the only restaurants in the country equipped with a rooftop solar PV system for on-site, electrical energy production. Natural, recycled and simple materials were chosen that would have a long lifespan and not affect indoor air quality. The maximum amount of natural light was maintained and increased with a maximum amount of glass
The Mary Avenue Bicycle Footbridge project included the construction of a 325-ft main span pedestrian and bicycle bridge over 10 lanes of Interstate 280. Including the two 89-ft back spans, the entire bridge length is 503 ft long. The project provides a bicycle and pedestrian connection between Cupertino and Sunnyvale, two cities that were previously divided by the highway, and includes the bridge, gateway paths, extensive landscaping, and public art. Related Links: Best of California 2009 Teamwork and group perseverance in solving technical problems was significant when the project hit a financial, architectural, and schedule snag that almost caused the
McCarthy Building Cos., a national construction firm with 76 ongoing projects in the Golden State, has been named California Construction’s 2009 Contractor of the Year. Related Links: Best of California 2009 The award program judged contractors operating within California based on their records of excellence in three general categories: Business Leadership, Investment in People and Community/Industry Involvement/Leadership. In a year marked by national economic upheaval, McCarthy’s California divisions excelled in all three categories. Headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., McCarthy was founded as a family-owned company in 1864 and has grown to employing more than 2,100 people nationwide. Today, the 100
Taking more than five years to build, the LAC+USC Medical Replacement Facility took the teamwork of three general contractors to ensure that the massive project was completed successfully. Related Links: Best of California 2009 The facility is a 600-bed, 1.5 million-sq-ft hospital campus in Los Angeles. The facility includes an outpatient clinic building, eight-story inpatient tower, five-story diagnostic and treatment building and a central energy plant. The project involved three general contractors, McCarthy Building Cos., Clark Construction and Hunt Construction Group, which had to collaborate in order to manage the project which had as many as 1,200 workers on site
The 335,650-sq-ft, $80-million NADEV Printing Facility was completed in May after 15 months of construction to house printing of the Bay Area’s primary daily newspaper, the San Francisco Chronicle. This first-of-its-kind facility in the U.S. consists of a 97,275-sq-ft press hall and a 238,375-sq-ft mail room, as well as office space, high bay storage and mechanical equipment rooms. Related Links: Best of California 2009 An aggressive development schedule and a LEED silver certification goal left little room for setbacks, according to the project team. The press hall portion of the project was completed six months after breaking ground, which was
The project at One Kearny consisted of $30 million worth of construction to renovate and revitalize, not only one but two, historic landmarks with a new addition. Scope included the demolition of an existing abandoned building and replacement construction of a 60,000-sq-ft, 10-story high rise, the historical restoration and seismic renovation of an existing 64,000-sq-ft, 12-story building constructed in 1902 and the modernization of the 1964 Charles W. Moore annex. Related Links: Best of California 2009 With no as-built drawings for the building constructed in 1902, areas were uncovered that the team had to immediately evaluate, making unforeseen obstacles a
On page 37, California Construction presents its annual Owner of the Year and Contractor of the Year winners for 2009. For the past several years, the editorial staff has selected the Owner and Contractor of the Year based on some select criteria: Related Links: Best of California 2009 Owner of the Year – Maintains robust pipeline containing high-profile projects; Advances technology; Facilitates new and innovative workforce development (mentor/protégé programs that help small disadvantaged businesses, job training, jobsite tours for students, etc.); Hires top talent and consistently uses quality sub-contractors; Exhibits clear understanding of building processes and the knowledge necessary to
The team that built the Pacifi c Coast Highway Pedestrian Bridge had to navigate traffi c issues, public aesthetics and soil management in order to craft an awardwinning project. The $3-million bridge is designed to allow pedestrians to cross over Pacifi c Coast Highway to Doheny State Beach, limit traffi c congestion and serve as a gateway to the city. Related Links: Best of California 2009 The bridge is a variable-depth, single span precast concrete girder structure but the soil conditions presented a challenge. Weak soil conditions, along with presence of shallow groundwater and sensitive nearby land uses, made deep
The project team behind the Pasadena Convention Center expansion had a unique challenge – to renovate and expand a historic building and make it fit into the city’s historic district. Related Links: Best of California 2009 They succeeded – and managed to do it ahead of schedule, as well. The 194,500-sq-ft expansion of the Pasadena Convention Center nearly tripled the building’s original meeting and event space. The project team built a 163,000-sq-ft building that provides 100,000 sq ft of meeting space, including a 25,000-sq-ft grand ballroom. A civic plaza was added that will allow a grand entrance for red carpet
The tenant improvements at Paul Hastings at La Jolla Commons involved more than simply renovating an office interior. The project team needed to provide a tenant improvement that met the owners’ demand for Class A office space. Related Links: Best of California 2009 The project consisted of re-construction and tenant improvement services for approximately 70,000 sq ft of office space on the 11th, 12th and partial first floors of a 13-story building. The additions to the building were a technology/electronics server room, library/file rooms, small training room, mail room, small kitchens and multiple conference rooms at the first, 11th and
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