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
Related Links: Calif. High-Speed Rail Backers Push 'System Blend' Bid Results Announced for First Leg of Calif. High-Speed Rail The California High-Speed Rail Authority's $68-billion high-speed-rail project recently announced a probable joint-venture team to construct its first phase, but that doesn't mean trains will be leaving the station soon. The embattled project still faces lawsuits and questions, even from former supporters."High-speed rail is at a crucial point," says Quentin Kopp, former chairman of the authority. Over the past 18 months, "missteps and violations" of the 2008 Proposition 1A bond measure have changed public opinion, he says.Kopp, who co-authored the bill
The VA Palo Alto Health Care System is seeing a lot more than patients these days. With roughly 17 projects totaling nearly $1 billion under way or currently in planning, the hospital’s 92-acre campus in Palo Alto is booming like a gold rush town. Image courtesy SmithGroupJJR The $100-million, 174,000-sq-ft Polytrauma and Blind Rehabilitation Center is the largest project currently under construction at the Palo Alto VA campus. Related Links: View Other Health Care Project Articles “This is unique for us because there are so many major projects happening on an active hospital campus,” says Jason Nietupski, the center's facility
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
Rendering courtesy Pelli Clarke Pelli The 1,070-ft-tall Transbay Tower will be the tallest building in San Francisco upon its completion in 2017. Related Links: Los Angeles Natural History Museum Gets Major Makeover ENR California: Project News As construction activity picks up in California, so does contract work for Los Angeles-based real estate law firm Allen Matkins. "The market is on fire," says attorney Delmar Nehrenberg, chairman of construction and development practice for Allen Matkins. "I've never seen anything like it." Nehrenberg, who is working on contracts for projects worth about $1.5 billion across the state says San Francisco and Hollywood are two
Move over US Bank tower; the $1-billion Wilshire Grand is coming to take the crown of tallest building in Downtown Los Angeles. Developed by Korean Air Lines Co., the new hotel and office project will contain 73 stories and will rise to 1,100 ft tall, with a distinctive architectural spire at the top. Related Links: View Other ENR California Project Stories "The Wilshire Grand Hotel and office development will change the corner of Wilshire and Figueroa with an iconic building that will redefine the downtown skyline," said Korean Air Chairman Yang-Ho Cho at a recent press conference.The roughly 2 million
In 1913 the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County opened the doors to its now-iconic Beaux Arts main building. One hundred years later, the museum is about to unveil the latest part of a seven-year, $173-million physical transformation—one that preserves the past, fortifies its existing structures and creates new spaces. Related Links: Engineering News Record Architectural Record The museum's exhibits are dedicated to preserving the past, but the team that designed and constructed the museum's original 1913 facility didn't follow such exacting standards when it came to creating as-built drawings. During the planning phase of the recent seismic upgrade
With its rectangular structures, long hallways and cookie-cutter classrooms, traditional school design is as fundamental as reading, writing and arithmetic. But these days, as K-12 learning environments evolve, so do design themes and practices.
Spanning two blocks in the heart of downtown Sunnyvale, the Carmel Loft House project is designed to bring new life into the city by the San Francisco Bay. Image courtesy of Carmel Partners Carmel Loft House will consist of two buildings with 133 loft-style apartment homes and more than 6,000 sq ft of ground floor retail space. "Carmel Loft House will play an important role in completing the revitalization of downtown Sunnyvale by activating the Plaza del Sol and bringing new residents and visitors to the downtown area," says Mark D. Garrell, vice president of development for San Francisco-based Carmel
Redwood City is celebrating the New Year with a bang—and a boom of new construction projects underway in and around its downtown. By Greg Aragon There are currently 958 new units planned or under construction in downtown and another 1,100 near downtown Redwood City. "We’re seeing a remarkable level of developer interest in our downtown, and over the next couple of years much of this is going to come to fruition,” says Redwood City Mayor Alicia Aguirre. "It’s very positive for our community; we’re going to double the housing downtown, see new offices and new parking, and really enhance economic
