Scope also included the restructuring of Orangethorpe Avenue, a major seven-lane arterial street connecting to the city of Fullerton. During excavation, crews discovered several layers of road dating back to the original street from the 1930s. Street work was carved out and removed in portions to mitigate street shutdowns, with the middle section of the seven-lane street excised and built out first, moving outward from the center median.

Photo by Jon Newell

One of the main challenges was the significant amount of fill required to balance the site thanks to the complex matrix of underground equipment left behind by the previous manufacturing facility. Despite bringing nearly 30,000 yd of soil from the street work, the project team still had to source another nearly 130,000 yd of soil.

Due to an exceptionally wet winter in 2022, the site collected water throughout the season, interrupting work and building progression. This caused several months of delays, and the team had to significantly rework the schedule to stay on track.

Even though the project stalled due to weather, the roof structure delivery dates remained the same. With access to nearly 400 carpenters, the project team had to allocate appropriate resources to push for the completion of enough slab on grade to receive the roof structure deliveries that had been ordered 14 months ahead of time.

The logistics center’s structure features an E-shaped panel design at each corner that meets at a 45-degree angle, with glazing filling the voids. Building and lifting these corner panels was a particularly involved and delicate process due to the unique shape made by the cantilevered portions.