The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles opened last month marking the completion of the final piece of L.A. LIVE, the $2.5 billion sports, residential and entertainment district, which was inaugurated with the opening of STAPLES Center in 1999.
California�s plan to require construction contractors to install large and expensive emissions reduction kits on their off-road diesel equipment will put workers� lives at risk and force job cuts, a prominent union official and a member of the Associated General Contractors of America told federal officials in Washington, D.C. this week. As a result, both asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Administration to deny or delay a decision to allow the state to proceed with its off-road rule. �Denying this rule is the only way to protect the men and women working in California�s construction industry from a new and grave
AGC of California officially unveiled its remodeled headquarters building in West Sacramento last month, staging an open house that showcased the newly completed project to dozens of eager members and visitors who turned out for the event. The 25-year-old building received a top to bottom makeover that brought finishes and systems up to current standards, completely modernized its look and reconfigured interior space to accommodate large scale training events and meetings. Just prior to the open house, AGC�s Legislative Committee put the meeting space to its first major use by holding its quarterly meeting on site. The project scope included
Anaheim Hills-based Bomel Construction Co. Inc. has been awarded the construction contract for a four-level parking garage by the city of San Bernardino. Construction was expected to start by the end of March. The 352-stall concrete parking structure will be at the Third Street site of the existing 82-year-old Santa Fe Depot, which is serviced by rail system providers Metrolink and Amtrak. Metrolink has 55 stations in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties. Amtrak operates 163 stations in California. The cast-in-place structure will have a Mission-style design, to match the depot�s motif. The architect for the 113,500-sq-ft
Kaiser Permanente has agreed to deploy 15 megawatts of solar power in a deal that will put solar power systems at 15 facilities across the state by the summer of 2011. The agreement with San Francisco-based Recurrent Energy, an independent power producer and a developer of solar power projects, launches one of the largest sustainable energy programs in U.S. health care. The 16 solar power systems will be implemented across the 15 hospitals, medical offices and other buildings through rooftop solar, ground mount solar, and elevated solar above existing ground-level parking spaces and garages. Several projects are underway. The design,
After decades of starts and stops, dredging the 46-mi Sacramento Deep Water Ship Channel to a depth of 35 ft could begin in 2011 now that $12.5 million has been appropriated in President Obama�s budget as a down payment on what could be an $80 million project. Susan Ma, project manager for the Army Corps of Engineers, says a draft EIR will be released this year with construction scheduled to begin in fall of 2011. The project will require removing 8 million cubic yards of silt and clay sludge using a cutter head suction dredge barge for upland placement where
Only 10 out of 337 metropolitan areas added construction jobs between February 2009 and 2010, the Associated General Contractors of America reports citing data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Even worse, 230 metro areas experienced double digit declines in construction employment while only two cities experienced a double digit increase, association officials noted. �In virtually every area, construction workers continued to suffer the brunt of the recession,� says Ken Simonson, the association�s chief economist. �Job losses in far too many cities were simply, and sadly, staggering.� The construction economist says that Houston, Texas lost more construction jobs (25,500,
As California�s construction industry continues to feel the recession�s pinch, some of the state�s top contractors are tightening their tool belts and concentrating on their company�s individual talents to stay ahead in the game. Rendering courtesy of MVE/VMA JV T.B. Penick�s Camp Pendleton work includes two bachelor enlisted quarters buildings. SCRIBNER “The biggest challenge right now is a lot more competition on projects,” says Michael Scribner, president and CEO of San Francisco-based BCCI. “It used to be that we were competing against maybe two or three contractors on a project and now there could be between eight and 10.” Scribner,
Construction has begun for a new two-story, 24,000-sq-ft office and retail building in the Point Loma area of San Diego, along the San Diego Bay. Harbor Point will consist of nine office suites above three ground floor retail suites. Completion is scheduled for August. Related Links: Jamboree Housing opens The Arbor at Woodbury HOK, Summit Builders break ground on Pomona center Designed by F.L. Hope Architecture & Planning, the building is also designed to complement LEED silver for Commercial Interiors. The Peckham Family Trust is the developer of the mixed-use project, with Mike Peckham providing oversight on behalf of the
After exactly a year after ground breaking, Jamboree Housing Corp. celebrated the grand opening of The Arbor at Woodbury in Irvine. The property was completed ahead of schedule and under budget despite the economic downturn in real estate, and is now home to 90 families. Related Links: HOK, Summit Builders break ground on Pomona center Ground broken on San Diego mixed-use project The Arbor at Woodbury offers high-quality workforce housing to families who earn between 30% and 60% of the area median income. For example, a family of four earning $46,500 (50% of area median income) will pay about $1,140/month