Los Angeles developer Wood Partners is moving ahead with the type of construction project that has virtually disappeared in the past few years – a luxury apartment community. General contractor WP West Builders LP, Los Angeles, will break ground on the $75-million Warner Park project in Warner Center during the week of Aug. 15. Construction time is estimated at 22 months with the first units to be available in early 2013.The designer of the project is Architects Orange, Orange.The four-acre site sits adjacent to Warner Center, a thriving mixed-use hub that is home to more than 50,000 jobs and millions

It may not be back to business as usual in the California construction industry—due to lingering economic uncertainties and owners' resulting reluctance to proceed with projects—but major contractors see some silver linings in upcoming project opportunities, especially in health care, transportation and other infrastructure. In this year's Top Contractors ranking, total revenue at the top 10 firms dropped 10.3% to $8.1 billion from $9.1 billion a year ago. But many contractors anticipated the slowdown and diversified into new market sectors and that helped stem the recessionary tide. Moreover, the growth of technology firms in the San Francisco Bay Area has

The first of 10 projects of Caltrans’ mandated Design-Build Demonstration Program – the State Highway 99 Chowchilla Rehabilitation Project in Madera Co. – was awarded last week to Granite Construction Co. Construction on the $37-million project is planned to begin this month and is estimated for completion by December 2012. The project will repair nearly 4 mi of Highway 99 in both directions in Chowchilla from the South Madera Overcrossing to the Avenue 16 Overcrossing. Existing guardrail, lights, signs, and drainage systems within the project limits will also be upgraded or repaired, as needed.With the design-build construction method, Caltrans expects

If all goes according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s plan, in 59 hours starting 7 p.m. Friday, July 15, Los Angeles will avoid “Carmageddon.” All of Southern California, it seems, is bracing for the shutdown of a 10-mile section of Interstate 405 so that one of its overpasses, the Mulholland Drive Bridge, can be partially demolished as part of a $1-billion project to upgrade the I-405 between Interstate 10 and U.S. 101.The media-saturated region dubbed the weekend closure “Carmageddon” in reference to the end of Southern California driving as we know it. More than 300,000 vehicles traverse that section of

McCarthy Building Cos. last week oversaw the placement of the final 1,200-lb steel beam atop the new Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center. The topping out ceremony featured KP leaders and employees, city officials and McCarthy executives.The 12-story, 349-bed hospital is scheduled to open in 2014, and will replace the existing hospital across MacArthur Boulevard. The construction is part of the state-mandated earthquake safety retrofit of all California hospitals, known as Senate Bill 1953. NBBJ, San Francisco, serves as the project’s architect.The first of three phases of the project was completed in May 2009 with the opening of the Broadway Medical

Article toolbar Green hospitals are nothing new in California, but a major medical-center project in northern San Diego County may be going a big step beyond the state’s environmentally friendly norm. Photo courtesy of Palomar Medical Center West Master Plan The 789,290-sq-ft medical complex features an 11-story patient tower and a two-story diagnostic and treatment wing. Team members working on the $956-million Palomar Medical Center West replacement hospital say they are aiming to set a new standard in the design of health-care facilities. The project, now under way, has had some bumps along its path but is scheduled to be

Article toolbar Thanks to a wave of California acquisitions plus internal growth, Stantec, headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, has achieved a position as one of the state’s major design firms, working in a range of markets. Photo courtesy of Stantec LEED Silver Working with Anshen + Allen, which it has since acquired, Stantec saw the completion of the LEED-certified Laguna Honda Hospital in San Francisco. Related Links: Designers See Encouraging Signals in the Road Ahead Top Design Firms Main List Top Design Firms List by Market Sector Editors of ENR regional publications have chosen Stantec as the Top Design Firm of

Article toolbar Engineering and architectural firms took some hits last year, as ENR California’s Top Design Firms ranking indicates, but a big-picture look at the data provides some reason for optimism. Rendering courtesy of Smithgroup Downtown SF Medical Center SmithGroup, No. 14 on this year�s Top Design Firms list, designed the California Pacific Medical Center campus at Cathedral Hill. Related Links: Top Designer of the Year Top Design Firms Main List Top Design Firms List by Market Sector California revenue for major design firms declined just 1.2% in 2010 to $3.23 billion, compared with $3.27 billion in 2009. Lists for

Article toolbar Thanks in part to a controversial fast-track approval process, a major solar thermal power project is now under way in San Bernardino County. Photo Courtesy Of Brightsource Energy Assembly Required BrightSource employees assemble heliostats during construction of a solar energy development center. The Ivanpah Electric Generating System, developed, owned and operated by BrightSource Energy Co., Oakland, and NGR Energy, Princeton, N.J., could deliver 370 MW per year of solar thermal power from the floor of the Mojave Desert as soon as 2013. Alternative-energy advocates praise the project as an example for accelerating regulatory approval for other solar power

Article toolbar Take a heath-care company whose construction projects are so massive that they often lift entire local economies. Add generous amounts of innovation and philanthropic spirit as well as an enviable record of worker safety and innovation. That’s a recipe for success, and it’s why ENR California has chosen Kaiser Permanente as its Owner of the Year for 2011. Rendering Courtesy Of Recurrent Energy Super Solar Santa Clara Project: Santa Clara Medical Center Kaiser Permanente contracted Recurrent Energy to design and build a 1-MW elevated solar installation atop two existing parking garages. The Owner of the Year selection is