In response to the financial challenges facing the Bay Area city of Richmond, city leaders decided not to replace its aging City Hall buildings and instead restore them as a symbol of hope for the future of its citizens. Related Links: Best of California 2009 The $78-million Richmond Civic Center Revitalization is a multi-phased design-build project that includes three buildings and a plaza. Phase one consisted of the seismic upgrade/building envelope repair/interior renovation to Richmond City Hall, seismic upgrade/building envelope repair/interior renovation to the existing Hall of Justice, seismic upgrade/building envelope repair and limited interior renovation to auditorium and plaza

Construction of the 14 luxury townhomes at the $205-million One Rincon Hill complex in San Francisco was completed in August. The townhomes are cast-in-place concrete and are connected to the 64-story tower with a picturesque Park Level, featuring a lap pool, reflecting pool, sundeck and grilling area, as well as an indoor hospitality room, fitness center and sauna. Related Links: Best of California 2009 The townhouses were designed in accordance with the constraints set by San Francisco’s neighborhood plan, with each unit broken down into smaller scaled forms that step up the hills of Harrison and First Streets. The project

This new $110-million, 63-acre high school campus features eight major buildings in a circular layout forming a central courtyard. Education space includes 60 academic classrooms, eight science labs, a TV studio, electronics/robotics labs and art, theater and music classrooms. The school has capacity for 2,400 students with expansion to 3,000. Related Links: Best of California 2009 The city of West Sacramento Recreation Center is located on the school property and features a family aquatics center, fitness center and 35-ft-high rock climbing structure. The Washington Unified School District, the city of West Sacramento and the design team established six memorable goals

The Ronald McDonald House would not have been built without the consideration and care of the construction community throughout San Diego. Related Links: Best of California 2009 Built on top of an existing six-story parking structure near the Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego, the Ronald McDonald House received contributions from builders, architects and subcontractors who helped construct a 65,000-sq-ft, $12.8-million facility. The new Ronald McDonald House increases the number of beds for sick children from 12 to 47 and includes a number of new facilities, including laundry rooms, television and snack rooms, child and adolescent game rooms, library and

The Fairmead Route 99 project was designed to remove the at-grade crossings that have allowed the local traffic to cross Route 99 traffic, and add one more travel lane in both the northbound and southbound directions. The $51.1-million project consisted of building a new frontage road to collect the county roads and build two bridges to carry this traffic over Route 99 and the railroad that parallels the route. Related Links: Best of California 2009 Through five stages, the existing Route 99 was removed and replaced with new Portland cement concrete paving. The existing irrigation system was rerouted through a

A historic Orange County auditorium and bell tower has been restored and renovated to become once again a prominent place for high school musicals. Related Links: Best of California 2009 The Huntington Beach Union High School District Auditorium and Bell Tower Renovation project team renovated the 27,000-sq-ft, 600-seat performing arts auditorium and 125-ft-tall bell tower. The team also built a new 9,200-sq-ft performing arts classroom and courtyard, and renovated outdoor walkways and an outdoor amphitheater on the auditorium’s south side. An important part of the restoration was to restore the auditorium’s and bell tower’s concrete and plaster exterior skin. In

As part of an $80-million golf course renovation project, the Indian Wells Golf Resort Clubhouse was built to complement two major golf course renovations. Related Links: Best of California 2009 The $39-million, 53,000-sq-ft, two-story golf clubhouse includes a pro shop and an underground cart barn/storage area. The completed building is a cast-in-place concrete and steel superstructure finished with sandstone veneer, stucco, and storefront glazing exterior. Its interiors feature numerous stone floors and walls integrated with varying wood veneers, glass, stone and stainless steel finishes. The facility also includes a restaurant, sports bar, cafe bar, 2,000-sq-ft ballroom, a temperature-controlled wine room,

When Robert Mondavi, renowned California wine producer, made a personal gift of $25 million to establish the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science within UC Davis’ College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, a new era of opportunity opened for the university in its widely acclaimed viticulture, enology, and food science programs. Related Links: Best of California 2009 The $61.8-million Robert Mondavi Institute combines the teaching and research programs for the departments of Viticulture and Enology, and Food Science and Technology under one roof. The design team incorporated strategies to make the buildings as environmentally sensitive as possible, even

Charles Pankow Builders’ involvement in the Jack London Square redevelopment project began in 2000, and its most recent contribution was the $34.3-million design-build of a seven-level, 1,092-car parking structure with 30,000 sq ft of retail, bus plaza and pedestrian bridges. Related Links: Best of California 2009 The use of design-build enabled the project team to streamline design duration, select the most efficient construction methods such as precast, and tighten the sequencing of activities to meet the owner’s needs. When site issues arose due to underground conditions or utilities and public agencies, the project team was able to provide creative and

Needing to fit a new St. Jude medical tower into an existing hospital campus, the project team delivered a facility that looks and feels modern but still blends into the older hospital. The $80-million, five-story St. Jude Medical Center Southwest Tower and Central Plant took more than three years to build. The project included the construction of an emergency department, adult critical care units and an intensive care unit. Related Links: Best of California 2009 The project team encountered some key challenges when building the tower. One of the significant challenges was adapting the site to meet the future needs