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A $6.4-million design/build project headed by BBI Construction, Komorous Towey Architects and OLMM Structural Engineers is nearing the midpoint of construction in Oakland's Jack London Square.
The renovation of the 93,000-sq.-ft. 66 Franklin Building--formerly home on the ground floor to the Old Spaghetti Factory and El Torito--has been in the making for more than eight years and is the first construction project of a planned $350 million redevelopment by owners Jack London Square Partners.
Project completion is anticipated for early next year. The project is the first of six sites earmarked for renovation Jack London Square.
The building was first constructed in 1926 for the Lawrence Co. as the former Haslett Warehouse. A third of the building on the east wing was later cut off to make way for the Webster Tube to Alameda. In 1959, the Port of Oakland spent $1 million to cover up the slice and modernize the old warehouse into an office and restaurant complex with metal cladding and aluminum windows.
Now the building's façade is being restored to its original splendor, according to BBI's Nancy Guinther, vice president of business development. The facade will include multi-paned windows with metal sash and restored parapets and pilasters.
The existing concrete will be patched and repaired, or replaced as needed. In addition to new windows, there will be new storefronts and awnings. A new façade is being constructed on Webster Street side to match the original that was demolished.
"One of the most rewarding discoveries about this building was learning that the 16-ft. arches that wrap around the building are structurally intact," said Jim Falaschi, managing principal of Jack London Square Partners. "The restoration of this building will fit beautifully into the surrounding Jack London historic warehouse district."
The building will also go through a major seismic upgrade that will involve full-height, shotcrete shear walls from the foundation to the roof. Steel collectors will tie the columns back to the walls. As the original warehouse was built on "fill," it will be necessary to pressure grout the soil to enhance its load carrying capacity.
Maintaining a working environment for the tenants on both the second and third floors adds a further challenge for the construction, Guinther said. In order to accommodate tenant needs and have the least impact on their businesses, noise-sensitive work will be performed at night.
Falaschi said that future projects, both renovations of existing structures and new builds, will add restaurants, a 250-room hotel, theaters and more retail to the Jack London Square. He gave no time line for other projects, though he said he would like bids to go out "as soon as possible."
Going design/build on the first project was a no-brainer, he said.
"We spoke with BBI and they said they were comfortable in a design/build mode and we certainly felt it was the most cost-effective way to get it done."
BBI had previously worked on a smaller project at Jack London Square and worked with Komorous Towey Architects on a design/assist project in San Francisco seven years ago. It recently teamed up on a bid for an Alameda project.
Sixty-six Franklin is a public-private collaboration involving the city of Oakland, Port of Oakland and Jack London Square Partners, which is headed by Falaschi and Hal Ellis, co-founder of Grubb & Ellis.
Initial planning began in 2001 when development was focused on the Oakland waterfront below the Embarcadero, between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Oak Street.
www.california.construction.com/features_archive/0509_Feature1.asp
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