Carrier Johnson to Work on New Vertical Living Project

San Diego-based Carrier Johnson was selected as part of a joint
venture team by the Centre City Development Corp. and the City of San Diego Redevelopment Agency to negotiate the proposed development of the coveted major mixed-use project at Seventh Avenue and Market Street in downtown San Diego.

The $300 million project - contained on a single block - will define a new aesthetic for the vertical living concept, with 42 stories of market-rate and affordable housing, hotel, retail, street-front commercial and cultural space, and police storefront.
In addition, the developers will build a 650-car public parking garage that will be owned and operated by CCDC and the Agency.

Developed jointly by Related Companies, the nation's most prominent private real-estate development firm, and San Diego-based CityLink, the Seventh and Market project is sited in the revitalized East Village District, near the San Diego Padres' home, Petco Park. The City of San Diego Redevelopment Agency, Related, and CityLink will enter into an exclusive negotiation agreement to finalize the land deal.

McCarthy to Work on UC Berkeley Health Sciences Building

The McCarthy Building Cos. has been hired as the general contractor for construction of the Li Ka Shing Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences building at UC Berkeley.

The University of California Board of Regents approved the construction of the new on-campus facility that will house teaching and research focused on the fundamental molecular mechanisms underlying human health and disease.

The building will replace Warren Hall, a 52-year-old building on the western edge of campus that is rated seismically poor and was judged too outmoded to retrofit. Demolition of Warren Hall is planned to start in early 2008.

The overarching goal of the center's research will be the study of the molecular basis for disease, with a strong emphasis on multidisciplinary approaches to stem cell research. Faculty who are based in the center's laboratories will include experts in stem cell biology, neuroscience, cancer biology and infectious disease.

When complete, the Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences will be a five-story structure with one basement level. The facility will house instructional and research laboratories, a major lecture hall, seminar and colloquia classrooms, the Henry H. Wheeler Brain Imaging Center, and several floors of highly specialized labs for stem cell research. The laboratory and teaching space has been designed to maximize interaction and collaboration, as well as to effectively meet the evolving needs of modern science.

The new building will also contain lecture halls and modern instructional labs for innovative undergraduate coursework and sophisticated training in the use of new research techniques, including the use of cultured stem cells.

Designed by the architectural firm Zimmer Gunsul Frasca LLP of Portland, Ore., the modern building will contain two-and-a-half times the floor space of Warren Hall, while maintaining a similar footprint. The concrete, terra cotta, glass and stainless steel facade is designed and landscaped to fit into the campus' tree-lined West Crescent, the main entry to the campus via University Avenue.

In keeping with recent University of California green building policy, the center will sport sod roofs, energy-conserving windows and sunshades, and enhanced natural lighting to reduce energy consumption. In all, the construction and operation of the building is planned to achieve the equivalent of a silver LEED rating.

Construction Start Set for Third Phase of The Crossing Development

Walnut Creek-based HDO Architects Planners has been contracted to design the third phase of The Crossing residential development in San Bruno.

SNK Realty and MacFarlane Partners have formed a joint venture to build the third phase, a 350-unit, luxury multifamily residential development that will feature both for-sale condominiums and rental apartments.

Construction of the $170 million project is expected to begin in September 2007, with completion scheduled for the summer of 2009. SNK Development, the construction and development arm of SNK Realty, will manage the development of the property on a day-to-day basis.

Located 12 miles south of downtown San Francisco, The Crossing is an award-winning master-planned community that is transforming 20 acres of former U.S. Navy property into a new downtown for San Bruno, a city with approximately 40,000 residents on the densely populated San Francisco Peninsula.

The master developer is a joint venture between TMG Partners and Regis Homes of Northern California, from which the seven-acre phase three site was acquired.


Phase three of The Crossing will consist of two five-story residential buildings, each with two subterranean levels of garage space, that will be designed by HDO Architects Planners.

One building will feature 187 for-sale condominiums, including one- and two-bedroom flats, and two- and three-bedroom town homes. The other building will house 163 one- and two-bedroom rental units. Residential unit sizes are estimated to range from 700 to 1,800 sq ft in size. All 350 units are mapped as condominiums.

In addition, the community will feature lush landscaping with spacious interior courtyards, a prominent entry fountain, and two pools and fitness centers servicing each of the buildings.

RockResorts to Operate $420 Million Resort Development
in South Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe Development Co, RockResorts, and the City of South Lake Tahoe have begun initial work on a $420 million complex on the California/Nevada border along U.S. Highway 50.

Known as The Chateau at Heavenly Village, the project will feature two luxury condominium-hotels with 477 rooms, a 50,000-sq-ft convention center with an additional 21,000-sq-ft pre-function area, complete destination spa, 1.5-acre park, and a collection of shops and restaurants.

RockResorts International, LLC, a luxury hotel company owned by Vail Resorts, Inc., will operate the project.

Sitework has begun, according to Lake Tahoe Development Co., and construction is expected to be completed in early winter 2009. A general contractor and architect will be selected in the coming months.

The 11.53-acre redevelopment is located at the California state line across from Heavenly Village and the Heavenly Gondola, adjacent to Harvey's Lake Tahoe Casino & Resort.

Lake Tahoe Development Co has chosen to register construction of the project with the U.S. Green Building Council for LEED-certification and will utilize native wood timbers, stone, glass and other natural materials to enhance the rustic mountain character of the buildings.

The centerpiece lodging property will be a six-story RockResorts condominium-hotel, the first, major full-ownership, full-service real estate offering at South Lake Tahoe.

The multi-purpose facility will also accommodate concerts, large convention groups and various exhibits. The convention center will be the area's largest with plans to co-op with the Nevada hotel/casinos for expanded meeting groups and events. It will accommodate up to 1,600 for conference or banquet assembly and 4,400 for an event or concert. Also planned are a 16,000-sq-ft, two-story spa with 15 treatment rooms and an outdoor swimming pool. A collection of shops, boutiques and restaurants will present a variety of shopping and dining options with underground parking for 717 vehicles.

Cannon-Designed Health Center Breaks Ground

Cannon Design designed the Los Angeles Mission College Health, PE & Fitness Center, scheduled to break ground this summer.

Cannon Design was commissioned by the Los Angeles Community College District in July 2006 to design and document a $38 million recreation building on a 90,000 sq ft cliff top site in Sylmar. Led by Associate Vice President Kirk von Spaeth, AIA, the winning Cannon Design team for the project also consisted of David Body, sports principal; James Braam, project designer; Dimitri Contoyannis, mechanical engineer; Jenny Delgado, project coordinator; and, Craig Hamilton, project principal. The team proceeded through an accelerated DSA approval process and secured a successful on-budget bid which will allow the project to break ground July 1, 2007.

The Los Angeles Mission College Health, PE and Fitness Center will be managed by Gateway Science & Engineering Inc - the college's project manager. The new facility is scheduled to open in October 2008.

R.D. Olson Starts on Fifth Phase of Senior Community

R.D. Olson Construction has started to build the fifth phase of the La Costa Glen Carlsbad senior living community in North San Diego County. The latest phase, designed by architects KTGY Group of Irvine, will add 52 villas and garden homes to the community, to be completed by January 2008, while maintaining the surrounding 200-acre nature preserve.

The owner of the project is Continuing Life Communities which develops and operates continuing care retirement communities throughout California.

Design of the $10.5-million fifth phase calls for 21 separate buildings consistent in style with its surrounding community. Stucco exteriors are planned in natural tones, topped by tile roofs. The new villas and garden homes will be arranged in duplex and triplex configurations, with each home ranging from two to three bedrooms and 1,600 to 2,000 sq ft. Each unit includes a full kitchen, living room, laundry room, dining area and patio. Villas will have attached garages, while owners of garden homes will enjoy five easily accessible detached garage buildings.