Fringe on Fire

Construction in Sacramento's suburbs is sizzling, from high-end institutional projects to Class A office to big-box retail.

By J.T. Long

Growth in the state capital is not all centered downtown. And as the suburban areas grow as fast as developers can find the labor force to build them, city administrators are finding creative ways to bring services to new residents.

For example, the city of Folsom hired the Sacramento regional office of Flintco Co. Inc. last summer to build a 24,000-sq.-ft. multi-purpose library designed by San Francisco-based BSA Architects of San Francisco. The library is scheduled to open in December.

The Promenade in North Natomas is a 595,000-sq.-ft. retail center that will open in the spring, Tenants will include Best Buy, Old Navy, Linens & Things, Pier 1, Barnes and Noble Sellers and Beverages and More (photo by J.T. Long).

BSA describes the library design "as concentric circles radiating out from a central courtyard."

The $8-million construction project will include a café, separate children and adult wings and will be wired for digital and audio-visual use. The terra cotta concrete masonry exterior was designed to complement the surrounding hills.

"It is a light, airy space with beautiful views and the most modern technology," said Artie Andersen, construction manager for BSA Architects.

Flintco project manager Conrad Mondon said that while the design is so unique that it could potentially win an American Institute of Architects Award, it is also a tough project to build.

"This is a premium job," Mondon added. "The cartesian system (which has two axes at right angles) is not as forgiving as a linear system. The finishes have to be perfect because there are no corners to hide defects."

Flintco is experienced in this type of construction. The company was the contractor for the Wells Fargo Pavilion in downtown Sacramento and is active at university campuses throughout the state.

Meanwhile, the Folsom Cordova Unified School District is building two schools to handle the continuing influx of new residents: The $75 million Vista Del Lago High School and the $15 million Navigator Elementary School.

Both school projects, which are expected to be complete by the summer, are being built by general contractor Roebbelen and were designed by Rainforth Grau.

Vista Del Lago High will relieve Folsom High of 1,500 students from the city's Empire Ranch area. Folsom High was built to serve 2,200 students, but enrollment is currently 2,700 and is expected to rise to 3,000 this year.

Roseville

advertisement

In Roseville, moving forward means improving the historic core of the one-time railroad town. A $22-million public-private partnership to build a Civic Plaza Office Complex and parking garage will introduce 57,000 sq. ft. of class A office and retail/restaurant space along with a 550-space public parking garage near the Civic Center, which underwent a $14-million expansion in 2002.

The city's redevelopment agency will own and operate the parking garage, which was designed by the Oakland office of International Parking Design Inc.

Vernon Street Associates, a partnership of La Jolla-based Civic Partners and Roseville-based Kobra Properties Corp., will fund and operate the four-story office complex for attorneys, real estate agents, architects and engineers.

Roseville-based Stonegate Construction plans to begin building the complex early this year with completion in about a year. The project was designed by Roseville-based Williams + Paddon Architects and Planners Inc.

Tom Lumbrazo, president of Roseville-based Thomas J. Lumbrazo Planning Inc., the project manager on the development, said Civic Plaza Office Complex will be a lower-cost alternative to the offices being built on Douglas Boulevard and Eureka Road, including Roseville-based Citadel Equities Group's 455,000-sq.-ft., five-story Stone Point Corporate Center.

"Another benefit is the location near the city offices," said Lumbrazo, who is also working on a 10-story, 279-room Embassy Suites and Conference Center near the Roseville Galleria shopping center.

Elk Grove

Meanwhile, Elk Grove continues to be one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation, which means a constant demand for new schools in the suburb on Highway 99 south of Sacramento.

Enough new families move into the Elk Grove Unified School District to fill a classroom every three to five days. To keep up with the growth (projected to rise from 47,423 students in 2005 to as many as 80,000 students by 2010), the district starts construction on approximately four schools every year.

The city of Folsom hired Flintco Co. Inc., to build a 24,000-sq.-ft., $8 million library designed by San Francisco-based BSA Architects. The library is scheduled to open in December (rendering courtesy of BSA).

Although the district saves some time by reusing design plans, construction time still averages about two years per school.

"Each project is unique, and when there is a challenge with a high school, it is on an even larger scale," said Constantine Baranoff, associate superintendent of facilities and planning for the district.

Cost inflation is also having an impact.

A high school/middle school campus currently under construction by Benicia-based Lathrop Construction Associates Inc. uses a Sacramento-based Stafford King Wiese Architects design similar to one used two years ago to build a similar campus, but "the cost went up $20 million-from $67 million to $87 million," Baranoff said.

He attributed the increase on the prevailing-wage project partly to Hurricane Katrina's impact on costs nationwide; the worldwide demand for fuel, concrete, steel and wood; and increased staffing problems because of all the building in the region.

Elk Grove funds schools using 41 percent state matching funds, 40 percent developer fees and 19 percent voter bond funds. Baranoff has been in school facilities planning for 30 years and said the district will keep up the current pace "as long as children keep coming."

Natomas Area

Phoenix-based developer and contractor Opus West saw all the rooftops going up in the nearby Natomas area as an invitation to supply more than 1.2 million sq. ft. of office and retail space at its Sacramento Gateway development near the Truxel Road-Highway 80 Interchange.

Los Angeles-based Nadel Architects designed the complex, called Gateway Corporate Center, and the 600,000 sq. ft. project broke ground in June and is scheduled for occupancy in May.

The adjacent Promenade, a 595,000-sq.-ft. retail center with tenants including Best Buy, Old Navy, Linens & Things, Pier 1, Barnes and Noble Book Sellers, and Beverages and More, will open in the spring.

And The Village, a 69,000-sq.-ft. entertainment center, is scheduled to break ground this spring with completion scheduled for November.