Qualcomm Construction Continues

Roel Construction is overseeing 17 construction projects totaling about 2.4 million sq. ft. for the San Diego-based digital communications giant. The two largest projects- an $80-million office building and a $130-million complex on a 10-acre site-will be finished by the end of the year.

By Greg Aragon

It's hard to drive through the Sorrento Mesa area of northern San Diego these days and not notice a Roel Construction Co. or Qualcomm sign on the side of the road.

Spanning 415,000 sq. ft., Qualcomm's Building WT is a 12-story, $80-million tower being built for its chip technology department. It will accommodate 1,350 employees. Inside the tower will be a cafeteria, fitness area, offices and laboratory space. There will be basketball and volleyball courts outside (photo by Greg Aragon).

The San Diego-based companies are currently working together on 17 construction projects, totaling roughly 2.4 million sq. ft. and nearly $350 million.

Qualcomm Inc., a global, digital wireless communications giant, is the developer/owner of the projects, and Roel is serving as the general contractor.

"We have a very healthy problem," said Chuck Nichols, senior director of construction for Qualcomm. "It's called growth, and we need [to build] these projects to support the worldwide demand for Qualcomm's technologies and applications."

Located about 12 mi. north of downtown San Diego, near Interstate 805, Sorrento Mesa is an area filled with companies involved in telecommunications and wireless technology.

Qualcomm's two largest projects are called Building WT, which will be completed in October and was about 70-percent complete in January, and Building N, which will be finished by the end of the year.

Spanning 415,000 sq. ft., Building WT is a 12-story, $80-million tower being built for Qualcomm's chip technology department. It will accommodate 1,350 employees.

Inside the tower will be a cafeteria, fitness area, offices and laboratory space. There will be basketball and volleyball courts outside.

Also on the 10-acre site-known as the W Campus, Roel is remodeling an existing 160,000-sq.-ft. building; constructing a seven-story, 1,300-space parking garage; and erecting a 24,000-sq.-ft. central plant. These structures bring the total construction cost for this project to about $130 million.

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David Bates, Roel project manager, said working on all these separate projects at once and on one site has not been easy.

"With multiple projects all progressing on the small site, the coordination between the jobs is very important," Bates added. "There is not only the physical tie between the building for power and other utilities, there is also the coordination of the construction activities.

"For instance, there is only 60 to 70 ft. between the office tower and the parking structure. When concrete is being poured for the parking structure and the pump and concrete trucks are using the access road between the two buildings, no other trades can use the road."

Bates said that "very close coordination with the subcontractors," which included bi-weekly meetings, has been key to overcoming the hurdles.

Construction on WT began in March 2004. San Diego-based Delawie Wilkes Rodrigues Barker is the architect.

Down the street from WT, on Morehouse Drive, is the $103-million Building N project, which will serve as the new corporate headquarters for Qualcomm. Also designed by Delawie Wilkes Rodrigues Barker, the 475,000-sq.-ft., 10-story building will feature a 550-seat auditorium, eight-story atrium and office and lab space.

Brent Hughes, Roel's senior project manager, said the building's fancy exterior stands out.

"The skin [features] a unique system and components; it consists of limestone, metal panels and glass," Hughes said. The limestone came from Italy, the metals from Thailand and the unitized curtain wall from Pomona.

The $103-million Building N project will serve as the new corporate headquarters for Qualcomm. The 475,000-sq.-ft., 10-story structure will feature a 550-seat auditorium, eight-story atrium and office and lab space (photo by Greg Aragon).

"It was a global effort," Hughes added.

The project manager said he liked the idea of the curtain wall arriving at the project ready to go.

"The unit comes out with the glass and stone already in it; everything is already assembled. You just hang the unit off the building and you're done," he added.

It took about 4,500 pieces-ranging anywhere from 2-ft. wide and 15-ft. tall to 8-ft. wide and 20-ft. tall-to cover the building.

The project, which broke ground in August 2004, is currently about 60-percent complete. Exterior glazing was under way in early January.

Other project highlights include two parking structures: Garage A is a five-story (two stories below ground and three above), 800-space, 290,000-sq.-ft. structure. Garage B is 565,000 sq. ft. in seven stories (two below ground, five above) and can park 1,650 cars.

Roel and Qualcomm officials declined to disclose the cost of the parking structures.

The job also features a 50- by 50-ft. helipad on the roof. "We're a global company and require global travel, and this pad will facilitate travel to our corporate jets," Nichols said.