HOK to Work on Airport in Qatar

SAN FRANCISCO—Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum has been selected to provide architecture, MEP engineering and landscape architecture services for the first phase of the Passenger Terminal Complex at the new Doha International Airport in Qatar.

Working under contract with Overseas Bechtel Inc., HOK's Aviation Group will collaborate with the HOK San Francisco office to lead the design of a new 1.5 million-sq. ft. passenger terminal, 800-car parking structure, mosque, central utility plant and site improvements.

Owned by the government of Qatar, the two-parallel-runway airport will be constructed adjacent to the existing airport on land reclaimed from the Arabian Gulf. The facility will be operated by Qatar Airways and will serve as its home hub. Bechtel will oversee design, project management and construction management for the entire airport development program.

The project's $2 billion first phase will accommodate 12 million passengers annually and is expected to open by 2009.

A five-story terminal structure will include a landside terminal with a departures hall for passenger check-in, arrivals hall for passport control and baggage claim. The terminal concourse will have 26 contact gates and facilities to serve several remote gates. It will serve the new Airbus A380 aircraft, a 550-passenger, twin-deck plane expected to begin service in 2006. The terminal will include 323,000 sq. ft. of duty-free shopping and other concessions space.

Also encompassed in the first phase will be a separate Amiri (Royal) Terminal, aircraft hangars and associated airline and airport ancillary features.

The project's mid-term phase will add 14 contact gates and extend the terminal building to 2.8 million sq. ft. Plans for the final phase of development call for the addition of 40 contact gates and a terminal building extension to 5.3 million sq. ft. It will also encompass an automated passenger train system-or "people mover"-to transport passengers through the terminal.

When fully developed, the airport is planned to have a total capacity of 48 million passengers per year.

NDIA will be the world's first airport to be designed and built specifically for the Airbus A380 aircraft-the world's largest passenger plane. By the time the airport is fully developed, it will be able to simultaneously accommodate six A380s.

'Heart of the City' Breaks Ground

SANTA CLARA—Swinerton Builders, a San Francisco-based general contractor, has begun work on the first phase of the Heart of the City project at Second and Santa Clara streets in San Jose.

Mayor Ron Gonzales, third from left, Gene Eagle, CIM Group’s project director, second from left, and San Jose City Council members at the March 10 groundbreaking for “Heart of the City” (photo courtesy of city of San Jose).

Heart of the City is a mixed-use retail and residential development. City officials call it a vital piece of the San Jose downtown development strategy. The project is a partnership of the San Jose Redevelopment Agency and developer CIM Group to expand retail, housing, and entertainment in the downtown area.

Swinerton's Santa Clara office is the GC on the project. The design firm is San Francisco-based SB Architects.

The $32 million project is the first phase of downtown development by CIM Group that will also include a mid-rise, mixed-use project on San Fernando between 2nd and 3rd streets.

The Second and Santa Clara project is on a site that occupies approximately 45,600 sq. ft. of land. The site is being developed to include a three-story structure with 31 rental apartments above approximately 17,500 sq. ft. of ground level retail space and a five-story condo building with 42 homes. Parking for 172 cars will be accommodated in an underground two-level garage. The site includes a pedestrian-oriented paseo connecting Second and Third streets and fronting the condominiums, apartments and retail.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the project was held on March 10. Completion is scheduled for late 2005.

Nibbi Awarded 2 School Projects

SAN FRANCISCO—Nibbi Bros. Construction has been awarded two school projects in San Francisco and San Mateo.

San Francisco-based Nibbi was awarded the contract for the Dianne Feinstein Elementary School for the San Francisco Unified School District in March. Dianne Feinstein Elementary will be a 64,400-sq.-ft., K-5 school in San Francisco's Sunset District. The multi-story building will have 26 classrooms, a library, art room, multi-purpose room and community facilities. Demolition of the existing buildings will begin this month. Construction of the new building will begin in June; the $14 million school will open in December 2005.

Also in March, Nibbi was awarded the Phase IA Improvements at San Mateo's Serra High School for the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Nibbi will build football and baseball bleachers and a three-level parking garage to replace the existing surface lot. Additionally, Nibbi Bros. will perform major site work, including underground utilities distribution, grading and paving. Work on the $6.6 million project is scheduled to begin in June and be completed by September 2005.

Landmark Hotels to Manage Embassy Suites' First Hotel in Mexico

SAN MATEO—San Mateo-based Landmark Hotels will manage the first Embassy Suites Hotel in Mexico, set to open in the first quarter of 2005.

The 18-story, 162-suite upscale hotel will be operated under an Embassy Suites franchise agreement. It is owned by Promotora Paseo de la Reforma S. de R.L. de D.C. of Mexico City.

Embassy Suites has more than 170 hotels in the Western Hemisphere.
The hotel will feature amenities to serve both the business and leisure traveler, including full-service food and beverage, daily complimentary breakfast and evening manager's reception; high-speed Internet access; swimming pool; retail stores; and four boardrooms.

A unique feature of the hotel will be its conference suites, which will have the same spacious bedroom/living room design, but also will feature an adjoining conference room with seating for up to six people.

The Embassy Suites Hotel Mexico City is situated in a building on the Paseo de la Reforma in the heart of Mexico City's business/financial district. It is near the monument to Christopher Columbus sculpted by French sculptor Charles Cordier, Historic District, Zona Rosa and many embassies.
The hotel is about a 15-minute cab ride from Mexico City International Airport.

Smith Consulting Begins Design for Pacific Coast Steel

SAN BERNARDINO—San Diego-based Smith Consulting Architects has design under way for a two-story, 69,000-sq.-ft. industrial building for Pacific Coast Steel. The $4.2 million, build-to-suit building will be located at the corner of Industrial Parkway and Institution Road.

Construction is scheduled to begin in June with completion slated for January.

Smith Consulting Architects is designing the building to meet specific needs of Pacific Coast Steel's fabrication operations. The new facility will be a concrete tilt-up with surface parking. The project also includes 14,800 sq. ft. of office space.

Pete Bussett is the principal-in-charge for Smith Consulting Architects; Norman Barrett serves as project architect. Prime Structural Engineering is the structural engineer and Partners Planning & Engineering is the civil engineer. Alhambra Group is the landscape architect.

Sundt Starts Solana Beach Offices

SAN DIEGO—The San Diego office of Sundt Construction Inc., has started construction of two office buildings at the Solana Beach Corporate Center.

Completion is scheduled for February.

The owner is San Diego-based American Assets Inc. The owner's representative is Jerry Gammieri.

Each office building will be three stories tall, totaling approximately 119,000 sq. ft. The Irvine office of Carrier Johnson designed the project.

Sundt has been working on the site since last summer, realigning an existing storm channel/wetlands area and constructing new surface parking for 439 vehicles.

Sundt's concrete division is constructing a subterranean parking garage that will accommodate an additional 275 vehicles. The two office buildings will be constructed above the garage.

The principal subcontractors are Bannister Steel, Bergelectric, Brady Co./San Diego, Brian Cox Mechanical, California Sheet Metal, Geyer Plumbing and ValleyCrest Landscape Development Co.

Construction Phase Begins on Quarry Creek

OCEANSIDE—San Diego-based SGPA Architecture and Planning has designed two retail buildings totaling 16,197 sq. ft. for the Quarry Creek retail center.

The center, located south of Highway 78 at College Boulevard, is being developed by McMillin Commercial, a Corky McMillin Co. San Diego-based Ledcor-Petty Construction is the general contractor. The two retail buildings are part of a larger 35.5-acre retail project that will include major tenants Wal-Mart, Albertson's, Kohl's, PetsMart and Wells Fargo.

SGPA designed the two retail buildings based on the style of famed Southern California architect Irving Gill, who designed many notable buildings in San Diego County. Strong geometric forms, including arched openings and trellis elements that create dynamic shadowing on the building facades, characterize the buildings' style. Building accent lighting, pedestrian amenities and vibrant landscaping amidst an outdoor plaza will create an inviting pedestrian gathering and eating area. The project is expected to open in late spring.

Roel Construction Completes 3 Auto Dealerships

SAN DIEGO—Roel Construction Co. has completed construction of three dealerships in Southern California.

The Honda Cars of Corona project included the erection of a 44,120-sq.-ft. moment-steel frame, wood and masonry structure (photo courtesy of Roel Construction Co.).

The Honda of Santa Monica project was a remodel of a 20,000-sq.-ft. facility. Work included complete interior and exterior paint, stone floor coverings, deck coatings, extensive millwork finishes, bent glass and lighting retrofitting.

Donald Treiman of AHT Architects was the architect. Representatives from San Diego-based Roel include Pete Sara (executive in charge), Terry Cirac (group manager), Brent Jones (project manager), Fidel Olvera (superintendent), Maria Morales (project engineer) and Ania Sorbe (project coordinator).

The 100,600-sq.-ft. Lexus of Riverside dealership project included expansion of the showroom, a remodel of the parts department and four-level parking deck with a service department on the first floor.

Walker/Rancourt + Architects was the architect. Mark Burkholder of Norcal Engineering was the soils engineer and Henry Lozano of SP2 Inc. was the civil engineer.

The new Honda Cars of Corona project included the erection of a 44,120-sq.-ft. moment-steel frame, wood and masonry structure.

James Broeske and Tracey Powl of KROH/Broeske Architects Inc. were the architects. Brian Fox of Cozad & Fox Inc. was the civil engineer and Eric Noel of Kleinfelder Inc. was the geotechnical engineer. Roel representatives included Pete Sara (executive in charge), Tony Sara (project manager), Leighton Walker (superintendent) Joel Dontos (project engineer) and Mary Howell (project coordinator).