C. E. Wylie Construction Completes Coronado Library's First Phase of Renovations

San Diego-based C. E. Wylie Construction Co. has completed the first part of $5.6 million in renovations to the Coronado Public Library.

Phase one involved the addition of approximately 18,000 sq. ft. of space, and the second phase will include the renovation of the existing 21,000-sq.-ft. library, including the historic Spreckels Room. The phase will be complete in early 2005.

The construction manager was the San Diego office of Gafcon. The architect was M. W. Steele Group.

Major subcontractors include Alonso Painting, Alpha Mechanical Heating & Air Conditioning, AMG Demolition and Environmental Service, Centex Glazing, Challenger Sheet Metal, Clauss Construction, Daryl Griffis Acoustics, East County Tile & Marble, H & H Steel Enterprises, Lloyd's Masonry, Re:Source Floors, Roof Construction, Southland Electric, Spooner's Woodworks, Spring Valley Insulation, Standard Drywall, VC Landscaping, and Yamada Enterprises.

Barnhart Finishes Academy in Vista

San Diego-based Douglas E. Barnhart Inc. has completed the $26 million permanent campus for the Guajome Park Academy for the Vista Unified School District.

The 111,548-sq.-ft. charter school has 1,400 students in grades 6-12. The school had been operating in portable buildings for the past nine years.

The school was designed by Sprotte & Watson of San Diego.

Team members included Mike Vail, assistant superintendent of facilities planning and external relations, and Karl Bradley, director of construction for Vista Unified School District. Anton Greenville, Frank Haslinger, Jason Plitz, Joseph Maurer, Robert Weydt and Becky Faraguna represented Barnhart.

EBS Wraps Up Consulting Contract for Poway Project

San Diego-based Environmental Business Solutions has completed consulting services for the Poway Road Revitalization Project, which will help to secure a $200,000 brownfields pilot grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to be used for the community-wide assessment of Poway Road in Poway.

Environmental Business Solutions was retained by the Poway Redevelopment Agency, with David Narevsky, redevelopment manager and brownfields coordinator, providing oversight. The grant will allow for a community-wide assessment of brownfields properties and clean-up opportunities along Poway Road.

KKE Architects Awarded Design Contract for Talega Village Center

The Pasadena office of KKE Architects Inc. has been selected by Hopkins Real Estate Group Inc. of Newport Beach to design the company's latest retail development project, the 10.3-acre Talega Village Center in San Clemente.

Plans for the up to 130,000-sq.-ft. retail development have not been finalized.

"The creative fusion of Santa Barbara Mission and Mediterranean style architecture provides the backdrop to this chic, memorable destination," said Mark Giles, KKE's senior design associate. Shaded benches, arcades and courtyards will complement the exciting outdoor cafes, coffee houses and retail shopping experiences.

Matt Construction Finishes Kirk Douglas Theatre

Matt Construction, a Santa Fe Springs-based general contractor, has completed the $12 million restoration and conversion of the Kirk Douglas Theatre on Washington Boulevard in Culver City. The project included the conversion of a former movie theater building known as the Culver Theatre, which was built in 1947, into a live theatre facility.

Steven Ehrlich Architects of Culver City designed the project, which preserved and updated the Streamline Moderne-style of the theater's previous incarnation.

Matt Construction's work on the 21,641-sq.-ft. project included demolition, structural strengthening and preservation of select historical elements. Preserved elements include the theater's marquee and tower sign, original tile work, display cases, ticket kiosks, marble terrazzo floors, glass-block windows and prominent horizontal roof overhangs. Interior renovations include main and intimate seating areas with a capacity of 300. The theater's main stage is an "end-stage" design, leaving the performance area free of encumbrances and/or objects that could clutter the space. A smaller 1,500-sq.-ft. classroom space, which includes both a stage and seating for 100, can be used for artistic endeavors including special children's programs, workshops and rehearsals. In addition, the former movie concession area has been transformed into a lobby and community space.

Good and Roberts Starts Mira Mesa Project

Construction is under way in the Mira Mesa area of San Diego on a 291,000-sq.-ft. office/warehouse for Gen-Probe, a biotechnology firm.

San Diego-based Good and Roberts Inc. is the general contractor and San Diego-based Smith Consulting Architects is the architect for the $44 million project.

Construction is slated for completion in the fourth quarter of 2005.

The new two-story building is designed to serve as a flex-use facility and will accommodate a variety of administrative and office functions, research and development laboratories, product manufacturing and warehouse requirements.

The project will be constructed of concrete walls, high-performance blue and silver glass and metal panel cladding. Exterior balconies and a new, central cafeteria will serve as break areas for Gen-Probe employees. Situated adjacent to Gen-Probe's existing main facility, the new building's landscaped plaza will feature a cascading, terraced, water course fountain that will serve as the focal point of the campus environment created between the two buildings.

Prime Structural Engineers is serving as the structural engineer, ILA and Zammit Engineering Group are the electrical engineers, Lang Engineering is the civil engineer and DEC Engineers is the mechanical engineer. Ridge Landscape Architects is the landscape architect.

PB Gets Gold Line Contract

The (Los Angeles) Metro Gold Line Construction Authority has awarded a contract to Parsons Brinckerhoff to provide preliminary engineering services for the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension.

Construction on the $1.4 billion project could start in 2006 with some service to the extension cities beginning in 2009.

The extension will be a 24-mi. continuation of the Gold Line's initial phase that connects the cities of Los Angeles, South Pasadena and Pasadena. The new light-rail line will link the current terminus at the Sierra Madra Villa station in Pasadena with the Montclair Transportation Center, located just east of the Los Angeles County line. The segment include 12 stations, extending through the cities of Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale, Azusa, Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne, Pomona, Claremont and Montclair. A trip from Montclair to downtown Pasadena will take about 40 minutes and to Los Angeles approximately 75 minutes.

PB will work with the authority to develop a project understanding and performance technical specifications for the project. This package will be incorporated into the contract documents that the authority will issue to solicit bids from prospective design-build contractors. PB will also support the authority in obtaining a record of decision that will allow the project to obtain full funding from the federal government in mid-2006.

Construction Complete on Poway Retail Center

Starrett Construction Inc., a San Diego-based general contractor has completed Stowe Plaza, a $2.5 million commercial/retail center in Poway.

KMA Architecture & Engineering provided architecture and planning services. The owner is Stowe Properties LLC.

The two buildings total 12,000 sq. ft. and feature restaurants, convenience stores and a food court. The center's new occupants include Subway, Hong Kong Express, Top of the Bagel, Taco del Mar, the offices of Dr. Nguyen, D.D.S., a nail salon, hair salon and dry cleaners.

The contemporary design of the building features cubic forms, offsets, cantilevered overhangs and tall accent blades to create shaded areas. The outdoor area also incorporates special events facilities and accessible pedestrian walkways connecting businesses and offices.

Nowak + Wiseman Structural was the structural engineer, the civil engineer was RBF Consulting and M.W. Peltz & Associates was the landscape architect.

HGA Architects Complete Design for Cabrillo Community College

The San Francisco office of HGA Architects has completed final design for the new $28 million visual and performing arts complex and the $15 million student services center at Cabrillo Community College in Aptos.

The 125,000-sq.-ft. visual and performing arts complex is comprised of four buildings placed in a quad format. HGA is responsible for mechanical, electrical and structural engineering. The landscape architect is Berkeley-based Land Studio. The San Francisco office of Arup is the acoustical engineer. The anticipated completion date for the complex is 2007.

The architectural style of the new 52,000-sq.-ft. student services center will merge with the Monterey Bay-style campus architecture while meeting sustainable design aspects. The building houses student services, dining areas, conference facilities, a bookstore and computer resource center. HGA is overseeing mechanical, electrical and structural engineering. Bowman Williams is civil engineer and Land Studio is landscape architect. The center is expected to open in 2006.

Ware Malcomb Finishes Newport Beach Office, Starts Palm Springs Industrial Center

Construction has been completed on the second phase of Acacia Atrium, an office building in Newport Beach.

The $3.4 million project was developed by Newport Beach-based Acacia Sun West LLC. Ware Malcomb, an Irvine-based architecture, planning and interior design firm, was the architect for the three-story, 30,000-sq.-ft. project. Newport Beach-based Wing Corp. was the general contractor. The multi-tenant, speculative building is designed to accommodate four tenants on each floor. The lobby of the building has an atrium, encircled by three levels of balconies.

In Palm Springs, Ware Malcomb has completed the design for the first phase of Thousand Palms Industrial Center being developed by White Brothers Investments Co./Bernard White and Sons of Palm Springs. Phase I includes seven, single-story concrete tilt-up buildings totaling approximately 66,000 sq. ft. The buildings range in size from 11,339 to 11,726 sq. ft. Construction for Phase I is expected to be completed by mid-2005. Redlands-based RP Wages Inc. is the general contractor. The entire project will include 17 speculative industrial buildings totaling approximately 163,015 sq. ft.