Two General Contracting Icons Die

Don Snyder, 84, co-founded Snyder Langston in Orange County nearly 50 years ago. Thomas Plant, 89, launched Plant Bros. Corp. in the Bay Area in 1947.

Don C. Snyder, co-founder and former president of Snyder Langston, an Irvine-based general contractor, died Dec. 5. He was 84.

Don Snyder

"My long-term business partner and friend passed away peacefully after years of suffering from heart disease," said William E. Langston, who with Snyder formed Snyder Langston in 1959.

"Don's contribution to the construction industry, as well as his values and ethics at Snyder Langston, will continue to live on in the legacy he established," added Langston, who serves as chairman emeritus.

Partners Snyder and Langston both grew up working in their family's construction businesses. They first met in Costa Mesa at Alert Construction, a firm that they purchased jointly and renamed Snyder Langston. During its earliest days, Snyder Langston was a two-man operation in a three-room office located along Newport Boulevard, said Langston.

"In 1959, Orange County had a population of about 500,000, and was mostly known for agriculture that consisted of orange groves and fields," Langston said. "The construction market was predominantly residential housing-apartments, duplexes and single-family homes. Commercial construction was limited, and there was very little industrial activity. In those days, you could build a custom home for $10 per square foot, and a tilt-up industrial building cost about $2 per square foot."

In the 1960s, the firm became a regional leader in constructing tilt-up industrial buildings. Snyder Langston's expertise evolved from 10-ton tilt-up slabs using a 35-ton crane to 90-ton panels requiring the largest cranes available. Engineers assisted the company in forming new anchorage systems and developing new materials and techniques, Langston said.

Between 1964 and 1974, Snyder Langston built more than 150 auto dealerships in four western states. Chrysler Corp. and the Ford Motor Co. hired the firm to design and build dealerships at the rate of one per month, Langston said.

Snyder retired in 1986. Today, the 46-year-old company is led by John Rochford, president and Steve Jones, chief executive officer.

Snyder was born in Cummings, Iowa, on April 25, 1921. His wife of 55 years, Billye, and their son, Russ, precede him in death.

Funeral services were private. Snyder is interred at Pacific View Memorial Park in Corona del Mar. Donations may be made in his name to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation or the American Heart Association.

Thomas Plant

Thomas Plant, founder of Plant Construction Co., a San Francisco-based general contractor, died in November. He was 89.

Thomas Plant

Plant was born in Sausalito and was graduated from Tamalpais High School, where he met his wife-to-be Patricia Tatterson. The couple marked their 60th wedding anniversary in 1997.

After graduating from high school, Plant spent some time at sea as a seaman on freighters and as a day machinist on tankers. During the latter part of the Depression, he drove a truck on the construction site of Shasta Dam. He served his apprenticeship in the machine shop at Moore Drydock Co., in the engine room of ships, in the structural steel shop and later as an engineering draftsman at Shell Oil Co.

Plant worked for Pacific Bridge Co. as outfitting superintendent during the construction of the ARDs (seagoing floating drydocks). He moved across San Francisco Bay to Bethlehem Steel Co., where he served as assistant to the general superintendent in charge of supervision of naval repairs, including the overhaul, modernization and re-gunning of the battleship Pennsylvania.

With brothers Buck and David, he founded Plant Bros. Corp., general and marine contractors, in 1947. The company worked throughout the United States, but its principal field of activity was in the Bay Area, constructing and overhauling commercial buildings, factories and institutions.

In 1991, Plant Construction Co., a successor company was formed, which was managed by David Plant and owned by key members of his staff, to continue and expand the construction side, while Plant Bros. Corp. continued in the development and management of buildings.

Tom and Patricia Plant lived in Sausalito and spent summers at Shaw Island, Wash. He was a commercial- and instrument-rated pilot, an open-water diver and a member of the St. Francis Yacht Club, San Francisco Yacht Club, Honolulu Ranch Duck Club and the Bohemian Club.

Plant is survived by his wife, Patricia; three children, Richard of Inverness, David of Woodacre and Marden of Belvedere; four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

New York Architect Picked for Great Park

The board of directors of the Irvine-based Orange County Great Park Corp. on Jan. 23 selected New York-based Ken Smith Landscape Architect of New York as master designer of the Orange County Great Park.

The 1,347-acre park will be the focal point of redevelopment of the former 4,700-acre Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in Irvine that was designated for closure a decade ago. The Great Park will include extensive natural areas in addition to recreational and cultural uses. The remaining 3,000 acres area will be developed by the Miami-based Lennar Corp. and will include residential, educational, commercial and retail uses.

Ken Smith, and his team, will be charged with the overall responsibility of creating the master design for park. His notable designs include the East Pines Master Plan and the U.S.S. Intrepid Sea, Space and Air Museum in New York; and the Third Street Light Rail Project in San Francisco.

Smith earned the support of two jury panels assembled to judge the designs of landscape architect firms competing to be master designer following an eight-month competitive process. The jurors were comprised of architects, designers and professors.

Smith's design includes a canyon joining the Agua Chinon corridor with a lake. An amphitheater faces east across the lake. The design retains the old runway as a linear monument to the marine history with fighter planes stationed along its entire length. Orange bicycles would be used as a mode of transportation throughout the park and three hot air balloons would be an attraction for visitors to see the entire park from above.

Smith's design also met the various elements in response to the public's needs and desires. More than 3,380 people throughout the county participated in an online poll, Nearly 1,700 separate comments, of which 365 comments, or 20 percent were from Irvine residents, were also positive Smith's proposal. Smith's designs captured the public's zeal to have lakes, an amphitheater, sports park, museums and a natural grove.

Ken Smith Landscape Architect was one of 38 world-renowned design firms initially invited to compete for master designer. Twenty-four firms responded.

The Orange County Great Park staff will immediately begin contract negotiations with Ken Smith. A groundbreaking ceremony is slated for the spring.

For more information about the Orange County Great Park, go to www.ocgp.org

CCRC Announces Statewide Workforce Housing Equity Fund

New fund provides key financing to builders of housing for sale to moderate income families in California. The 102-unit Fuller Lofts are fund's first approved investment.

GLENDALE, CA, December 21, 2005-California Community Reinvestment Corporation (CCRC), a nonprofit lending consortium specializing in affordable housing, today announced the launch of its Workforce Housing Fund, a fund which will create 500 homes for purchase by middle income workers such as nurses, teachers, firefighters and government employees in the communities where they work.

CCRC also announced the Fund's approval of a $4.8 million investment in the Fuller Lofts, a $37 million adaptive reuse project that will create 102 units of for-sale housing, minutes from downtown Los Angeles. At least 45 of the homes will be sold to families earning less than 120% of the area median income. The developer is Livable Places, Inc., a non-profit corporation formed in 2001 specifically to create workforce housing.

CCRC's Workforce Housing Fund provides risk capital to builders of affordable housing projects throughout California. The Fund provides equity financing for up to 25 percent of housing project costs, enabling builders to obtain construction financing to complete the projects. Several of CCRC's member banks, including the Bank of the West, Wells Fargo, Union Bank of California, the Bank of America, Washington Mutual Bank, City National Bank, and the Montecito Bank & Trust, as well as Impact Community Capital,(a consortium of major insurers), are investors in the Fund. Many of the fund investors will also provide construction and mortgage financing for the Fund's projects. CCRC has invested $4 million of its own capital with the Fund.

According to Dan Sheehy, president and CEO of Impact Community Capital, an early supporter of the Fund, "Impact has worked extensively with CCRC and is confident this new program will make a meaningful contribution toward helping hard-working California families, who are increasingly shut out of the state's real estate markets, realize the American dream of homeownership."

CCRC manages the Fund, selects projects to receive financing, provides technical assistance when needed by developers new to the workforce housing arena, and ensures that completed projects provide affordable homes to middle income families.

"The Fund is a rare bird - a real estate private equity fund actually managed by a non-profit," said CCRC president Mary Kaiser. "Our investors should be applauded for their vision and willingness to take financial risk to help California's working families achieve home ownership and to foster sustainable communities where people can live closer to their workplaces."

U.S. and Mexico Agree to Resolve Antidumping Order on Mexican Cement

Monterrey, Mexico-based CEMEX, S.A. de C.V., said in mid-January that officials from the Mexican and U.S. governments have reached an agreement in principle that will bring an end to the longstanding dispute over U.S. imports of Mexican cement. Under the agreement, U.S. restrictions will first be eased during a three year transition and eliminated completely in early 2009.

Following a three-year transition period, the U.S. antidumping order will be revoked, allowing cement from Mexico to enter the U.S. without duties or other limits on volumes.

During the transition, 3 million tons of Mexican cement will be allowed into the U.S. annually -- an increase from current levels -- and quantities will be permitted to increase as the market grows during the second and third years of the transition, subject to a 4.5 percent annual cap. Quota allocations will be specified on a regional basis. The transitional tariff will be lowered to $3/ton (from approximately $26/ton currently).

As a result of the settlement, unliquidated historical duties associated with the antidumping order will be shared by the U.S. and Mexican cement industries. CEMEX will receive approximately $100 million in cash from this settlement and will also eliminate approximately $65 million in liabilities.

CEMEX has been heavily invested in the U.S. cement industry for many years, following the company's acquisition of Southdown in 2000 and U.K.-based RMC, which owned assets throughout the U.S., in 2005. The settlement comes not only at a time when key litigation decisions are soon to be issued, but also at a time when the U.S. is experiencing critical cement shortages, CEMEX said, adding that the resolution of the antidumping order will serve to enhance trade relations between the U.S. and Mexico and create benefits for U.S. consumers and the industries of both countries.

According to a CEMEX statement: "CEMEX commends the representatives of both the U.S. and Mexican governments for working so diligently to resolve this historical dispute. Recently, the government of Mexico has been litigating the case at the World Trade Organization, the successor organization to the GATT, and a preliminary decision was due by the end of this month. That litigation is among the many aspects of the dispute that the agreement will settle. The agreement will also suspend the North American Free Trade Agreement Panel proceeding concerning the U.S. International Trade Commission's decision in 2000 to allow the antidumping order to remain in effect. A decision in that case was expected later this year."

Kitchell, Hensel Phelps on Track With Madera County Project

The Sacramento office of construction manager Kitchell and general contractor Hensel Phelp of San Jose are making good progress on the $35 million Madera County Government Center project in Madera, county officials report.

Kitchell said it is providing construction management services that include assisting with project design, managing construction contracts, move-in and protecting the interests of the county for this four-story, 130,000-sq.-ft. building, which will be built in place of the existing parking lot. The project also includes a new five-story, 136,000-sq.-ft. parking garage.

Sacramento-based Dreyfuss & Blackford Architects designed the new building and parking structure.

A fire in 1998 displaced many of the city's business and administrative offices to an offsite location. This new government center will serve to centralize the majority of these offices and departments, making it easier for people to access them. It will house the Board of Supervisors' chambers, auditor and controller counter, and offices for the county assessor, County Council, treasurer, administration, human resources, revenue and purchasing.

Upon completion of the new building in December 2006, Madera County will occupy the first, second and fourth floors, leaving the third floor vacant for future expansion or use.

Hensel Phelps said the 400-space parking garage, located south of the government center, is being built with pre-cast concrete panels that are set on a combination of pre-cast columns, cast-in-place columns, and shear walls. The aggressive schedule calls for the parking garage to be ready for use in July.

The framework of the new government center building is made up of a structural steel structure and a complex metal panel/storefront skin system.

County officials said the project is on schedule, with work on structural steel, steel trusses and precast concrete completed last month. The parking structure progressed vertically throughout December with the placement of shear wall and retaining wall concrete. The deep underground electrical was also installed between the parking structure and the building.

Scheduled for completion this month is the interior slab on grade at the government center following the installation of under slab utilities. The parking garage will see the completion of the backfill retaining walls and slab on grade prep, along with the installation of fountain piping.

Sacramento Chooses Development Team for Riverfront Plan

The city of Sacramento has scheduled a nine-month negotiation period with the recently selected development team for the massive Docks Area Specific Plan project in order to finalize a plan, EIR and development agreement.

Five teams submitted plans to the city's Downtown Development Group, Economic Development Dept., for developing approximately 35 acres of mostly undeveloped land west along the Sacramento River, north of Capitol Mall, east of the I-5 Freeway and south of Broadway.

Chosen was KSWM Docks Partners, LLC, which consists of San Francisco-based Kenwood Investments, Wilson Meany Sullivan of San Francisco and Stockbridge Capital of San Mateo. Other RFQ submitters included Costa Pacific Communities, Legacy Partners Residential Development, Montgomery-Signature Properties and The Olson Co.

The development plan was kickstarted with the passage of the 2003 Riverfront Master Plan, which was an update of the 1994 Sacramento and West Sacramento Riverfront Master Plans.

After a number of public meetings the past two years to select potential project alternatives, key issues agreed upon include riverfront views and access, public open space, mixed-use development (residential, retail and commercial), pedestrian/bicycle access, a sound buffer (buildings and landscaping designed to eliminate as much freeway noise as possible), mid-to-high rise buildings that preserve views of the river, and the removal of tanks and water storage so that the space could be maximized.

The completed preliminary plan, said city officials, draws inspiration from previously established riverfront plans in other cities, such as Seattle and Portland.

Highlights of the Sacramento plan include one 18-story, one 24-story and three 30-story highrises; a number of mid-rise buildings (approximately eight stories); approximately 14 acres of parkland; a hotel; new dock facilities; a riverfront promenade along with an adjacent rail line; and two proposed bridges.

PUC Creates Ambitious California Solar Initiative, a $10-Year, $2.9 Billion Program

The California Public Utilities Commission in mid-January created the largest solar program of its kind in any state in the country. The California Solar Initiative, a 10-year, $2.9 billion program is designed to lower the costs of solar electricity for California consumers.

The goal of the program is to increase the amount of installed solar capacity on rooftops in the state by 3,000 MW by 2017.

"California has long been a leader on environmentally-sound approaches to the provision of energy," said PUC President Michael R. Peevey. "We adopted formalized policies on renewable power and energy efficiency in our Energy Action Plans. The California Solar Initiative continues that tradition with an aggressive new program to promote solar development."

"The California Solar Initiative is the largest solar program in the country and I hope it will be a model for other states," said PUC Commissioner Dian M. Grueneich. "The program will be a major source of dependable and environmentally friendly electricity, and is a major tool in the state's promise to address climate change and meet the governor's goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

The California Solar Initiative includes the following provisions:

• $2.9 billion over a 10-year period in rebates that will decline steadily over that same timeframe. Funds will come from electric and gas distribution customers of investor-owned utilities, and will go toward the installation of solar photovoltaics initially, with solar hot water heating and solar heating and cooling systems being added after workshops are conducted later this year.
  
• The California Energy Commission will oversee one component of the program to focus on builders and developers of new housing, to encourage solar installations in the residential new construction market. The PUC will oversee the remainder and majority of the California Solar Initiative, which will cover existing residential housing, as well as existing and new commercial and industrial properties.
  
• The program sets aside 10 percent of program funding for low-income customers and affordable housing installations. The PUC will also explore the option of offering low-cost financing options to those types of installations in workshops this year.
  
• The program includes an additional amount of up to 5 percent of the annual budget for potential research, development, and demonstration activities, with emphasis on the demonstration of solar and solar-related technologies.
  
• The program includes a requirement that solar incentive payments be made not just for installed capacity, but also with emphasis on the performance and output of the solar systems installed, to ensure that these solar investments are delivering clean energy as promised.
  
• The program design requires all facilities that receive an incentive to undergo an energy efficiency audit (at a minimum) to identify more cost-effective energy efficiency investment options at the building. The PUC also intends to have further workshops to determine incentives for newly constructed buildings that participate in utility energy efficiency new construction programs and exceed the existing building standards by a certain threshold.
  

Specifically, the CSI will: Provide incentives to customer-side photovoltaics and solar thermal electric projects under 1 MW capacity; authorize a pilot solar water heater (SWH) incentive program for customers of San Diego Gas and Electric Company, and if successful, the PUC could offer SWH incentives statewide; set initial PV incentive levels at $2.80 per watt effective Jan. 1, 2006, to be reduced by an average of approximately 10 percent annually, with incentive levels for solar thermal electric projects and solar heating and cooling will be determined in 2006; allocate 10 percent of program funds for low-income and affordable housing; and develop a pay-for-performance incentive structure to reward high-performing solar projects.