Gordon H Chong & Partners Opens Office in San Diego

By Paul Napolitano

Gordon H Chong & Partners, the seventh-largest architecture firm in the state, according to California Construction, has opened an office in San Diego. Earlier this year, the 27-year-old firm doubled its studio space when it moved into a new downtown Sacramento location. Next month, the company will move to a new home in Foundry Square in San Francisco.

"San Diego truly is a city of the future with a diverse, educated workforce; a strong identity; rich cultural life and visionary political leadership with forward-thinking planning approaches," said Gordon Chong, firm founder and president. "It is a place where the economy is increasingly becoming knowledge and information-based."

The unemployment rate in San Diego in August was 4.3 percent, 2.2 percentage points below the rate for California.

Carrier Johnson is the largest San Diego-based architecture firm. The company had $21 million in total gross revenue in 2002, according to California Construction.

Chong was recently national president of the American Institute of Architects, the first Asian American to attain the 150-year-old organization's top spot.

Although billings at architecture firms nationwide took a significant dip in July following four months of steady growth, with firms in the Northeast and West bearing most of the downturn in activity, GHCP is experiencing a robust year of growth.

The firm's staff has grown to 175. The Sacramento office, which started with two people less than five years ago, currently has more than 40 employees.

GHCP is forecasting total gross revenue to reach $41.9 million for 2003. That's up from the $24.4 million posted for 2001.

The $289 million Laguna Honda Replacement Hospital in San Francisco and a $208 million medical center replacement in Vallejo for Kaiser Permanente are the firm's two largest projects in design.

In the construction phase, its two largest projects are the $259 million Kaiser Permanente replacement project in Los Angeles (in association with the San Francisco office of the Smith Group) and the $60 million historic renovation and expansion of Sacramento City Hall.