Items Tagged ‘California’
Old San Francisco Mint To Become A Gorgeous Green Museum
Synopsis:
The vacant U.S. Mint in San Francisco is ready to go green once again. A green renovation is currently being planned for the building by HOK. Built in 1874 and vacant since 1995, the structure will be converted into a cultural hub that will include a San Francisco Bay Area history museum, an interactive learning center, a visitor information center, restaurants, retail, and a green roof garden.
The building significant amounts of space along with a sense of security. It survived the 1906 Great Earthquake thanks to the floating foundation design that Alfred Mullet had incorporated – a design that is still used today.
A number of green features are being planned for the adaptive reuse project: passive ventilation will remain in the original design, a courtyard will act as a rainwater catchment area, take advantage of natural sunlight and building’s high thermal mass. The project team for The Mint plans to earn LEED Platinum certification.
Cleantech Companies Find New Use For Silicon Valley’s Bigger, Older Buildings
Publication Date:
July 26, 2010Written By:
Mary DuanSource:
Silicon Valley / San Jose Business JournalRead more...
Synopsis:
While the semiconductor production sphere may have shifted away from Silicone Valley, the old concrete structures that served as their homes are being reestablished. Thanks to the “green” economy, these buildings are now being converted into manufacturing space for cleantech startups. The low rent and large space is proving to be perfect for this new brand of industry.
Once Levitz Furniture, Now Paintball Venue
Publication Date:
April 5, 2010Written By:
Jeff QuackenbushSource:
North Bay Business JournalRead more...
Synopsis:
What was once best categorized as a prime example of suburban shopping, Redwood Drive in Rohnert Park, California, is fast becoming an entertainment district. Marking by big box stores that have outlived their occupants, these structures are now gaining new uses as paintball fields, indoor raceways and sports centers. The newest project is the conversion that is about to start on an old Levitz Furniture store that will soon be a facility with paintball, laser tag and an arcade. Similar conversions have already taken place to an old Linens n’ Things and Costco. The area is transforming itself into an all new destination point, thanks to adaptive reuse.
Wallis Annenberg Center For The Performing Arts Breaks Ground With A Construction Party
Synopsis:
The historic Beverly Hills Post Office is set to become the home of the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. Nearly 500 community leaders, celebrities, VIPs and politicos attended the celebration groundbreaking. Built during the Great Depression, the building will be adapted and renovated for a whole new purpose. The spaces that were once used for mail sorting and postage purchases will be redesigned to become a theater school, a flexible studio theater, sculpture garden, café, gift shop and more. The 500-seat contemporary Goldsmith Theater will be added adjacent to the old building. The new center is anticipated to benefit both residents and visitors.
Ford Point
Synopsis:
History
As the largest assembly plant on the West Coast, the Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant in Richmond, California, was a major stimulant to the local and region economy. Built in 1930 and designed by Albert Kahn, Ford became the city’s third largest employer. The plant was converted for wartime production in World War II. After the war, Ford restart automobile assembly, however, that ended in February 1953. The factory was closed down in 1956 due to its inability to meet increased production demands.[1]
(Re)Developer
Orton Development (ODI) specializes in rehabilitation and redevelopment of existing sites. The firm, established in 1984, has worked on numerous mixed-use projects including properties from: General Motors Corp., US Steel Realty, Lockheed Martin, Simmons Company, British Oxygen Corp., Dillard’s Retail Corp., Del Monte, Hunt-Wesson, and American Standard.
Located in Berkeley, California, Marcy Wong Donn Logan Architects has completed numerous projects throughout California.
Outcome
ODI purchased the site from the City of Richmond in 2004 for $5.4 million, who then hired Marcy Wong Donn Logan Architects to undertake the new program design. The vacant building had been placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988, but then sustained significant damage during the Loma Prieta earthquake one year later. The City of Richmond invested $20 million over 15 years after the quake and prior to the sale to ODI.[2]
Stretching a quarter-mile long and including more than 500,000 square feet of space, the adapted Ford Point (as it is now called) is a model of sustainable design. “In an exemplary preservation turn-around, the building that once manufactured exhaust-spewing internal-combustion engines now houses ‘green’ businesses and a popular entertainment venue, all of which are revitalizing the local economy.” It is home to the Crane Pavilion (40,000 sf), a public entertainment venue and the future home of the National Park Service’s Rosie the Riveter Visitor Center. The building’s largest tenant, SunPower Corporation, has installed a state of the art solar voltaic system atop the sawtooth structure of the historic facility.
“The rebirth of the Ford Assembly Building serves as an extraordinary example of how historic preservation can be a catalyst for community revitalization, economic development and sustainability,” says Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “This is a building that California can be proud of—and that architects, developers, politicians and business owners across the country should study as a model of innovative, environmentally responsible reuse.”[3]
Doing The Numbers
Synopsis:
An open house and panel discussion was hosted at the adapted 4th+Linden buildings in Long Beach, California. The focus of the event – the success of adaptive reuse. A number of architects, developers and real-estate industry professionals attended in order to learn more about how the development of the host building site was able to succeed in light of the current economic situation. One of the main reasons the project stayed in the black was that construction costs stayed under $1 million. This was due in large part to the fact that the developer reused the building rather than tearing it down. Another ingredient for its success was the swift turnaround. As the developer was able to work with an existing building, it was faster for them to complete the conversion, sell it, and get a tenant than it would have been to tear down, permit and title, rebuild, sell, and gain tenants. Five of the eight units in the building have already been sold. Project developer Brad Gwinn, and the evening’s moderator, noted that a mix of low rent, cost per square foot, and Long Beach’s support of adaptive reuse could help the community through the recession. The key statement – “Now is the time to create opportunity,” Gwinn said, “it’s finding the incentives, working with the tools.” One of those tools is adaptive reuse.
Historic Guasti District Getting Mixed Makeover
Synopsis:
As part of the Historic Guasti District project in Ontario, California, the City and developer Oliver McMillan have started adapting nine buildings in the Guasti district. The nine buildings (totaling 175,000 sf) are part of the 55-acre project that will include a mix of restaurants, entertainment, hospitality and lifestyle tenants. The redevelopment of Guasti Village will eventually include 400,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, 600,000 square feet of office, residential units and two hotels. The nine buildings that make up the first phase of the project include the Guasti Villa, a firehouse, five worker cottages and two residences. The adaptive reuse project includes historic preservation measures in order to protect the buildings as well as murals and other artifacts from the Villa. The project is a major tool in the strategic development that will be incorporated at a number of sites in the city.
Navy Building To Become Clean-Tech Hub
Synopsis:
In an encouraging turn of events, the United Nations have thrown out their original concept plans for the new Global Compact headquarters in San Francisco. The initial plan called for an 80,000-square-foot clean-tech campus by 2012 at the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. Those plans were never funded and the project was eventually cut. Instead, an abandoned 62-year-old Navy warehouse will now become the home for the new emerging clean-tech companies. Building 813, as it is currently known, includes 260,000 square feet. “Reusing the robustly constructed warehouse will help accelerate the development of a clean-tech campus at the shipyard and avoid demolition of a sound building.”
The Marine Mammal Center
Synopsis:
History
This site in Sausalito, California, originally served as a Nike anti-aircraft missile launch facility. Fort Cronkhite was decommissioned in the early 1970s.[1]
(Re)Developer
The Marine Mammal Center is a nonprofit focused on the interdependence between humans and marine mammals. Established in 1975, the center rescues and humanely treats ill, injured, or orphaned marine mammals, to return healthy animals to the wild. Their scientific research helps to increase knowledge of marine mammals, their health and their environment and assure their long-term survival. The center also provides education and communication to increase appreciation of marine mammals, foster informed decision-making affecting them, and inspire action to protect the marine environment.[2]
Outcome
The original conversion of the facility occurred soon after the site was decommissioned. When the center first opened in 1975, it was using modified freight containers and small outbuildings. Thirty years later, the center had outgrown its current facilities and needed a major upgrade.
It was decided to continue utilizing the site but to follow through with a complete overhaul to solidify the center’s presence. One of the two 3,000-square-foot underground missile silos has now been converted into a research library that holds frozen organic specimens and is located underneath the research lab. The other silo is now home to state-of-the-art equipment that cleans and reuses up to 200,000 gallons of fresh and salt water at a time. That’s nearly four times what the center previously was able to handle. This is very important for the center’s dense mammal population which needs clean water. The new pens for the animals are shaded by 7,000 square feet of photovoltaic panels which also act as shade elements. These panels provide 18% of the center’s energy needs.[3]
What once was the site of military “defense” is now a modern home to protect and aid the marine mammal population.
Deal Reached to Save Landmark L.A. Hotel
Publication Date:
February 11, 2010Written By:
Jacob AdelmanSource:
Engineering News-RecordRead more...
Synopsis:
Next Century Associates purchased the historic Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles in 2008 with plans to replace it with new towers containing condos and shops. Since that announcement, the community has come out in full force to save this key building. The Century Plaza Hotel was built at the core of Century City – a district of high-rises on the former site of a 20th Century Fox movie lot – and opened in 1966. It was designed by architect Minoru Yamasaki, whose later work included New York City’s World Trade Center towers. It is the heart of Century City and a true landmark as it had welcomed home the crew of Apollo 11 as well as hosted President-elect Ronald Reagan’s victory celebration and Bob Hope’s celebrity-studded Century Ball. Next Century has revised its construction plans. The hotel will now be converted to include 400 guest rooms and 45 condominium units. Additional tower/buildings have been approved to be constructing on the sides or back of the hotel, but not to obstruct the building’s presence on the street.