The Contra Costa County Administration Building and Jail Demo & Redevelopment (ADR) is a $62 million project consisting of the abatement and demo of one 5-story office building built in the early 1950s, one 12-story office building built in the late 1950s, and an old jail originally built in 1903 in the commercial area of downtown Martinez, CA.

Since our last update, we've been busy completing the entire building demo scope, constructing the new building pad, and finishing new foundations, underslab utilities, and pouring the slab on grade. Webcor Concrete is currently working on the vertical sequence of architectural concrete from levels 1 to 2 and has begun forming the first elevated deck.

Due to the height and proximity to the busy area around the county court buildings, demolition of the 12-story, 180-foot-tall steel building was one of this project's biggest risks. Our demolition partner, FERMA, proposed utilizing a high-reach excavator and pneumatic processor to demolish the tower--an approach that was one of the determining factors in awarding our team this project during the pursuit phase.

In August, the team completed building abatement, cut and capped all utilities, and removed the construction hoist in preparation for tower demo. When FERMA's high-reach excavator reached 180 feet to cut the first piece of steel, however, it became clear that the pneumatic processor's shear lacked the strength to make any cuts at that height.

After a week of trying to resolve the issue, the team decided to demo the top five floors using the "floor by floor" method, then use the high-reach excavator to take down the remainder of the building. The "floor by floor" demo method required us to reinstall the hoist and hoist multiple Bobcats to the top floors. We used the Bobcats to break up the concrete decks, then a torch crew cut structural steel beam, then a hoisting crew hoisted each beam section down to the ground level for further processing and off-haul. It was a high-risk, tedious, and time-consuming process that we ultimately performed without any injuries. However, it did add 23 days to our overall construction schedule.

Upon completion of building demo in October, the existing underground basement was abandoned by placing 6,000 cubic yards of fill to create the building pad for the new administration building. Since the project delays pushed the foundation sequence into the winter months, we decided to build the top portion of the building pad out of class 2 AB, providing a solid surface for winter foundation work.

Webcor Concrete mobilized in November and started foundation work in December. The pad survived the rainy winter weather, and Webcor Concrete finished the foundations at the end of January. Currently, Webcor Concrete is finishing up their vertical sequence from levels 1 to 2, where the majority of architecturally colored concrete walls will be poured.

"From a concrete perspective, the architectural colored concrete is the toughest part of this project," Superintendent, Concrete Dan Deane says.

At the end of the day, the architectural concrete will be what draws everyone's attention to this building. The quality will have to be top-notch. In this scenario, quality trumps schedule because you only get one shot at pouring an architectural wall. The consequences of missing something because we rushed the architectural concrete work could be disastrous for the project. We're fortunate to have Webcor Concrete out here because they pay close attention to detail, plan the work extremely well, and execute without cutting corners. The concrete for the 3-story, 65,000-square-foot structure is expected to top out in April. We're looking forward to Webcor Drywall‚ mobilization at the end of March and expect to reach TCO in April 2024.

On June 2, the 1951 Shattuck team kicked off the month with a classic Webcor BBQ to celebrate topping out the 12-story mixed-use high-rise in downtown Berkeley while thanking their dedicated trade partners for their tireless efforts throughout the journey toward reaching this major milestone.

Webcorians (including Builders, Carpentry, Concrete, and Drywall) were joined by representatives from partner companies Grosvenor, JP Morgan Chase, SCB Architects, Tipping Structural Engineers, CMC, Intermountain Electric, Broadway Mechanical, Allied Fire, and CE Toland. Steve Buster. Sr. VP of Development at client company Grosvenor, voiced his appreciation for the outstanding work Webcor and our trade partners have delivered thus far and congratulated the entire team on topping out-an exciting milestone reflecting their perseverance and the project's substantial progress. Superintendent Tim Scapin followed up by reiterating Webcor's heartfelt gratitude for our trade partners' exemplary collaboration and commitment to the project, then transitioned to overseeing the raffle, which included gift cards, tools, and a pizza oven, for attending trade partners.

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As a small but mighty team, the 1951 Shattuck crew has faced its fair share of challenges throughout the course of the project. Everyone has been asked to step outside their comfort zone by taking on responsibilities outside their typical role and confidently risen to the occasion to best support project progress as needed. Additionally, team members navigated a uniquely challenging rain season that required careful strategizing to minimize impacts to the schedule.

"There are no weak links on this team," says Sr. Project Manager Katie Chisholm. "Everyone is asked to go above and beyond their traditional tasks. We've developed a true team mindset-without hesitation, everyone does whatever it takes to support one another. This approach extends to the entire One Webcor group; all teams proactively engage with one another and are willing to make decisions and sacrifices based on what makes the most sense for the project as a whole."

The team has kicked off steel erection for the roof penthouses and is wrapping up final miscellaneous concrete work. Clark Pacific will install the facade by the end of the month, and precast installation will complete by mid-August. The next milestone will take place in July when elevator installation kicks off. 1951 Shattuck expects to reach completion in April of next year.

About 1951 Shattuck

1951 Shattuck is a ground-up, Type I concrete mixed-use project. This design-build MEPS & facade project totals 198,989 square feet throughout one structure with 12 stories above grade (including a single-story podium below 11 floors of residential) and a two-level basement. It includes 163 residential units, 58 parking spaces, a gym, bike storage, lounge/study space, and a roof deck featuring a dog park. As a One Webcor project, Webcor's self-performing concrete, drywall, and carpentry. This project is GreenPoint Rated Gold, and all-electric services are being provided for residential HVAC and cooking needs.

For Project Engineer (PE) Intern Brenda Aguilar, it was never a question of "if" she would become an engineer-it was a question of when.

"I always knew I wanted to be an engineer because I love solving real-world problems," she shares. "When the time came to choose my major, I decided on civil engineering so I could learn more about the engineering fields that interested me the most-environmental, construction, and structural. It's exciting to know that as a future civil engineer, I'll have the skills and knowledge needed to positively impact my community."

Community impact is an aspect of construction that particularly appeals to Brenda, as well as its uniquely tangible results and the hands-on, collaborative nature of the work. "I love that construction is a prominent part of society that fosters creation, growth, and prosperity," she shares. "I also love that-like civil engineering-it's so team-oriented and allows me to work with innovative, strategic-minded people."

Brenda learned about Webcor and its summer internship program during an American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) info session at UC Berkeley, where she's currently pursuing her civil engineering degree. She was immediately intrigued by the Webcor presenters' palpable passion for the company and its mission, as well as its vast resume of high-profile projects in some of California's largest cities. After taking in all of the presented information and insights on working for Webcor, she decided to take the chance and apply for her first-ever college internship.

Seven months later, she began her first day as a PE intern with Webcor Concrete at Olympic & Hill in Los Angeles. Throughout the summer, she'll oversee how work gets done in the field, collaborate with her fellow interns and new Webcor colleagues, and learn how to run labor distribution report (LDR) meetings and perform PE-specific daily tasks.

"My goals are to learn all about the various construction-related tasks, build meaningful connections with my peers, and gain the skills necessary to pave my way to becoming an engineer," Brenda says. "I'm especially excited to learn how to run a concrete pour!"

Although she's only a couple weeks into her internship, she's already learned how to set up and use the builder's level with the layout crew and fallen in love with being out in the field, where she looks forward to soaking in as much knowledge and building as many skills as she can this summer.

"The builder's level is used to check elevations and set up level points," she explains. "The level points allow the layout crew to keep the horizontal levels constant, which is crucial to ensuring the deck is built uniformly and free of any major dips or high points. Since learning to use this instrument, I've used it every day in the field-it's been a huge help!"

She plans to spend any down time she gets this summer reading, going on runs, and catching up with her friends and family before returning to UC Berkeley for the fall semester. At Berkeley, she's an active member of Cal Concrete Canoe, the university's first civil engineering competition team. Together, team members model and build a 20-foot-long canoe composed entirely of concrete that they eventually race in the annual Mid-Pacific Regional Competition-in which Cal Concrete Canoe placed first this year!