Team Overcomes Series of Obstacles, Obtains TCO Six Days Early
Last Thursday, the Block 33 team achieved a major milestone (6 days early) and obtained Temporary Certificate of Occupancy (TCO) from the UCSF fire marshal. While we still have a ways to go to successfully close out the project, this is a great time to reflect on the incredible achievements of this team over the last 3-1/2 years.
From initial design concepts through massive seismic performance upgrades, three natural disasters resulting in force majeures, a change in fire marshals, and countless utility provider challenges, Webcor would like to thank the entire team for their tireless perseverance in providing UCSF & the Mission Bay at large with its most aesthetically pleasing (and seismically sound) structure.
A special thanks to SmithGroup & Forell Elsesser for navigating the team through the design & permitting process, and our key trades, CEI, FMB, AFP, PPM, PCI, CP, AGA, PEI, FDB, WCG, WDG & WCS for bringing us across the finish line.
The 706 Mission project team celebrated a major milestone
The 706 Mission project team celebrated a major milestone on Wednesday, November 13.
A "Final Pour / Topping Off" ceremony marked the last structural concrete pour of the project, which is expected to open next summer as the Four Seasons Private Residences adjacent to Jessie Square Plaza and Yerba Buena Gardens in downtown San Francisco.
"Today is the last of 140 pours of concrete to create all the decks of this 48-story building,"
said Senior Safety Manager Ray Ramierez, who was one of the organizers of the event. Since August 2018, 31,000 cubic yards of concrete have been poured for the 700,000 gross square foot development, according to Webcor Concrete Project Manager Kenny Hua.
Similar to beam signings to mark the topping out of steel-beam buildings, final pour ceremonies commemorate the topping out of concrete structures. During Wednesday's event workers used permanent markers to sign their names on a symbolic bucket that was soon used to pour the final load of concrete. (See image at left.) The signatures on the bucket represent all the hard work to get the project to this stage.
After everyone had signed, a crane lowered a hook so the bucket with an unfurled American flag and a fir tree could be hoisted to the top of the building. The evergreen tree continues a tradition that can be traced to ancient Scandinavia to appease the tree-dwelling spirits displaced in the construction of timber-frame buildings.
Construction Manager Mike Poole told the crowd that today the tree has come to mean good luck for the building. He pointed out that during World War II American flags were included in topping off ceremonies, and that tradition continues.
To date, approximately 400 Webcor Concrete Division workers have been involved in the concrete portion of the project, with about 70 concrete workers on-site on an average day.
"It's all rebar and concrete holding up this entire building," said Superintendent Matt Borland. "This structure was designed with concrete decks and columns, and there is no steel for the main structure of the building," he added.
Vice President Kurt Ricci spoke proudly of the team's progress to date: "We're three and a half years into this project. We have about five months left "til our first temporary certificate of occupancy and only seven months until the building owner wants to start moving in."
Highrise residential buildings built by Webcor are always concrete, while office buildings tend to be structural steel, Kurt explained.
"Concrete minimizes sound transmission, which matters more in a residential building than in an office building. With concrete, each deck is only about eight inches thick, and the underside of the deck – what we skim-finish – is the exposed ceiling in the residential unit. A steel beam building requires about 14 or 15 inches of thickness between floors, so by the time you get up to the height of a building like this, you could lose a floor or more," he said.
In keeping with tradition after topping out ceremonies, Webcor treated all workers to commemorative t-shirts and a catered lunch.
Others on hand for the event included representatives of the building's ownership group.
For a more connected Project Engineer community
Shortly after joining Webcor two years ago, Karen Turcios had the opportunity to attend NEWB Bootcamp, a 1-week experience in which she was able to work with project engineers throughout the company.
"I had so much fun meeting new people! But when you go back to your project site, it can become very hard to get out there and meet others in your same, or similar, role."
With this in mind, Karen began brainstorming ideas to create a more connected Project Engineer community.
"I thought it would be great to have an annual mixer, where those just beginning their careers in construction could meet and grow their network!"
She shared the idea with Rachel Johnson, Luis Uriostegui, and Stefanie Cooke, who were immediately onboard to help plan the event. Together, the four of them spent six months carefully planning the details of Webcor's First Annual Project Engineer Mixer. With the support of Tom Taylor, Margaret Austin, McKenzie Cox and Matt Reece, the venue was booked, and the dream of this event turned into reality.
On September 27th, the months of planning finally paid off. Webcor's first annual PE Mixer was held on a swanky Hornblower cruise ship, where attendees had the entire three levels of the boat to themselves. Over 150 Assistant Project Engineers, Project Engineers, Assistant Superintendents and Assistant Project Managers attended the event, hailing from project sites in Merced, Northern California and Southern California.
The theme of the night? Hollywood on the Bay.
"As engineers in our trade, we often spend most of our time in dirty construction clothes and hard hats, so it was a nice change to see everyone dressed up," notes Project Engineer Andrew Bautista.
In an effort to bring attendees out of their shell, the evening was set up so that there were icebreakers, Webcor trivia, and a lot of socializing.
"Being on a boat led us to connect with all of those arounds us – the fact that everyone on the boat and couldn't leave created a space to encourage connection," explains Senior Project Engineer Walker Hansen. "I loved how everyone got more and more connected and communicative as the night went along."
"My favorite part of the event was dancing on the boat," recalls Project Engineer Kaushik Suresh Kumar. "My friends were all super jealous when I told them about the mixer – I think it was a really unique event that makes Webcor stand out. We should definitely do it every year!"
On the heels of a successful PE Mixer, the planning committee is already looking forward to organizing future events.
"We can't wait to get the opportunity to lead a different group of people through the process of planning it next year," explains Karen. "We want the impact to be lasting, so there were a series of new community initiatives that were developed and will be communicated in the coming weeks. If anybody is interested in getting involved, we would love to have more support from others to ensure we push it through."
