Best Of 2006 - McGraw Hill Construction

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Best of 2006 Southern California A nearly 100-year-old San Diego hotel has been restored and is slated to return as one of the city’s most prominent and historic attractions. Sitting at the edge of San Diego’s Gaslamp district, the US Grant Hotel is on the National Register of Historic Places. But new owners, seeking to create a more opulent lodging destination, began planning to renovate the hotel after taking over ownership in 2003. The US Grant Hotel renovation, a $52 million project, took nearly two years to complete. The 11-story, 270-room hotel received a number of upgrades from the outside sidewalks to the suites at the top of the hotel. The renovation also focused on three major ballrooms, meeting rooms and retail space along the street. All together, more than 3,000 construction activities were planned. Renovations were done in five areas of the hotel: in the guest rooms; in the suites; in the basement and lobby; kitchens; and hotel exterior. Much of the work focused on upgrading and modernizing hotel rooms. Rooms were refurbished with material such as high-end carpeting from India. Bathtubs Judges’ Comments “Restored to its glory years.” were removed from guest rooms and replaced with walk-in showers. Original art insured for a total of $5 million was placed into bedrooms. Many existing materials were refurnished. Builders worked from photographs and postcards to restore one of the ballrooms. Columns in the lobby were hand painted, as were metal and 55 California Construction 12/2006 US Grant Hotel, San Diego Project Team Restoration Award of Merit Owner US Grant Hotel Ventures, LLC Architect ASCG of New Mexico, Albuquerque General Contractor Swinerton Builders, San Diego Plumbing/Mechanical Engineer Pacific Rim Mechanical, San Diego Electrical Engineer Neal Electric, Poway Concrete TB Penick & Sons, San Diego Landscape ValleyCrest, San Diego stair railings and wood floors in the basement. While the hotel was renovated, builders and designers discovered past materials which influenced their design. For instance, when the project team found white marble on the grand staircase in the lobby, they decided to refurbish the entire 10,000-sq.-ft. lobby in white marble. Among the challenges of refurbishing the lobby in marble was finding the right period marble with gray veins to complement the staircase. This is the second major renovation to the hotel in the past 25 years. It was renovated in the early 1980s.
Best of 2006 Southern California Metropolitan Lofts is trying to bring urban living back into downtown Los Angeles. Targeted at the young urban professional in Los Angeles, Metropolitan Lofts features 274 apartments and is near various Los Angeles venues, including Staples Center and the Los Angeles Convention Center. The eight-story building was inspired by early 20th-century design and is clad in concrete and corrugated steel. A large amount of glass was included to enhance views from all levels of the building. One of the main features of the building is an electronic LED panel on the outside of the building. When residents walk into the building, they step on tiles which trigger the outside LED display, creating “electronic art.” Each loft ranges in size from 690 to 1,400 sq. ft. and includes live/work units, a studio apartment and one and two-bedroom apartments. The apartments were designed to emphasize clean lines of classic modernism with vibrant color schemes, urban architectural finishes and materi- Judges’ Comments “Well-constructed building.” “It fits downtown.” als and contemporary free-form spaces. Large industrial windows, balconies and open kitchens were also built in each apartment. The builders incorporated a lot of area for socializing near the ground floor. The lobby lounge features mainly glass with modern furnishings. The ground floor 56 California Construction 12/2006 Metropolitan Lofts, Los Angeles Project Team Residential Winner Developer Forest City Residential West, Los Angeles Architect Johnson Fain, Los Angeles General Contractor Swinerton Builders, Los Angeles Structural Engineer Nabih Youssef & Associates, Los Angeles Electrical Engineer Vorgias Consulting, Pasadena Civil Engineer Psomas, Los Angeles open space includes a courtyard which includes the pool but also includes a barbeque and room for parties. A nearby aboveground parking garage allows residents to walk from the garage to their apartment. Metropolitan Lofts also features many amenities both in-building and on the ground level. The building features a pool, fitness center and spa. It also includes high-speed Internet service for all units, 24-hour business center and a screening room. Among the many concierge services offered are housekeeping, notary services and package delivery About 11,000 sq. ft. of the ground-level is dedicated to retail.
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Best Of 2006 - McGraw Hill Construction

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