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The State of California Department of General Services has selected Clark Construction Group, LLC and its design/build partner, Gruen Associates of Los Angeles, as the design/build team for a $225.6 million office complex in Sacramento. The selection of the team follows an extensive seven-month process involving proposals from seven teams of construction and architectural firms.
An ambitious mixed-use office development, this four building portion of the Capitol Area East End Complex will consolidate the headquarters operations of two major departments of the California state government and includes 1.1 million square feet of new building space, as well as 630,000 square feet of parking facilities. Sited directly on axis with the historic, gold-domed Capitol Building, the total project encompasses four city blocks.
“We are pleased to have this accomplished design/build team aboard, and are ready to begin the most significant civic building complex to be built in Sacramento in decades,” said Department of General Services Interim Director Cliff Allenby. “The Capitol Area East End Complex will play a major role in the continued development of downtown Sacramento while incorporating environmentally sensitive construction measures. Both these firms have a solid history with projects aimed at revitalizing downtown city core areas.”
The complex, which includes a separate 358,500-square-foot office building project on Block 225, will house more than 6,000 employees from the state departments of education, general services, and health services and will include parking under all office buildings and an additional five-level parking garage. The office buildings will alternate between six and seven stories in height and include street-level retail.
Although embodying the dignity of state government, the design, created by master project architect Johnson Fain Partners of Los Angeles, avoids competing with the Capitol Building. Arcades and enhanced pedestrian systems are designed to ease movement through and to the site. Public amenities in the Clark/Gruen project include retail, community police station, and a 300-seat auditorium.
Clark/Gruen will construct a facility that blends with the natural environment, as part of the project’s overall “green design.” Green standards will address water conservation, construction/demolition waste management, use of recycled materials, alternative energy, indoor air quality, recharging stations for electric vehicles and preferred parking for alternative fuel vehicles and carpools. Computer-based energy-use models are planned to maximize energy efficiency. Additionally, a centralized circulated water system per building will save energy, reduce pollutants, and provide superior water quality. To the fullest extent possible, the team will retain historic trees and vegetation.
The project team also includes structural engineer John A. Martin & Associates of Los Angeles; and mechanical/plumbing/electrical engineer Flack & Kurtz of San Francisco, Calif. Construction is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2000.
The project will be managed by Clark Construction’s Northern California regional office located in Hayward.
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