DPR Construction's Phoenix regional office has been officially certified as a Net-Zero Energy Building by the International Living Future Institute through its Living Building Challenge program.

DPR is now a Platinum level member (the highest level) of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). DPR joins more than 30 of the world’s most respected companies that have shown their strong commitment to green building and have joined USGBC as platinum level members..

"USGBC’s platinum level members represent some of the world’s most innovative, forward-thinking corporations and organizations, and we are proud to count on them as partners in the green building movement,” said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair, USGBC.

DPR will break ground on this Cousins Properties Inc.'s project, called Colorado Tower. It has already secured two law firm tenants and will includes fitness facilities and a conference center. It is expected to be completed in November 2014. Duda/Paine Architects designed the tower.

DPR will break ground on the project, called Colorado Tower. It is located project at Third and Colorado streets and will bring 371,000 square feet of top-tier office space to the downtown market. A formal groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for June 4.

The DPR Phoenix Office is One of Four Buildings in the Nation to Date to Receive Net-Zero Energy Building Certification from the International Living Future Institute.

DPR was both the owner and contractor for the renovation project, turning a circa-1972 abandoned retail boutique into an office that produces as much or more energy than it consumes.

DPR Construction’s Phoenix office continues to make sustainability history.

According to a case study from the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) through its Living Building Challenge, "A living laboratory for the community, DPR’s new office is a unique example of urban revitalization and sustainability."

A joint venture between DPR and Hunt Construction Group, this 1.2-million-square-foot JW Marriott Austin will be the largest JW Marriott hotel in the U.S. upon completion. It broke ground in October 2012.

Exploring new campus projects from Google and Apple, the article discusses the shared eco-consciousness of the companies. DPR's Doug Woods won't divulge clients' plans but says, "some of the companies around here are looking to become a darker green."

DPR is featured in the documentary, "We the Owners." DPR's Jim Washburn will participate in a panel discussion immediately after the screening. The film has been screened this year on more than 20 campuses, as well as large national conferences, private groups, and in the U.K and France.

Major projects in the area include the University of Texas high performance computing facility.

All of Hardin’s staff in Raleigh, which employed about 10 people, have migrated to DPR’s Morrisville office in the Southport Business Park.

Despite an expectation that healthcare construction will wind down in the next two or three years after billions of dollars in expenditures in the last decade or so, Eric Lamb, a DPR executive vice president, said their outlook for the Bay Area “is very bullish.”

Hardin, the Atlanta-based general contractor — which is Central Florida’s third-largest national construction company with $221 million in local operating revenue — was bought by DPR Construction.

DPR will have 18 offices across the U.S., with nearly 3,000 employees and a projected 2013 revenue of $2.8 billion, company officials said in a news release.

DPR Construction purchased Atlanta-based Hardin Construction Company. The combined company will operate nationally as DPR Construction, with the exception of Atlanta where it will operate as DPR Hardin Construction.

DPR Construction completes acquisition of Atlanta-based Hardin Construction, adding more than 200 employees in the Southeast and Texas.

DPR's Dan Casale showcases Project Lion, which is the brainchild of DPR & Trimble. The firms are partnering on an autonomous layout robot, or "laybot," that applies robotic-total-station (RTS) technology to help it mark lines on slabs before interior construction.

DPR is Slide 41. Actual rankings will be available on April 25. Check back to see what ranking DPR receives!

DPR’s self-perform drywall team tackled the 18 miles of full-height walls in more than 750,000 square feet of building area. At the peak of the project, DPR had more than 240 carpenters working on the drywall scope dispersed over the 11 stories, resulting in more than 625,000 man-hours.

The San Francisco Business Times honored all the award winners on March 20. DPR's Sutter Health Eden Medical Center (slide 31) in Castro Valley is a $320 million seismic rebuild using an unprecedented integrated project delivery (IPD) approach with 11 partners.

“Giving our customers a way to have the most realistic experience they can get outside of walking through a finished building enables valuable feedback and ensures that the end users are getting exactly what they want,” said Atul Khanzode, director of construction technology at DPR Construction.

DPR is mentioned as a key player in the data center space.

DPR's Dan Casale was on a panel for "Virtual Gets Physical" at the FutureTech Conference in San Francisco.

Founder and CEO of ChangeLabs, Peter Sheahan explores success and uses DPR as a case study in this blog about success.

LEED Gold certification highlights of DPR's EMC Data Center include: 34 percent overall energy savings and reduced carbon footprint of nearly 100 million pounds of CO2.

“In the past, it was pretty easy for companies to throw some solar panels on the roof,” says Doug Woods, co-founder of DPR Construction. He won’t divulge details of clients’ plans but says “some of the companies around here are looking to become a darker green.”

DPR completed the 13,900-sq.-ft. surgery facility in a fast four months.

Welcome to the Oregon high desert, where Facebook stores all of your likes while pursuing data center energy efficiency on a new scale.

These organizations excelled at employee development in 2013. This was an increase from last year when DPR was ranked #87.

The American Society of Hospital Engineering (ASHE) selected the hospital as recipient of its annual Vista Award for the year’s most outstanding renovation project.

The system, provided by Trimble and ThingMagic, enables the general contractor to automate safety and access management during construction at the UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay.

The funding will provide over 100 youth and teens access to after school programs at no cost to members of The Boys & Girls Club. Youth receive tutoring in math, english, science, mentoring in overall life skills and lessons, and access to summer camp programs.

“This project is anticipated to generate hundreds of jobs, including much needed construction jobs, during the build out over the next two years, and we are honored to be a part of it,” said DPR's Jay Leopold.

Vanity Fair's exclusive preview of Google's new Googleplex.

ICAN currently serves about 250 youths per day. Said Shelby Pedersen, ICAN director of resource development, “DPR stepped up to help us handle the increased growth.”

By: Eric Cusick, LEED AP, and Skip Miyamoto

The manufacturing methods employed at the FVM facility, located in Research Triangle Park, NC, provide for a flexible multi-product environment, with less capital investment, reduced utility demands, and increased speed through the product pipeline.

This $50 million, 100,000-sq.-ft. life sciences facility was built by DPR and is now open on the Clemson University campus. The facility has 25 laboratories organized by research clusters that focus on emerging pathogens, cancer prevention and cure, microbiology and food safety.

DPR's Rodney Spencley was part of the judging panel, which included professionals from all across the U.S. who donated their time and expertise to help ENR identify and honor the most outstanding construction efforts, nationally.

Girls Inc. is a Costa Mesa-based nonprofit that assists about 4,000 girls with educational services each year.

DPR Foundations reps present check to Brookhaven Boys & Girls Club, one of the 15 organizations that the DPR Foundation is supporting this year.

In the construction industry, renovation projects present a unique set of challenges that are different from ground-up building.

DPR Co-Founder and CEO, Doug Woods (the "D" in DPR), selected as one of 25 professionals chosen for their innovations and achievements, for giving back to the industry and the public, and for going beyond their day-to-day jobs.

Individuals selected based on factors such as career experience, industry leadership, and community service.

DPR Construction, the building contractor and construction manager that has built itself into a $2-billion-a-year business on high-tech construction and a push for innovation, appears to be trying something else relatively new—a big acquisition.

With a dedicated team of in-house "Change Agents," DPR Construction is on a mission to lead innovation in the commercial construction industry. Using a mix of social media, face-to-face interactions and $1.2 million in idea-funding, DPR empowers employees to continually improve and change the world.

DPR is honored to make the best companies list for the fourth year in a row.

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation’s green headquarters is now officially LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certified by the U.S. Green Building Council receiving 94 out of a possible 110 points.

Engineering News Record, a publication for design and construction related news, recently named the new Palomar Medical Center in Escondido the 2012 national Best of the Best Health Care Projects.

The Palomar Medical Center project in Escondido, CA, won best Healthcare Project in the nation and The David and Lucile Packard Foundation New Headquarters in Los Altos, CA, won top Green Project in the country.

In January, DPR's Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center plans to break ground on a $62.6 million project in Gilbert.

DPR Construction will build just south of the existing 130,000-square-foot building. The new space will house three linear accelerators for radiation treatments; 30 clinic exam rooms, 13 infusion bays and an expansion of a laboratory intake center and welcome center. Space also will be dedicated for the Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Therapy program. The new space will be open by spring 2014.

DPR is the Register's Top Workplaces 2012 winner in the midsize company category.

“One of our core values,” said Dave Seastrom, regional manager for technical builder DPR Construction in Newport Beach, “is enjoyment.”

DPR's Banner Health Center in Maricopa and Arizona Board of Regents' Health Sciences Education (HSEB) Building featured.

Pages 18 and 28.

DPR has built more than $600 million in Arizona bioscience projects.

Page 18, "Tapping Into State's Potential"

Many construction companies are looking for an easier way to share project data with workers at the jobsite. Oftentimes, that data exchange comes in the form of an app.

In 2010, U.Va. hired RMF Engineering Inc. and DPR Construction to overhaul Jordan Hall’s HVAC infrastructure

Top 10 trends found in DPR's Future of Healthcare Study, along with Hamilton Espinosa interview

Selected by a volunteerism advisory board comprised of community leaders and members of the Phoenix Business Journal newsroom, DPR was recognized for its “outstanding community relations program.”

With no application process, the award came as a complete surprise; DPR was selected from the entire metropolitan Phoenix area based on word of mouth.

Bentley Systems, Incorporated announced that DPR Construction has standardized on Bentley's ProjectWise for collaboration and work sharing in the delivery of all large construction projects

Ultra-green office is targeted to be the first Net-Zero commercial office building in Arizona.

DPR's New $43.9 Million Center Offers Cancer Patients Advanced Technology

Three DPR projects are recognized by ENR California: Palomar (best healthcare), Packard Foundation HQ (best green) and Sutter Health Eden Medical Center, Castro Valley (award of merit, healthcare).

Targeting Net-Zero in Phoenix's sun-saturated environment was a challenge for DPR's project team working on this innovative, sustainable building.

DPR Construction Pushes Industry Change, Starting at Home

Lots of firms bandy the word "innovation" about but never actually introduce something new. One California-based general contractor, however, has hit the mark...

Two DPR projects make the list: DPR's Phoenix corporate office and U of A medical center.

Hospitals will become smaller and more nimble in the coming years and their technology infrastructure will require increasing investment, according to a recent study by DPR Construction

Just this week, DPR Construction released a “Future of Healthcare” study predicting how economics, delivery, and buildings of the future will play a role in the next decade of healthcare.

Study also finds accountable care organizations, pay-for-performance and aging population will have greatest impact over next five years.

Dubbed California's newest, most modern hospital, DPR's Palomar Medical Center is a state-of-the-art healing environment.

DPR and design-build partner PageSoutherlandPage are building new, expandable data center.

Employee engagement secrets from companies on Fortune’s Best Companies to Work For and Training’s Top 125 and Hall of Fame lists.

One million hours on the Facebook Prineville data center project with no serious injuries or lost time accidents.

David and Lucile Packard would be 'fascinated and delighted' with new space, daughter says

National DPR Mission Critical Group Leaders Mark Thompson and David Ibarra discuss data center trends with Mary Ann Azevedo of the Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal.

The new building is the first LEED Gold certified acute care medical facility in the San Diego region.

eBay's latest milestone in multi-year data center consolidation strategy

Facebook Prineville Data Center selected as Editors' Choice & Green Project of the Year

Will mean hundreds of jobs, hundreds of millions of dollars

Toronto software developer unveils new products during client-centric conference program

Scott & White facility will have 24-hour ER dept.

Former Intern Approaches 20 Years With Company

$1.5 billion project brings vital revenue

Construction to Commence This Month on Social Networking Giant's First Data Center Outside the U.S

This health insurer addressed data center cold spots to earn big savings -- and the top spot on our list of green innovators.

An Unprecedented 11 Partners Propel Integrated Project Delivery at $320-million California Hospital

Building information modeling can save time, money

DPR, Co-Merge exemplify new thinking in the new economic order

Kaiser Permanente is set to open a three-story, 64,000-square-foot medical office building in San Mateo next month, after years on the drawing boards.

DPR conducts Rapid Energy Modeling pilot

A Case for Real-Time Energy Monitoring

A Monument to California

Preparing students to work on new Facebook data center project

Firms With Large Local Operations Land on Magazine’s List

Forward-Thinking National General Contractor Moves up 35 Slots from 2010 Ranking, the Company’s Inaugural Debut on Coveted List

The OC Register ranked DPR #2 among companies with 150 or less employees and #3 among workplaces where people find meaning in their jobs.

With projects ranging from $5,000 to more than $600 million, DPR has the ability to leverage its technical building skills to successfully complete projects in a sustainable way with safety always as a top priority

DPR Construction’s San Diego regional headquarters has been recognized by California Construction as the best “Green Building” in Southern California

DPR Construction's San Diego regional headquarters was recently honored

Designers have torn through massive amounts of information to construct a San Francisco hospital-- before the foundation is laid.

DPR Construction Inc. is the construction manager on the project

How the project’s general contractor, DPR Construction, is using lean principles to make the massive project run smoothly

DPR Construction has completed construction of an $8 million project at the San Diego Yacht Club

OC Metro magazine ranked DPR Construction one of the 10 best companies to work for in Orange County.

Design-builder tames wild laboratory architecture set on steep site in high seismic zone

DPR implemented a high-performance team approach that requires the support of every individual on the project team to solve problems and make decisions

Carlsbad-based Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. held a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday for its planned 176,000-square-foot headquarters

DPR Construction has announced that construction of its new company-owned San Diego regional headquarters is complete.

Monica Rodriguez, Staff Writer
Created: 04/25/2010 02:59:05 PM PDT

POMONA - Weeks of designing, planning and building came together Saturday when dozens of construction workers converged on the Boys and Girls Club of Pomona Valley.

While some people planted a flower and vegetable garden behind the club, others were painting the inside of the club with vibrant colors.

Carpenters built a sturdy wooden structure that will allow club members to take refuge from the summer sun while they wait to take a dip in the nearby pool.

The renovation project was carried out by DPR Construction as a gift to the club.

The club's executive director, Victor Caceres, said what DPR has done is huge.

"We never expected it to be so awesome," Caceres said.

While working on the construction of two new buildings and a parking structure at Western University of Health Science, company representatives and club officials began talking.

"We saw a lot of potential with this site," said Jason King, an engineer with the firm.

The company invited subcontractors it works with to participate, King said.

More than 30 companies agreed to help out with labor or materials, and some provided monetary donations.

As of this weekend, the volunteer labor and materials added up to about $115,000, King said.

Part of the construction work began April 16, but the big push was left for Saturday, which is National Rebuilding Day, he said.

National Rebuilding Day is an annual project of Rebuilding Together, a national nonprofit with chapters around the country.

On the last Saturday of April, chapters carry out projects to improve the homes of low-income people, according to the organization's website.

DPR Construction has a history of participating in such efforts, but in recent years the company began looking for bigger projects that would benefit more people, said regional manager Jim Washburn.

In 2006 the company carried out its first Boys and Girls Club renovation project and has continued to work with clubs every year, he said.

Taking on such projects is about giving back to the community, Washburn said.

The Pomona club renovation includes refurbishing restrooms, building a small office for the club's athletic director, adding storage rooms and installing tracks for radio-controlled cars.

The club's game room now has series of smaller rooms, each designated for a specific uses such as music programs and arts and crafts. Another room will become an education center with computers, a library and other educational resources.

The club's former education center has been turned into a teen center, something the older members of the club requested.

Getting to Saturday's massive effort involved considerable planning that included brainstorming sessions with children and teens.

"The kids helped design everything. It was pretty fun," King said.

Teens at the club said Saturday that they welcome all the improvements being made and see the changes as giving the facility a new feel.

"It's more organized. You feel happy that you're here," said club member Asusena Valdez, 16.

"You want to show it off ... It's a clean place and it's new," added club member Marcella Torres, 15.

The work DPR has done is important on many levels, Caceres said.

The company's work might be just a construction project, but "for us it's really building lives," he said.

Such a project lets young people know that adults care about them, Caceres said.

"The project DPR has taken on will make a difference at the club, but there are other needs that still need attention," Caceres said.

The list of projects includes updating the club's facades, repaving the parking lots and upgrading the pool.

The club also needs a new monument sign, and the gym needs acoustic tiles replaced with a more modern noise- reducing material, he said. Having a new music room requires such equipment as musical instruments, Caceres said.

Those interested in taking on a project can contact the club by going to www.begreatpomona.org or by calling 909-623-8538.

Though the market for tenant improvements had plummeted along with the economy, interest in green improvement projects has increased

DPR Construction recently completed construction of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center for The Old Globe in Balboa Park

As a nine-year veteran of DPR Construction, Pannier feels obligated to take action

DPR ranks 57 on 2010 list

How the design for an impressive research building on a challenging site came to be.

Tens of thousands of children will receive gifts this Christmas thanks to donations to the Marine Corps Reserve's Toys for Tots program

Just because DPR Construction Inc. Regional Manager Jay Leopold may not belong to construction associations or lobbying groups doesn't mean he's not influential

Made in the Shade: Formerly an air force base, Arizona State University’s new classroom and lab complex proves that even for buildings, it’s cool to wear shades.

New research center already a 'silver' building, according to green standards

Crossing Boundaries: Interdisciplinary science and innovative design set a standard for the next generation of research facilities.

Insatiable Demand Drives Growth In One of Few Bright Markets

Squeeze Is On As Firms Fight For What Little Work Is Available

Team Adopts a Hybrid Integrated Delivery Model with Project Underway

$39 million ASU building will ease classroom crunch

Signon San Diego

Project teams find integrated project delivery very helpful

ASU Polytechnic Academic Complex

Public, private sectors driving more projects that require expertise

Energy-efficient parts snap into place wth team-building approach

3-D model facilitates installation of pre-fabricated mechanical systems

Within months, construction will be visible from I-15

Lean management approach eliminates waste and enhances project outcome

$831M in construction statewide over next two years

Waste diversion helps projects meet sustainability goals

Doug Woods Keeps Building DPR Construction

Using BIM, combined with lean construction techniques, results in enhanced field productivity for California medical campus project.

Groundbreaking Set for Sept. 27

Becky Stone runs owner's meeting after just six months on the job

Project Engineer Becky Stone shows up at 7 a.m., an hour before the weekly owner-architect-contractor meeting at DPR Construction's South San Francisco project office. Her first focus is on last week's meeting minutes. Then she prepares the agenda.

On a rotating basis, all of DPR's project managers and engineers run an owner's meeting. Now, it is Stone's turn, after just six months on the job.

DPR hired Stone, 23, last December after she graduated with a construction engineering management degree from Purdue University. She was a paid summer intern for DPR for the past four summers. She summered last year on this project, which consists of the fourth of a four-building campus for a confidential biotechnology client.

"A great thing about DPR is they give their project engineers a lot of responsibility," she says. "Not too many engineers that I know of would be running owner meetings."

With agenda and minutes delivered to the conference room, Stone greets the 30 or so attendees. Stone follows the agenda: safety incidents (none), schedule (on time), third-party commissioning, submittals, RFIs and punchlist work (completed/pending).

After the hour-long meeting, Stone handles some paperwork, then dons a hardhat, glasses and safety vest. Together with intern Jennifer Chang from the University of California, Berkeley, she heads out to the project site. Fellow DPR engineer Charlie Allnutt joins them. Each project engineer oversees eight to 10 subs, so during this walkthrough Stone keeps in touch with them via walkie talkie.

On the first floor, Stone and crew check the finish on doors and corners in the lobby, cube areas and offices. A scratch on a glass door cannot be rubbed out. "Replace the scratched door? That's the $5,000 question," Stone mutters, making notes.

Allnutt pauses as Stone walks away and says, "You know, it's really amazing how Becky just steps right in and manages this project. Really, from day one."

After a quick lunch, Stone and Chang go over more paperwork in preparation for the turnover package. In mid-afternoon, Stone takes the daily safety walk. This duty also is rotated among the engineers, and it's her turn. Chang joins her. "We have to make sure they're wearing hardhats, there are no tripping hazards and no open outlets," she says.

At the building's entrance, Stone meets up with Assistant Superintendent Art Saldana and goes over punchlist items that he and DPR carpenter Jeremy Reiss are working on. They joke around a bit.

"The most important part of this job is establishing relationships with your co-workers," she says. "You never know. During crunch time they can really help you out."

Back at the office, Stone says the project will wrap up mid-July. "After that, I don't know where I'm going next," she says. Dave Bogan, DPR's project superintendent, says Stone can pretty much go anywhere and do anything. "I am a huge Becky Stone fan and expect nothing but great things for her future," he says.

North Bay businesses save paper, money using free services on the Internet

Sometimes the best technology is the one that provides a bridge between the old and new.

E-mail faxing, or e-faxing, is one of those technologies. And services are springing up to supply it to a variety of businesses.

E-Fax, MyFax, MongoFax and RapidFax, to name a few, all provide similar services. Material sent to a fax number is converted into a PDF and sent to an e-mail box rather than a fax machine.

"The service is especially suited to document-heavy sectors: health care, real estate, design firms," said Sue Rutherford, director of marketing communications for Ottawa-based Protus, which provides the MyFax service in North America and the U.K.

MyFax is gaining about 10,000 subscribers a month, she said.

Although the services employ different pricing models, most run about $10 a month per fax number, with additional charges for very high-volume use. Subscribers choose their own numbers.

Savvy information technology professionals have known about e-faxing since the mid-1990s, when it was essentially free.

"I've been using E-Fax since 1998," said Anet Dunne, owner of A Net Gain for Revenue, a Web development and marketing firm in Santa Rosa.

"An IT person suggested it to me when I wanted to receive mortgage documents at the office, but didn't want other people looking at them," she said.

She grew to appreciate receiving files in digital form without the copying, scanning and printing processes that can produce errors.

"There are still people who want to send faxes, but my way of receiving them increases speed, reduces error and saves paper," said Ms. Dunn, who doesn’t pay for the service. Her senders, she said, are billed for the call.

Ellen Turner, IT director of the CPS Avalar residential real estate brokerage in Santa Rosa, said all the offices have a MongoFax number.

"It's secure, and it allows brokers to work from home, so we like the flexibility aspect. But the material still has to be scanned in at one end and contracts can run to huge stacks of paper, so there's a downside. Recently I found a solution called ScanSmith that addresses that problem, but it has to be used at the office, so mobility is lost. It's a trade-off," she said.

Security, flexibility and mobility are important to DPR Construction, which has an office in Petaluma, but paper and energy conservation appeal to Ted van der Linden, director of sustainable construction.

"All of our teams and management like the mobility. It's a huge plus. But I'm always trying to think of ways to conserve in areas that we don't control, like faxes."

E-Fax, he said, directs all incoming material to a central inbox, where the junk can be deleted immediately; files that require electronic storage are transmitted electronically; and those that need to be printed can be outputted in a compressed PDF format using both sides of the page.

"That's three ways we save energy right there. Soon we'll have no incoming faxes at all, for a 20 percent reduction in paper," said Mr. van der Linden.

Bob Alvord and his father are both semi-retired, but they operate a real estate appraisal service covering Napa and counties to the east from their separate homes using E-Fax.

"We've been using it for about two years, and it's a great time and cost saver. All incoming business mail, Internet orders and other material comes in to a central entry point. When you run a business as small as ours, it really simplifies communications.

"For us, it represents cost savings, convenience and efficiency," he said.

Another small business, Carol Shelton Wines in Windsor, has found MyFax invaluable, according to general manager and owner Mitch McKenzie.

"When my wife Carol Shelton and I are on the road, there's nobody left in the office to pick up faxes, and we run the risk of losing an order," he said.

The former software engineer for Hewlett Packard has devised a perfect solution. He subscribes to a call forwarding service which he activates whenever he and his wife hit the road. Call forwarding connects fax calls to his MyFax number, which sends them on the couple's laptops. In their hotel each evening they accept orders, fill out the necessary paperwork at the Web site of the Sonoma co-op where their wine is stored, and arrange electronically for its release to distributors.

Once home, he redirects fax calls to the machine.

"Most wine orders come in by fax, so you can't ignore the technology. But e-faxing advances the technology," he said.

Autodesk among companies putting sustainability on the list for new spaces

 SAN RAFAEL – Software giant Autodesk is among a growing number of companies in the North Bay and nationwide that are realizing that constructing commercial space "green" isn't only for real estate developers or owners anymore.

San Rafael-based Autodesk is leasing 20,000 more square feet at 1 McInnis Parkway. It's a small move for a company with 1.3 million square feet at about 120 locations worldwide, but it represents a global shift in corporate real estate philosophy, according to Stephen Fukuhara, director of facilities operations and projects.

Earlier this year Autodesk applied for a "gold" level of certification under the relatively new commercial interiors standards of the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy-Efficient Design (LEED) program and is exploring existing building certification for offices at 111 McInnis. Also in progress is LEED-CI Gold certification for 40,000 square feet in Oregon.

"As we move forward, we're trying to move to LEED certification for our space," Mr. Fukuhara said. Offices in Europe and Asia already use low-odor paint and furniture and carpet made from recycled materials.

Autodesk is the first North Bay corporate tenant to pursue the LEED-CI certification. Redwood Credit Union is seeking LEED-CI Silver for the headquarters offices it owns at 3033 Cleveland Ave. in Santa Rosa.

A challenge facing Autodesk in seeking LEED certification is the company's customary five-year lease terms, according to Mr. Fukuhara. However, some of the more costly LEED point-winners – high-efficiency windows and climate-control systems, recycled or low-flow water systems, and solar panels – have longer payback periods than that, forcing Autodesk and its landlords to make tough choices.

So Autodesk started with a newer, more energy- and water-efficient building and pursued LEED-CI at a cost of only 3 percent to 4 percent more than standard office improvements, according to Erik Selvig, geo facilities manager for the Americas West division.

To help with the transition to green-tenanting, Autodesk hired Mr. Selvig from Hines in July and brought in DPR Construction and interiors specialist Pollack Architecture early on.

Green interiors are catching on nationwide, according to Ted van der Linden, DPR's director of sustainable construction. Forty-six percent of the company's $1.6 billion in job contracts last year involve green construction, and many of those 40 green projects are pursuing LEED certification.

Profitability considerations of LEED certification can be considerable for a commercial property owner, according to Jim Albrecht, senior project manager for Los Angeles-based Barker Pacific Group, which is renovating former aircraft hangars at a Novato project called Hamilton Landing.

In 2004 the company analyzed how many LEED points it could get for its award-winning under-floor heating and cooling system and renovating existing buildings as class A office space. The project needed only five more points to qualify for certification.

However, replacing dozens of windows in each hangar, increasing roof insulation, besting California's already stringent Title 24 energy-efficiency standards by 20 percent and employing the design team longer to plan and document the project would have added $750,000 to $1.25 million to each renovation, Mr. Albrecht estimated.

"It's not yet come into the market for underwriting and lending purposes that a LEED-certified building sells for more per square foot than a traditional building and tenants will pay a higher rental rate for certified space versus space with 'green' features," Mr. Albrecht said.

He made such a case to Novato when the city was considering LEED certification on commercial buildings in its recently adopted green-building ordinance. Silver-level LEED certification on larger commercial spaces is part of San Rafael's recently proposed version of such an ordinance.

For details, call the U.S. Green Building Council at 202-828-7422 or visit www.usgbc.org.

DOUGLASVILLE - In a move designed to position it to meet the growing blood needs of metro Atlanta and the more than 130 hospitals it serves statewide, the American Red Cross Blood Services Southern Region recently moved into a 185,000 square feet, state-of-the-art blood processing center in the New Manchester community of Douglasville.

On Friday, June 1, DPR Construction Inc., the general contracting firm which built the facility, presented regional representatives with a $20,000 check to help with the cost of decorating the new building. The money was raised during DPR’s 1st Annual Building Great Things Golf Tournament held last October at the Currahee Golf Club, Toccoa, GA.

Randy Edwards, CEO, Southern Region, and Wayne Brown, Strategic Capital Improvement Project coordinator, accepted the check on behalf of the American Red Cross. Also present were DPR representatives Darryl Strunk, Regional Operations Manager, Andy Andres, Regional Manager, Patrick Houck, Project Manager, and Steve Bartkowski, Corporate Customers and Relationships Manager.

"We greatly appreciate DPR’s contribution to this very important Red Cross project," said Edwards. "This gift is tangible evidence of their commitment to, and interest in, what goes on in the community around them."

"We live and do business in this community and it’s to the benefit of all of us to give back," said Bartkowski.

The Red Cross began transitioning its staff and operations to its new headquarters at the start of April and is now fully operational from the center located at 9851 Commerce Way, Douglasville. The need for more blood and the ability to process and distribute a greater volume of blood prompted the Red Cross to move to a facility capable of meeting the present and future requirements of regional hospitals.

Most healthy people age 17 or older, who weigh at least 110 pounds, can donate blood every 56 days. The American Red Cross Blood Services, Southern Region needs approximately 1,200 people to donate blood each weekday to meet the needs of hospital patients. To make an appointment or to find the donor center or blood drive nearest you, please call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE (448-3543) or log on to http://www.givebloodredcross.org

AMERICAN RED CROSS RECEIVES CHECK FROM DPR CONSTRUCTION INC.: Randy Edwards, CEO, American Red Cross, Southern Region (third left), and Wayne Brown, Strategic Capital Improvement Project coordinator, American Red Cross (fourth left), accept a check for $20,000 from DPR Construction, Inc. representatives (l-r) Darryl Strunk, Regional Operations Manager, Andy Andres, Regional Manager, Patrick Houck, Project Manager, and Steve Bartkowski, Corporate Customers and Relationships Manager, on June 1, 2007. The money was raised during the 1st Annual Building Great Things Golf Tournament sponsored by DPR and will go towards decorating the recently completed blood processing facility in New Manchester, Douglasville. The 185,000 square feet facility, the third of its kind nationally, was built by DPR and houses a state-of-the-art blood processing center as well as the headquarters for the American Red Cross Southern Region and Southeast Division.

Think big.

That's what California's general contractors say they need to do when building projects valued at $50 million or more.

In our annual ranking of the state's largest projects, we asked general contractors to submit projects valued at $50 million or more that broke ground in 2006. Contractors responded by sending us their parking garages, hospitals and transportation projects; we then ranked them by dollar amount and then broke down top projects by category, such as education and healthcare.

And while these projects may seem big, they are often not complex. Instead, working on $50 million-plus projects simply means thinking larger: More material, longer construction schedule, more risk.

Otherwise, large projects face some of the same obstacles that contractors face when working on smaller projects.

It can be difficult to find subcontractors to work on both small and large projects, says Bob Martz, regional vice president in the Southwest division of PCL Construction Services Inc. in Glendale.

"The subcontractor market is so busy," Martz adds. "It's tough to get subcontractors."

PCL often finds it will use the same subcontractors over and over for large projects, in part because those subcontractors have the financial wherewithal to handle such construction, says Martz.

Other smaller subcontractors may not simply have the financial ability, he adds.

Eric Lamb, executive vice president with Redwood City-based DPR Construction Inc., agrees that it is more difficult to find subcontractors to work on larger projects.

Another problem is material availability, Lamb adds.

"Materials, such as steel have longer lead times that can stretch out schedules beyond previous durations," says Lamb. "Fabricated steel lead times are as much as 35 weeks right now on larger projects."

When building large projects in California, general contractors agree that building hospitals and healthcare facilities is one of the most difficult challenges.

DPR Construction has two healthcare projects on California Construction's list. Building healthcare takes time and care to do right, says Lamb.

"Large scale healthcare projects are very complex and take a long time to get designed and permitted in California," Lamb adds. "They tend to be the most difficult of the projects we undertake and require a very specialized team with experience in acute care work."

PCL Construction Services will work on virtually any type of project except healthcare, says Martz.

"The rules and regulations that have been put into place make it difficult to build [hospitals] on time," Martz adds. "We believe such projects should be built on time."

Because healthcare construction can lead to major claims and/or lawsuits, PCL will probably not enter that field anytime soon in California, he says.

"Until the rules change and it's more of a collaborative approach, we will probably stay away," Martz adds.

There are a number of risks involved with building larger projects. One of the main risks is that if a contractor does not deliver a project on time, a number of people are affected, says Mario Wijtman, vice president with XL Construction of Milpitas.

"There is a lot riding on the timely completion of manufacturing facilities," says Wijtman. "The client has created its business plan based on being able to have a validated facility by a set date. They begin hiring campaigns and marketing campaigns accordingly."

Both Lamb and Martz say taking on larger projects means investing more money and time.

"We need to be very disciplined in our processes and meeting commitments to do well on larger projects," says Lamb.

Building larger projects can also result in both negatives and positives for a contractor, says Martz.

"When we built Staples Center, that definitely opened up the eyes of a lot of owners in California," says Martz. "On the negative side, a lot of owners said PCL only does big, big projects. You don't want to be known as a contractor who only does big jobs."

When predicting future trends for larger projects, the contractors say they see the field diverging into different paths.

Lamb with DPR says the way buildings get built will change.

"One trend is to have more technology utilized on larger projects, such as 3D modeling and web-based project management tools," he says.

XL construction believes there will be more work available for biotech projects, says Wijtman.

"As the biotech industry continues to mature there will be higher demand for pilot and manufacturing facilities," he says.

Future trends may not necessarily be predicated on advanced technology, but instead on meeting simple demand, says Martz. And as California continues to grow, the state will need to build large projects simply to produce basic infrastructure, he adds.

Road projects, education and water and wastewater facilities will be needed, he says, and adds that the passage of a series of bonds in November means that money will be available for these things.

"You need more and more transportation projects. You need more freeways," says Martz. "You have a lot more kids. You need schools."

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