Wilshire Grand Tower Topped Off March 2016 – Video Recap

Wilshire Grand Center is a 335-meter (1,099 ft) skyscraper under construction in the Financial District of Downtown Los Angeles, California. The tower will become the tallest building in Los Angeles, the tallest structure and the second tallest building west of the Mississippi River upon completion. The building will be part of a mixed-use hotel, retail, observation decks, shopping malls and office complex, expected to revitalize downtown Los Angeles and the area surrounding the building. The development of the complex is estimated to cost $1 billion. The plans currently include 67,000 square feet (6,225 m2) of retail, 677,000 square feet (62,895 m2) of Class A office space and 900 hotel rooms. InterContinental is the tower's hotel component, comprising 900 rooms and suites occupying the 38th to the 70th floors. Estimated date of completion March 8, 2017. Terra-Petra is proud to have been a part of this project during initial record concrete pour. 

Park Fifth development in DTLA will break ground in April

Based on its intimate knowledge of the City of Los Angeles plan checking requirements, Portland-based architects, Ankrom Moisan brought in Terra-Petra environment engineers to work with the firm's in-house design team to help with design as well as consult on code-complaint systems for the Park Fifth project. The mixed-use development will replace parking lot near Pershing Square in Downtown Los Angeles and is scheduled to break ground in April. 

Read more about this exciting project on Urbaniz.LA.

The project is being designed by Portland-based Ankrom Moisan Architects, and will be

Terra-Petra provides Deputy Inspection Services for DTLA Blossom Plaza

We are honored to have worked on Blossom Plaza with another Los Angeles area environmental engineering firm to provide our Deputy Inspection Services that ensure the integrity and health of this project's land development process in Downtown LA's Chinatown. 

Blossom Plaza Takes Form in Chinatown – Long awaited mixed-use development rises near Chinatown Station.

Read this Story via Urbanize.LA 

Blossom Plaza Takes Form in Chinatown
Blossom Plaza Takes Form in Chinatown

 

Terra-Petra contributes to new projects transforming Downtown LA

As one of the most well-known environmental engineering and building waterproofing companies in the Los Angeles basin, Terra-Petra is currently working on or has completed some very high-profile projects in the Downtown LA area. Some of the most notable projects, among many others, include:

The Wilshire Grand Tower – the Wilshire Grand skyscraper will one day be the tallest west of Chicago. (Terra-Petra photo of project start to the right.)

The Metropolis, a $1B development is one of the largest mixed-use projects under construction on the West Coast.

Oceanwide Plaza will break ground in spring 2015. This $1B project will have a total of three towers and an expansive above-ground outdoor space. A five star hotel and 200k SF of commercial space will be included. There will be 504 condos and 183 hotel rooms.

South Park Mega-Project (Chinese developer Shenzhen Hazens) is a three towers along Figueroa Street across from L.A. Live. A 30-story hotel tower would rise at the northwest corner of Flower and Eleventh streets. A 30-story condo tower would be at Figueroa and Eleventh streets, and a 42-story condo tower would be at Figueroa and Olympic.

According to the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS), the "flurry of activity" in the recent years is defiantly the biggest construction boom they have witnessed since the 1980s.

However, LADBS does say that it is yet to be seen if it's the biggest boom in history or not. 

Stay tuned.

4 DEVELOPMENTS THAT WILL TRANSFORM FIGUEROA
Los Angeles Mixed-Use Jan 14, 2016 Jerry Liu, Bisnow, LA

We already told you about some of the mega-projects that will reshape Sunset Boulevard, perhaps one of the most famous thoroughfares in the world. But if you're really following what's hot in LA, it's all about Downtown. So we decided to take a look at some of the developments that will reshape the future of one of Downtown's most notable streets:

1. Circa
Location: 1200 Figueroa Players: Hankey Investment, Jamison Services, Falcon California Investments, Highlands Capital, Harley Ellis Devereaux, LendLease. Completion date: Late 2017. The $500M project will build twin 35-story towers housing 648 luxury condos on top of a seven-story retail podium. There will also be 48k SF of retail and 1,770 parking spaces. This project broke ground in summer 2015 and features a curved glass look that offers a panoramic view of LA, and many other neighboring high-rises, including the Metropolis. Bisnow chatted with Hankey president Scott Dobbins this week to get the latest status update on the development.

2. Oceanwide Plaza
Location: Figueroa and 11th Players: Oceanwide Real Estate Group. Completion date: 2018, condos hit the market in 2017. Breaking ground in spring 2015, this $1B project will have a total of three towers and an expansive above-ground outdoor space. A five star hotel and 200k SF of commercial space will be included. There will be 504 condos and 183 hotel rooms total. Chinese firm Oceanwide had previously acquired the development from New York City-based Moinian Group. This will be the first real estate venture for Oceanwide outside China.

3. Shenzhen Hazens
Location: Entire block bounded by Figueroa, 11th Street, Flower Street and Olympic Boulevard Players: Shenzhen Hazens, Gensler Completion date: After 2020. It's no secret Chinese firms are transforming the LA landscape. Shenzhen Hazens will add to the mix with a $700M redevelopment in the Luxe Hotel area. The project plans to break ground in 2017 and will be split into two phases. Phase 1 would build two 30-story towers, one residential and one hotel. Phase 2 would completely replace the Luxe Hotel with a 42-story residential tower. Expect the finished mega-project to have 650 luxury condos, 250 hotel rooms and 80k SF of retail space. We caught up with Shenzhen Hazens Group executive project director Sonnet Hui recently to get more on the company's plans.

4. MyFigueroa
Location: Four miles of streets from Downtown LA to South LA. Players: LADOT, Troller Mayer Associates, Melendrez, GEHL Architects. Completion date: 2017. Promising to make it easier for transit and bicycle users, this project will start in late spring 2016 and complete in 2017 under a $20M budget. It will link USC and Exposition Park to Downtown LA with better signals, signage, crosswalks, transit platforms, bikeways and trees. There will be on-street, fully separated bike lanes on each side of Figueroa for 27 signalized intersections. There will also be a lot more accommodations for public transit, including for the Silver Line and the upcoming streetcar service.

Terra-Petra working on eleven of top fifty construction projects in Los Angeles

Environmental engineering firm, Terra-Petra, is currently working with close to 42% of the top 50 construction projects in the Los Angeles area—as listed by the Los Angeles Business Journal in the publication’s new (2015) Book of Lists.

Los Angeles, CA (September 22, 2015) — Terra-Petra, a national environmental engineering headquartered in Downtown Los Angeles has announced that the firm is currenly working with 24% of the top 50 major construction projects currently underway in Los Angeles County—as listed on the Los Angeles Business Journal’s 2015 Book of Lists. This complete collection of data on industry leaders in a variety of industries was researched by the LABJ editorial team of the past year. The top construction projects have been ranked by construction cost and excludes infrastructure projects

According to Justin Conaway, Vice President of Terra-Petra. “Terra-Petra has been fortunate enough to have the diverse service offerings which have allowed us the opportunity to bid on a wide array of these developments. Our customer intimacy strategy allows us to offer a great value to our clients, I truly believe that our close customer/client relationships have differentiated us from our competition and has permitted us to secure many of these contracts.”

Terra-Petra’s involvement with most of the construction projects listed on LABJ’s Top 50 list ranges from methane testing, mitigation design and inspection to building envelope waterproofing consulting and inspection. “Hopefully our recent contributions will help to ensure that each project we work on is safe and successful,” says Kevin Buchanan, Terra-Petra President.

Working with 11 of the top 50 , Terra-Petra is currently supporting three of the top four ranked projects (number 1, 2 and 4) as well as with numbers 14, 16, 21, 25, 27, 41 and 47 and 50. Justin Conaway is also currently working on a bid with one other project on the LABJ list. Read the Top 50 Construction Projects in Los Angeles list here: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3.

“More realistically there are only 28 projects listed that are probably in a methane/methane buffer zone. So to be more accurate we are working on 42% of all potential projects on this list that we could bid on. That is a pretty impressive market share considering all of the local competition,” says Conaway.

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About Terra-Petra

Terra Petra’s expertise includes soil gas characterization, remediation, and in the design and inspection of gas mitigation systems for buildings of all types – including commercial, multiple family, single family, industrial, institutional and retail. We are methane experts and methane gas specialists. Our services include: Methane, Brownfield, Vapor Intrusion, Landfill, Oil Field, Site Closure, Geology/Hydrogeology and Radon as well as full service waterproofing consulting and services. Terra-Petra takes charge of every specific challenge from the very beginning of every project to engineer sustainable system and design cost-effective systems. For more information, visit: www.terra-petra.com.

Terra-Petra’s GM/VP Justin Conaway to speak at the Colorado Environmental Management Society March 10

JustinConawayVPGM Terra-Petra GM/VPCEMS March Luncheon – Engineering Control Trends in Vapor Intrusion Mitigation – March 10

Speaker: Justin Conaway, Vice President |General Manager and Patrick Guan, Regional Manager, Terra-Petra Environmental Engineering.

Tuesday, March 10, 11:30am – 1:00pm.  There will be no CLE for this presentation.

In recent years the implementation of vapor intrusion mitigation systems has become more common for ground-up development. There are many different forces and factors that are influencing this rise in popularity. There are also numerous engineering controls available to protect a given building from vapor intrusion. This presentation discusses the Vapor Intrusion Mitigation Engineering Control Trends that are being specified and installed today on new construction projects. The benefits of these systems will be outlined and we will identify how various stakeholders have influenced the current trend.

Justin Conaway, VP/GM of Terra-Petra has been with the company since 2004. In this time he has developed a unique knowledge of the vapor intrusion industry in that he has been involved with nearly every aspect of the vapor intrusion cycle from site characterization through installation.

Mr. Conaway has a wealth of experience and competencies, including: Construction Quality Assurance Inspection, Mitigation System Design, Permitting, Document Submittal and Negotiations with Governing Agencies, Risk Management Decision Making Process with Developers, Contract Negotiation, Installation Costing, On-Going Operation and Maintenance Monitoring and Reporting, and Research and Development to launch innovative vapor intrusion products.

Patrick Guan, Regional Manager for Terra-Petra has been with the company since 2012. In this time, he applied his vast experience in sales/marketing, strategic planning, operational management, and superior customer service skills that he developed over the past 17 years working for fortune 500 companies to help drive the ambitious expansion goals of Terra-Petra from a regional success story to a thriving successful nationwide operation. He has done this by executing a clear and concise marketing campaign that presented a positive compelling brand identity for the company. He helped increased the company’s market share throughout the country by emphasizing Terra-Petra’s expertise, and superior value driven customer service that has made it so successful in the West Coast region.

LOCATION: The EPA Conference Center located on the 2nd floor of the EPA Region 8 Headquarters building at 1595 Wynkoop Street in Denver, Colorado. 

To register, please visit this link

Terra-Petra team attends Introduction to Brownfield Redevelopment seminar

An Introduction to BrownField RedevelopmentTerra-Petra's VP/GM Justin Conaway recently attended the “Introduction to Brownfield Redevelopment” seminar with Terra-Petra's Nate Shamosh.

The seminar (held in Oakland, California on February 11, 2015) was sponsored by the Center for Creative Land Recycling (CCLR). Advertised as being for “individuals new-and not so new-to brownfield redevelopment," the workshop provided an interactive series of presentations, panels, and case studies. Both Justin and Nate found that the CCLR seminar did a great job of living up to its billing. There was a diverse group of professionals from many different levels in the redevelopment process including governing agencies, developers, environmental engineers and environmental attorneys in attendence.

According to Justin Conaway: "In the environmental construction and engineering industry there is always something new to learn and we acquired valuable information by attending this seminar. CCLR did a great job as the sponsor and host of this event. The speakers were very knowledgeable and experienced. They all provided great insight into the brownfields management process. The seminar was well attended and the audience was engaged throughout the event."

Terra-Petra going “underground” (aka below grade) in Denver and beyond…

at Haselden ConstructionWe are very excited about the new opportunities that have developed for Terra-Petra in the Denver area, as well as the state of Colorado, and other surrounding states including Wyoming, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma as of late. One of our key contacts that we met with is working for Haselden Construction out of Wyoming. The company is working on the final stages of a hospital building project in Laramie. Terra-Petra is looking to take on some potential future waterproofing design consulting projects with Haselden. We would also like to plan to work with Haselden in the Wyoming area and support them with more below grade waterproofing, as well as some environmental consulting needs in the near future.

It looks as though the “wild-west” area is booming again thanks to certain industries – particularly with regard to below grade waterproofing needs. There are also many construction sites that are subject to some sort of contamination issue due to the fact that Denver, for one, is growing very fast. Multi-unit housing complexes going up in droves to support (population) growth in this area. The oil, mining, and legal marijuana industries, in particular, are driving this kind of speedy growth.

To that end Denver appears to also have plenty of waterproofing requirements, but they also have their share of environmental concerns. However, the Denver area still does not have a tremendous amount of regulations in place with regard vapor barriers and mitigation systems (like there are in cities like in New York or Los Angeles). So owners/developers in the Denver, as well as in many of the surrounding (Rockies/Midwest) areas, are now in a rush (or will soon need to be in a rush) to put these specific measures in place for current/older and new buildings —and this will become more and more of a necessity in order to maintain the clean environmental conditions in the area(s). We all know that there are many environmentalists residing in places like Colorado, so the consensus is that it is just a matter of time before tighter measures and regulations are put into place and owner/developers will be required to go down certain mitigation paths to better conditions.

Terra-Petra is looking to be the “go-to” environmental engineering firm as the construction industry (in the “wild west” area) continues to catch on to a growing environmental protection concern where building and land development is concerned. Yes, there are plenty of big environmental engineering firms located in Denver including URS and AECOM. This indicates that there is a market for larger scale environmental projects now and on the horizon. It’s going to be another wild ride in the west!

Terra-Petra performs CQA/CQC for the Porsche Experience Center Test Track in Carson, CA

The panoramic photo belows illustrates the primary landfill liner being installed below the Showroom Building for the future Porsche Entertainment Center Test Track in Carson California. Terra-Petra was hired to perform the Construction Quality Control/Construction Quality Assurance (CQA/CQC) inspections based on our expertise in the field.

Porsche Experience Center Test Track, Showroom Building Carson, CA

Terra-Petra Methane Engineer for Micropolitan at Urban Lights Project

Micropolitan-dayThe first shovel has hit the dirt on The Micropolitan at Urban Lights, a luxury apartment building being developed by Micropolitan in Los Angeles. The property continues our commitment to create a multi-family living experience that caters to today’s walkable urban lifestyle.

Terra-Petra served as the project's Methane Engineer.

Located in the heart of the thriving Mid-Wilshire area, the 45-unit building is across from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and just 350 feet from the future Metro Purple Line station. The four-story building offers one- and two-bedroom units, with parking at ground level and three stories of living space above.

Some of the features of the amenity-filled complex include garden courtyard areas for outdoor living, dining, and relaxation; a business center; entertainment room; pet care center; and bike repair shop, among others. For more information, contact Micropolitan President Larry Kuger.

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