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.

Update on Terra-Petra’s Pacific City Oil Well Abandonment Project

Joe Morelli, Fire Protection Analyst of the HBDF, and Terra-Petra's Larry Barnes consulting near an abandoned oil well trenchNearly two years after commencing environmental work on the Pacific City project in Huntington Beach, California, the site is prepared for further construction. After intensive environmental work to verify the integrity of the on-site oil and water well abandonments, all necessary permits are in place to start constructing the foundation of the approximately 190,000 sq. ft. property. Terra-Petra is proud to have taken part in such a notable development project while contributing to tremendous cost savings for the client.

In order to bring incredible value to the project, Terra-Petra came to a practical remediation plan contradictory to one which may have been reached by blindly conforming to re-abandonment codes and procedures. After a careful review of all information obtained from field explorations and well documents from the DOGGR, Larry Barnes – Terra-Petra’s Senior Petroleum Geologist – determined that a minimally intrusive remediation approach would be sufficient for the site. This approach involved shortening all wells to a depth between 6 and 10 feet below grade, recapping each well head with a circular metal plate, and installing a methane mitigation vent cone at each well head. Rather than disturbing the abandoned wells and replacing all cement plugs with costly drilling expenses, this much more non-intrusive approach was deemed more than adequate for preventing any future leaks and site contamination.

In convincing the governing agencies that is safer to leave the wells relatively undisturbed and proceeding with the aforementioned action plan, Terra-Petra was able to successfully save the client millions of dollars while simultaneously reducing their risks on this sizeable development project. With the combined expertise of the construction team Terra-Petra was able to meet the expedited construction schedule. The client is now in the process of grading the site in preparation for foundation construction. Terra-Petra will be on hand to proceed with the necessary methane gas mitigation measures on the foundation of the site for the safety of future site residents.

[PHOTO: Joe Morelli, Fire Protection Analyst of the HBDF, and  Terra-Petra's Larry Barnes consulting near an abandoned oil well trench.]

Terra-Petra helps deveolper save millions with oil well remediation plan

Excavation equipment unearthing an identified oil wellTerra-Petra’s construction division was recently contacted to prepare an Oil Well History Report of 20 oil wells located on an 18 acre site in Huntington Beach, California. In accordance with the requirements of the Huntington Beach Fire Department, Terra-Petra’s team performed a “sniff test” on the oil well heads, then followed up with appropriate necessary re-abandonment activities in order to stop any leakage and contamination. 

Photo on right: Excavation equipment unearthing an identified oil well.

See more photo highlights below.

The scope of work began with surveying and staking the location of all 20 oil wells and providing excavation equipment and labor to uncover 15 of the abandoned wells while making them safe for entry. Dave Lucero, Terra-Petra’s Senior Project Scientist, was responsible for managing all excavation/backfilling operations and overseeing the entirety of field activities.

Dave also monitored all soil stockpiles for V.O.C. emissions and dust control per the requirements of the South Coast Air Quality Management District's Rule 1166.1. With Dave's extensive field experience and expert project oversight all oil wells were located, excavated, and exposed for sniff testing.

Larry Barnes, Terra-Petra’s Senior Geologist, took charge of conducting the sniff testing of each of the 15 excavated oil wells, 5 vented oil wells, and monitoring for fugitive gas emissions at each well head per the requirements of Huntington Beach Fire Department City Spec. 422 and the California Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR).

As a California Licensed Petroleum Geologist, Larry’s duties included documenting the wells’ history, the casing and liners of the wells, the type of cement used to complete the well abandonments, preparing well diagrams, and recording information on all oil/gas zones. With this comprehensive information Larry was able to provide the developer with an ongoing Oil Well History Report for the Huntington Beach site. His expert knowledge in the geological field and long-standing relationship with the DOGGR facilitate the process of determining the level of safety for structures to be built over or near the wells and the corresponding safety recommendations.

After a careful review of all information obtained from field explorations and well documents obtained from the DOGGR, Terra-Petra came to a practical remediation plan contradictory to one which may have been reached simply by conforming to re-abandonment codes and procedures. Rather than disturbing the abandoned wells and replacing all cement plugs with costly drilling expenses, it was determined that a much more non-intrusive approach would be more than adequate for preventing any future leaks and site contamination. This approach involved shortening all wells to a depth between 6 and 10 feet below grade, recapping each well head with a circular metal plate, and installing a methane mitigation vent cone at each well head. In convincing the governing agencies that is safer to leave the wells relatively undisturbed and proceeding with the aforementioned action plan, Terra-Petra has successfully saved the client millions of dollars on this notable development project.

With the combined expertise of the construction team Terra-Petra was able to meet the expedited construction schedule. The client is now prepared to proceed with the necessary gas mitigation measures for the safety of future site residents.

Photo highlights

An excavated trench revealing an abandoned oil well cap, 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An excavated trench revealing an abandoned oil well cap.

 

 

 Terra-Petra excavation equipment compiling a soil stockpile near an abandoned oil well trench.

 

Terra-Petra excavation equipment compiling a soil stockpile near anabandoned oil well trench.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Joe Morelli, Fire Protection Analyst of the HBDF, and Terra-Petra's Larry Barnes consulting near an abandoned oil well trench.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

A safe-to enter trench revealing the location of an oil well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An excavated cement well plug.

Terra-Petra supports the City of Hope Construction Industries Alliance Spirit of Life Gala

City of Hope Construction Industries Alliance Spirit of Life GalaTerra-Petra has proudly joined the efforts of MVE + Partners in supporting the City of Hope Construction Industries Alliance Spirit of Life Gala which will be held in Orange County, California this fall. 

The City of Hope National Medical Center is a private, not-for-profit clinical research center hospital and graduate medical school that is dedicated to making a difference in the lives of people with diabetes, cancer and other serious illnesses.

The City of Hope mission is accomplished by providing healthcare, conducting innovative research and offering vital education programs focused on eliminating these diseases.Through making a small contribution, Terra-Petra stands together with other construction industry professionals in the spirit of life to fight against cancer and search for a cure.

For more information regarding sponsorship, tickets or other event details (venue and date to be announced), visit: http://www.cityofhope.org/spirit-of-life

Terra-Petra Welcomes San Francisco Bay Area Account Executive, Mark Wagner

Terra-Petra recently welcomed account executive, Mark Wagner, to the company’s San Francisco office. He will handle the management of the increased environmental engineering project workload coming out of a developing San Francisco Bay Area market. Mark’s degree in engineering and prior experience working for a Northern California firm that handles contaminated soil and water remediation makes him the perfect person to serve as Bay Area account executive for Terra-Petra.  

Mark received his engineering degree from Messiah College in Mechanicsburg Pennsylvania—where is also held a position as student project manager for the school’s Biodiesel Project. In this role, he conducted research for possible uses of glycerin from the biodiesel production process and led a team of peers to focus on engineering design project management. While attending Messiah, he also spent time as an intern for HCJB Global in Ecuador, gaining experience in topographical map development as well as direct project oversight and successfully led the development of a spring preserve for a community of 85 residents to access clean water in the Amazon. 

Mark gained his most recent project management experience serving as project coordinator for Innovative Construction Solutions. At Innovative, he had the opportunity to gain insight into environmental remediation working with multiple project managers, and tracking progress on multiple projects throughout the Bay Area. Mark Wagner is a true pioneer in the environmental engineering industry and the perfect fit for Terra-Petra’s expansion into the Bay Area.

Terra-Petra at ICSC RECon 2015 – Las Vegas – May 17-20

#recon15Environmental Engineering firm, Terra-Petra, will once again have a booth in the “Green Zone”  booth N1665 on the Exhibition Floor at ICSC RECon 2015 in Las Vegas (May 17-20). For more information visit: https://lnkd.in/bDrCKKS.

Contact Terra-Petra VP/GM, Justin Conaway,
to request/arrange a meeting day/time while at the convention.

Daniel Valdez holds successful DMBI training seminar in Terra-Petra’s Los Angeles Office

Terra-Petra's Director of Field Operations Daniel Valdez Inspector training seminarTerra-Petra's Director of Field Operations, Daniel Valdez, held a Deputy Methane Barrier Inspector training seminar in our Los Angeles office this past week. He is responsible for overseeing the largest Deputy Methane Barrier Inspection (DMBI) team in the industry–as the Terra-Petra DMBI team continues to grow.  Daniel believes that it is imperative to periodically go over inspector responsibilities, requirements and reporting protocols to ensure that the information stays fresh in every inspector's mind and that Terra-Petra maintains continuity across the company.

IMG_20140430_163553_993Valdez is also a big proponent of staying in touch with the material manufacturers to ensure that his team members are certified to perform their work, keep up to speed with changing technologies, warranty requirements, what approved applicators are out there and inspection and reporting procedures. 

To that end he was able to schedule an inspector's certification webinar on the CETCO Hydroshield Warranty system to follow his presentation. The webinar was a refresher for most of the inspectors on the Terra-Petra DMBI team, who have inspected several projects under the Hydroshield program. Five new inspectors are set to receive certification for the first time.

The seminar was a success and there is no one more qualified than Mr. Daniel Valdez to have given the presentation.

Terra-Petra congratulates newest DMBI inspectors

Terra-Petra congratulated its newest DMBI inspectors, Dave Akers, Kevin Costa, and Hector Flores earlier this month. On Monday, February 3rd, 2015, the three newest members of the Terra-Petra Deputy Methane Barrier Inspection Team successfully passed the written and oral portions of the DMB) examinations issued by the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS). Dave Akers, whose history with Terra-Petra dates back to 2005, passed the test for a second time.

The addition of three new DMBIs to the Terra-Petra inspection team is a testament to the company’s exciting expansion and its efforts to continue to grow as an industry leader. As the onslaught of construction projects continues, Terra-Petra continues to stay prepared and flexible to meet clients’ inspection demands. Terra-Petra leads the environmental engineering industry, now, with 10 Deputy Methane Barrier Inspectors on staff. The extension of the design division will ensure that Terra-Petra retains its competitive edge. 

Terra-Petera Methane begins mitigation system installation project for The Irvine Company in Playa Vista, California

Terra-Petra is excited to announce that the methane mitigation system installation is in progress on three new apartment complexes in Playa Vista being developed by The Irvine Company.

The Irvine Company selected the architectural firm of McLarand Vasquez Emsiek & Partners (MVE) out of Irvine to realize their vision of bringing a premier apartment community to the west side of Los Angeles. MVE has designed three mediterranean style apartment complexes each having one level of subterranean parking with on grade parking and four levels of apartments above grade. The building footprints increase in size moving from west to east from 187,067 SQ.FT., 256,866 SQ.FT. and 333,827 SQ.FT. 

MVE’s design team for these three projects included the following prestigious firms:

Structural Engineer: Englekirk –  Los Angeles
Civil Engineer: Fuscoe – Irvine
Geotechnical Engineer: Group Delta – Torrance

The project are located in the City of Los Angeles Methane Zone, thus Terra-Petra was selected by The Irvine Company as the methane design engineer for these projects given our strong Terra-Petra personnel witnessing the installation of Treco Barrier Solutions Vapor Lock-M. Left to right Andrew Alvarran, Jesus Mora, Danile Valdez and Eduardo Rangelreputation as a high quality methane consulting firm as well as our ability to simultaneously design three large scale complex projects in an expedited fashion. We were brought on to the design team in February of this year. We completed the methane mitigation system design work along with all permitted systems by the beginning of October, and way ahead of schedule.

The construction phase of this development began under Western National, serving as the General Contractor on the project. All three buildings are being constructed concurrently and Terra-Petra will be responsible for carrying-out all Deputy Methane Barrier (DMBI) inspection work for each one. The arduous task associated with performing continuous inspections of the methane mitigation system for three projects being constructed simultaneously can only be achieved by Terra-Petra given that we maintain the largest and most experienced staff of DMBI Inspectors in the industry.  

We're looking forward to completing another successful methane mitigation project!

Related articles on the Playa Vista Development.   

http://www.ocbj.com/news/2012/oct/28/irvine-company-eyes-playa-vista/
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324784404578145572308360156
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/nov/26/business/la-fi-mo-playa-vista-sale-20121121

Environmental Engineering Firm, Terra-Petra, Continues to Expand LA City Deputy Methane Inspector Team

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Most governing agencies require methane gas barrier inspections. Terra-Petra, an environmental engineering firm based in Los Angeles, has announced that it will continue to expand its current Deputy Methane (Barrier) Inspection team as methane barrier inspection services become more and more in demand and necessary in the City of Los Angeles. All methane gas mitigation systems should be inspected by a certified professional with experience in methane gas mitigation systems to insure that they have been installed properly.Terra-Petra's expanding Deputy Methane Barrier Inspection team will continue to provide this much needed service throughout the City of Los Angeles.

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