Southern California Office Update 22

Exceptional construction and safety leads to award winning projects

The standout job of 2021 was the 17-story hotel and 5-story entertainment venue at San Manuel Casino in Highland, California – now Yaamava’ Resort & Casino. Earning KHS&S kudos from general contractor Penta Building Group for the exterior wall and ceiling construction. KHS&S was awarded Subcontractor of the Year and TJ Singh, Manager, Safety and Risk Control, and Miguel Romero, Carpenter Foremen, were recognized for their safety performance and leadership.

“While we strive to excel in our craftmanship and safety initiatives, we appreciate when industry peers recognize our hard work,” said Pete Iverson, Area Operations Manager.

Adding to the awards, The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash! at Universal Studios received the EIFS Project of the Year honor from the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry (AWCI) recognizing contractors for their innovation in tackling complicated projects. As well as a Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) Thea Award, Attraction.

In Santa Monica, KHS&S completed the exterior walls and soffits at The Park (500 Broadway). The showstopper and most challenging aspect of the four, 7-story residential towers was the EIFS installation of the first-floor open air canopy ceilings and bridges connecting the buildings. Featuring a smooth white finish, triangular ceiling panels formed valleys and hills. Working with Construction Design using model-based framing technology, panels were prefabricated offsite and lifted into place, this formed the desired architectural design and resulted in a 25 percent reduction of labor cost.

Exterior walls for a 17-story residential apartment tower for UCLA students was also completed. Resources from several KHS&S offices assisted in managing the 60,000 square foot installation of TAKTL ultra-high performance concrete panels. Weighing up to 250 pounds each, the panels were pulled up the wall between the building and scaffolding reaching heights up to 170 feet.                                                     

At Universal Studios, Project 526 is back to on-site construction. This project is designed in the spirit of a classic video game and features characters from several games. Estimating, Operations, Themed Resources and the Construction Design departments have worked cohesively to ensure the $40M contract remains on budget and on schedule since project planning began in 2018.

On a much smaller scale, KHS&S installed walls in a 4,000 square foot tent erected outside Mission Hospital in Panorama City. Constructed to house up to 68 COVID-19 patients, this fast-paced project was completed in less than two weeks.