North Bay Business Journal

The Business Journal honored 14 building projects last Thursday at its seventh annual Top Real Estate Projects Awards reception. The event allowed us to pause for a moment during this busy time of year to consider the accomplishments of the organizations, architects, designers, builders and others behind these significant projects.

HEALDSBURG — E&J Gallo, one of the world’s largest wine companies, wanted to tear down the historic yet inhabitable and graffiti-harried Olivet Winery to construct 15,000 square feet of offices for support employees connected to Gallo’s winery in Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Valley, yet the Madera-based company ultimately opted for a substantial reconstruction to preserve the bricks and beams of the 109-year-old building.

SANTA ROSA — Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, the only level II trauma center in the region, said it will soon begin site preparation work on a $15 million renovation to its emergency department, a project that was delayed with the financial collapse of 2008.

ROSS – Construction officially wraps up today in the renovation of Ross School, a project that included elevating portions of the school by four feet to avoid flooding and the construction of a new “multipurpose room.”

The Business Journal asked several leading general contractors in the North Bay about the outlook for construction activity and the trends shaping the industry.

NORTH BAY — In less than a decade, building information modeling (BIM) has become a major construction simulation and visualization process, and it’s being employed heavily on two large hospital projects now under construction in North Bay counties.

ROSS — The general contractor for the $7.26 million Ross School gymnasium project will continue to lease back to school district the nearly half-done structure until the doors open to students. And Northern California districts increasingly are employing this somewhat complex lease-leaseback arrangement.

NAPA — Queen of the Valley’s planned new acute care facility, a 72,000-square-foot, three-story addition that will help the hospital meet state seismic requirements, is under construction.

The following are the largest commercial general, general engineering, plumbing, electrical, HVAC and solar contractors in the North Bay, based on their ranking on Business Journal lists in the past 12 months.

Construction of Sonoma State University’s newest campus housing facility, Tuscany Village, continues on schedule with a planned August opening date.

NAPA – The valley’s largest, 20-acre senior living community will unveil next month the results of about $16 million in new construction and top-to-bottom renovations, adding 60 units and updating the entire campus.

SANTA ROSA — Mark Davis was promoted to president of general commercial builder Wright Contracting of Santa Rosa.

Editor’s note: The Business Journal features profiles of North Bay construction projects that are complete or nearly so. Send details to jquackenbush@busjrnl.com or fax to 707-521-5292.