Our Legacy Is Building: Camco Pacific Construction Company

As a company founded in Orange County, it is exciting to witness the depth and breadth of this region's continued economic maturity. As a general contractor, we are proud of the role our firm has played in helping to construct the buildings that house some of the County's businesses, retailers, senior residents and community services.

If you believe that a solid foundation is important for achieving sustained growth - whether it is in our families, our communities, or our companies, then you can relate to the founding philosophy within Camco Pacific Construction Company, Inc.

From the earliest homesteads built across the western plains to the towering offices that comprise our modern skylines, buildings with strong and durable foundations are ensured longevity. This basic rule of building is important at Camco Pacific Construction. Our foundation, established by our forefathers nearly a century ago, has enabled the firm to endure economic cycles and ensure its longevity. Camco Pacific's foundation is grounded in the spirit of a family that "wanted to build." We are fortunate that our construction legacy in Orange County, and throughout the Western United States, continues to build on this spirit.

Today our legacy comprises virtually every category of construction type. We have a skill for problem solving and a willingness to go the extra mile on every job - from hotels and casinos to assisted living communities from office buildings to community cultural centers. What do all of these projects have in common? From the exterior very little, but once you examine the integrity of the construction, you find a dedication to a quality project - no matter what that job entails.

At Camco Pacific our team takes pride in every detail of the project. Our approach to construction is derived from experience and a passion for building. Comprised of seasoned professionals with an average of three decades in the industry, our teams believe that quality can only be achieved through a skilled approach to the construction process.

While Camco Pacific has built a reputation constructing commercial, industrial, retail, multi-family, multi-story buildings and senior care facilities, it is Camco Pacific's approach to constructing buildings with "character" that has strengthened our market niche.

An assisted living development in Corona del Mar, Crown Cove Senior Living looks more like a large custom home or a beachfront hotel, than it does a senior housing and Alzheimer's care facility. The residence features a wood shingle exterior that evokes a style reminiscent of homes found on Martha's Vineyard. While the project is large at 80 units, it is the architect's sensitivity to human scale that gives the building a warm and inviting familiarity. This was especially important to the local residents who first expressed concern over such a large building joining their community.

From a construction perspective, tackling Crown Cove, a 1999 Gold Nugget Award Winner for Best Seniors Project, is indicative of Camco Pacific's ability to manage "one-of-a-kind" developments. These projects give the company an opportunity to demonstrate its diverse experience, while ensuring that the finished project meets the developer's expectations.

Our team works closely with every project's design team. We all review the design intent together, and work on alternative design details, materials and construction methods. This allows the entire team to make optimal cost-benefit contributions to every project. For this reason, we also enjoy building the truly spectacular, one-of-a-kind structures. These are structures with incredible architecture that are designed to attract attention and make a statement to the community.

We recently completed construction of the new home for the Saint Joseph Ballet in Santa Ana, a 2000 Gold Nugget Award of Merit recipient. An important new performing arts space for the Santa Ana community, the 22,000-square-foot, two-story glass and curving cinder block building includes three dance studios, a volunteer workroom, dressing rooms, courtyard, community room and education center. The school's mission is to help low-income, ethnic youth gain self-esteem, self-discipline and a sense of accomplishment, through dance, academic and family service programs. The larger facility, together with a strong staff and the leadership of Beth Burns, Saint Joseph Ballet's director, means that Saint Joseph Ballet will be able to serve more at-risk youth, offering hope, life skills and even college scholarships. Because the Saint Joseph Ballet studio is a facility for children who dance, understanding that fact became central to the entire process right from the very beginning. Each step in the construction process was evaluated based on the end user so that we could be assured that the materials and cost were appropriate.

As contractors we look for opportunities to provide the client with the best value through a process of information gathering, creativity, evaluation, planning, implementation and follow-up. Proper value engineering is an inherent component of our construction process, and it assures the client the best return on their investment.

I can't emphasize enough how important bringing the entire building team together at the beginning of the process - especially during the design stage- can be to creating a successful project. This has been true throughout most of our work that includes the Santa Ana Development Services Center; Irvine Multi-Modal Transportation Center; Saint Joseph Ballet Studio in Santa Ana; Orange County Museum of Art (Formerly Newport Harbor Art Museum) in Newport Beach; Lynnbrooke Senior Care Facility in Irvine, a 2000 Gold Nugget Award Winner for Best Seniors Project; Crossroads Corporate Center, and the Costa Mesa Senior Citizen Center.

At Camco Pacific, we believe the only way to ensure a project is on time and on budget is to use an experienced production team. Our team of project managers, project engineers and superintendents provide consistent and proactive management, properly directing the use of materials, labor forces, material and the subcontractors on the project.

"Camco Pacific is a very conscientious builder. They were always willing to listen and understand our interpretation of the project and make adjustments as needed. Once a decision was made they responded quickly, which was critical since timing was of the essence to complete our project on time," noted Shawn Thompson, civil engineer for the City of Irvine.

The value of any construction job is measured by the delivery of a quality-crafted project. This can only be achieved with experience, communication and flexibility to handle necessary changes quickly and cost-effectively.

One of our clients, Griffin Realty Corporation, focuses considerable efforts in the venue of public-private partnerships. The project teams assembled to produce such demanding types of developments must be innovative, creative and flexible in their approach to construction delivery. Griffin Realty places a high value on our pre-construction services, construction expertise and ability to finish a project on schedule. Their confidence in having Camco Pacific as a key member of their project team has resulted in three recent and highly successful projects completed, with two more now underway. One of those projects is the Development Services Center, a four-story office building that consolidated the entire City of Santa Ana's planning, building and public works departments to create a comprehensive "one-stop shop" concept for development services support.

Throughout the Western United States, on every project, and with every employee, our legacy grows. Just as it was nearly a century ago, the passion for construction lives on. These basic principles are the reason Camco Pacific Construction Company has emerged as one of the region's premier builders.