Orange County Business Journal
June 28, 1999

Camco Pacific Construction: Planning for Success

Pre-construction planning can be as important a tool in the development process as a hammer or nail. It can mean the difference in a project's success by assuring deadlines are met and costs are within budget. By collaborating with the owner, designer and builder from the beginning, all parties participate in critical decisions that will ultimately affect the development's timing and budget. As Camco Pacific Construction's executives have learned, the more a developer engages the contractor in the pre-construction phase, the greater ability the contractor has to work potential challenges out on paper, as opposed to on site, potentially saving time and additional expenses.

Historically, building projects were collaborative efforts with the owner, designer and builder working together. Over time that system began to break down and the private sector adopted a "design-bid-build" approach. Economic pressures on the industry during the 1980’s brought this tension to a head. Today, there is a renewed emphasis on pre-construction planning and its role in creating one-of-a-kind development projects. Roughly 60 percent of Camco Pacific’s work is pre-construction and negotiated projects with just 40 percent competitively bid.

In the case of Crown Cove, early involvement in the planning stages with the developer, Birtcher Senior Properties, and the construction manager, Teller-Manok Architects, was critical to overcoming some of the project’s unique design challenges. This ensured that the project’s full potential would be realized in a timely and cost-effective manner.

From the exterior, Crown Cove looks more like a large custom home or a beachfront hotel, rather than senior housing. Of course, that was the architect’s intent. Crown Cove is not what you would expect for an assisted living development. Designed by JBZ Dorius, the residence features a wood shingle exterior with an attention to detail that evokes a style reminiscent of homes found on Martha’s Vineyard. While the facility is large with 75 units, the architect’s attention to scale gives the building a feeling of familiarity. This was especially important to the local residents who expressed concern over such a large building joining their community. Crown Cove’s surrounding area includes a sensory garden that faces a natural gully. There is also a view deck overlooking the ocean and a landscaped deck over the parking garage. All told, the community -friendly design assures that the project fits the quaint beachfront atmosphere of its surrounding Corona del Mar neighborhood.

From a construction perspective, tackling Crown Cove is indicative of Camco Pacific’s knack for "one-of-a-kind" developments. These projects give the company an opportunity to demonstrate its diverse array of experience, while ensuring that the finished project meets the developer’s timeline. While Camco Pacific has built a reputation with its core work which includes commercial, industrial, retail, multi-family, multi-story buildings and senior care facilities, it is Camco Pacific’s approach to constructing buildings with "character" such as the Orange County Museum of Art (formerly Newport Harbor Art Museum) and the St. Joseph's Ballet Studio in Santa Ana that have strengthened its market niche. Projects such as Crown Cove put that expertise to the test.

Planning For The Site

Imagine constructing a 76,744-square-foot building between Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), a natural gully and a private residence, all through the much anticipated "El Nino!" From the outset it would appear the project is in more need of a shoehorn than a construction crane to fit in such tight quarters. It took careful planning and a great deal of coordination with local government and police - especially considering the site’s close proximity to busy PCH - to create a foundation for Crown Cove. What most people don’t realize when they see Crown Cove is that a story and a half of the building are below ground level and opens to the gully and ocean. When a resident or guest enters the building, they are actually stepping onto the second floor.

For these reasons, pre-construction planning on how to build Crown Cove was essential to understanding the basic design and environmental challenges of the project before a single mound of dirt was ever turned over. Eventually, more than 30,000 yards of dirt would be excavated for the project.

In such cases, Camco Pacific draws on its highly experienced personnel’s background in structural engineering and architecture to provide greater service and knowledge base to the client in determining appropriate solutions. As an unengineered fill, the Crown Cove site required substantial foundation engineering, caissons, shoring and site stabilization. The slope was recompacted to accommodate two components - a concrete structure for the two lower floors, which include the common areas such as dining room, library, kitchen, multi-purpose room, and administration, as well as the three upper floors for the living areas, that feature an entire exterior sided in wood shingles. This aspect of the design - wood shingles - was interesting to work with for a number of reasons. For example, the project’s materials had to accommodate current city and state fire codes yet maintain the integrity of the early craftsman style, or rather, make the building look residential but satisfy codes which are generally institutional. One of the design solutions was to put the fire sprinklers in the eaves so that they would be functional yet unobtrusive.

Planning For The User

Currently, Camco Pacific is the general contractor for four senior housing developments in Southern California with even more growth projected in this specialization as developers look to meet increasing demand of an aging population. The real estate industry is starting to study and understand how to provide appropriate facilities for a diverse level of needs. From light, assisted care to skilled nursing and Alzheimers care, the challenge for senior housing is combining the spectrum of care, without diminishing the services provided to the residents. For this reason, building codes and requirements are also evolving.

For a specialty building such as Crown Cove, it is important to understand the ultimate use of the facility. Who will occupy the space and how will they move around inside of it? From a design perspective, the early craftsman-style interior called for a great deal of wood, natural finishes ceramic tiles and paint finishes. As the contractor, it is important to be aware of the fact that Crown Cove’s elderly residents are slower moving and may drag their feet across door openings. This means that refinements on the interior finishes are amplified. Every doorway and window must be examined to assure there is no potential for injury.

As another example, pre-construction planning with the facility’s ultimate use in mind was an important part of the Camco Pacific’s work with the Orange County Museum of Art (formerly Newport Harbor Art Museum). In this case, the user is the artwork. Camco Pacific worked closely with the museum director to assure that appropriate attention was paid to air conditioning and lighting - not solely for the visitors but for the art.

Planning For Success

It is important that a project receive hands-on attention throughout the process - from start to finish. While a great deal of attention was paid to prepare the Crown Cove site before construction ever began, Camco Pacific also aided in obtaining temporary certificates of occupancy from the city so that Birtcher could move in and train staff one floor at a time as development was completed. It is this type of ongoing and consistent level of attention, at every phase of construction that guarantees success. At Camco Pacific, every construction project involves a company principal. The real estate business is a business built on relationships. For Camco Pacific, relationships that began 23 years ago when the company was founded, are still part of the company’s success today.

In 1976, Camco Construction was founded by Bob Campbell, Sr. in Salt Lake City. In 1977 his two sons bought the family business. Dewain Campbell opened Camco Pacific Construction in Newport Beach in 1987. Today with annual volume of $60 million and more than 100 employees, Camco Pacific Construction has construction projects in 11 western states. Camco Construction is Salt Lake City also handles a similar volume with more than 120 employees. Recent projects include: The City of Santa Ana Development Services Center; Irvine Multi-Modal Transportation Facility; 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; and Costa Mesa Senior Citizen Center.