Kitchell awarded contract for Novato fire station project

NOVATO, Calif. (July 7, 2011) – Kitchell  was recently awarded the contract for full project and construction management of the complete rebuild of Novato Fire District’s Station 64 in Novato, Calif.

The Fire District reviewed 23 proposals in response to a request for qualifications. Two different panels reviewed the proposals, interviewed six semi-finalists and recommended two finalists to the Novato Fire District Board of Directors. The Board then voted unanimously in favor of Kitchell.

“We believe Kitchell’s project management team is a perfect fit for the Fire District,” said Chief Eric Nickel. “Their passion for this community was evident in their presentation. They received very high marks in terms of their capacity for project support and delivering projects under budget and ahead of schedule.”

The existing fire station, built in the mid 70s, will be torn down and replaced with a 15,000-square-foot, four-bay structure, as findings from engineering and seismic studies indicated that the fire station had significant structural condition defects. The new station will be built to a minimum of LEED Silver certification.

“The two-story structure, complete with a community room, will have all of the latest equipment of a modern-day fire station,” said Bill Johal, Kitchell project manager. “We appreciate the opportunity to work with the Novato Fire District to deliver a new station that will better serve the needs of first responders who play such a critical role in the community.”

Construction on the $7.5 million dollar project will begin in mid to late spring of 2012 and is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2013. Staff will be relocated to a temporary fire station during the construction phase.

Kitchell begins advance work on UC San Diego Jacobs Medical Center

SAN DIEGO (June 3, 2011) – Beginning June 6 Kitchell will start on the first of several projects leading up to the construction of the UC San Diego Jacobs Medical Center Tower and Central Utility Plant.

The projects have been coined “Make Ready Projects” and they include nine projects varying in size and scope that are required to be complete in order to begin construction on the 506,000 square-foot Medical Center. The Make Ready Projects consist of a new O2 yard, new food service loading dock, cooling tower relocation, two new mobile MRI pads, emergency egress relocation and several utility relocation projects including relocation of the main power and telecom feeds to the existing Thornton Hospital.

The construction value of these projects is $6.5M and most of the projects will be complete prior to breaking ground on the Medical Center in March 2012 and Central Utility Plant in June 2012.