The "Most Historic Square Mile in California"

W+P's Jim Williams leads an American Leadership Forum Hike

Left to Right: Marty Tuttle (City Manager, West Sacramento); Tom Stallard (Woodland City Council); Jay Schenirer (Sacramento City Council); Allen Warren (Sacramento City Council); Jim Williams (W+P Founding Principal); Steve Cohn (Sacramento City Council)

On June 1, Jim Williams and Tom Stallard led a hike for some of the region’s leaders through “the most historic square mile” in California history. Allen Warren generously put in the winning bid for the hike, which was auctioned off at American Leadership Forum’s fall Exemplary Leaders Dinner. 

The hike starts near Donner Summit’s historic old Highway 40 and follows the historic Lincoln Highway--the first transcontinental road across the United States, which was built back in the early 1900’s. Portions of the route also follow the Emigrant Trail that saw the first wagon trains coming to California, and also parallels portions of the first transcontinental railroad built in the 1860’s.

 

Tom, a Woodland City Councilman, is known for leading hikes in his home county of Yolo, as well as tours of the monuments in Washington DC on Cap-to-Cap trips. Jim is a Placer County native who grew up hiking in the Sierra. 

 

American Leadership Forum (ALF) is a national network dedicated to building stronger communities by joining and strengthening leaders to serve the public good. The Mountain Valley chapter, headquartered in Sacramento, seeks to improve the social, economic, and political fabric of the Greater Sacramento region through shared commitment to collaborative action. 

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Recap : W+P's 6th Annual Trike Races!

Our Unique "May is Bike Month" Tradition Lives On...

Williams + Paddon is known for having many cycling enthusiasts... so much so that we created a unique way to celebrate the region's "May is Bike Month" campaign six years ago. In keeping with that tradition, last month, we dutifully created a racetrack in our parking lot with traffic cones and painter's tape; rolled out the grill to barbecue some hotdogs and sausages; and most importantly, gathered a motley crew of children's tricycles for adults of all sizes to try to fit into and race with! A couple of customized trikes somehow survived last year's festivities to be resurrected for this event.

True to the invitation we shared through our Facebook page, the extended lunch hour was a riot of "bikes, brews, and bites." W+P's Robi Kaseman earned first place with the token crash of the day, with Glumac's Michelle Mathewson coming in at a close second. W+P's Joey Baxter was honored for being the year's one-man pit-stop and working on our one new customized trike--a Harley Davidson trike, no less! In addition to Glumac, other friends who joined us for the festivities included Voit Real Estate Services, KPFF and LP Consulting Engineers.

If you missed out on the fun this year, no worries... we're sure to celebrate Bike Month again next year, and we sure hope to see you then!

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Roseville 2013 | Reimagine U

South Placer Region's Annual Signature Business Event is a Great Success

Photo courtesy of Lang Lew Photography.

Roseville 2013, themed Reimagine U, brought together more than 675 local and regional business leaders, elected officials, and community influencers for this sell-out event. Attendees walked away with fresh insight from the keynote speaker, former head of training at Disney University Doug Lipp, on “The Magic of Exceptional Customer Service.” He relayed amusing yet poignant anecdotes that emphasized key insights in business development and retention strategies, all the while entertaining the audience.

Interactive breakout sessions included:

·    "Trust: How Organizations Earn It, Lose It, and Can Keep It" provided a platform for attendees to learn how to build consumer trust. Introduced and moderated by Edelman Public Relations, the panel was composed of business, media and local leaders--including W+P's Jack Paddon, second from the left--who will share their own stories, tips, and insights about trust in their areas of expertise.

·   The State of the City address was given by Roseville Mayor Susan Rohan and Roseville City Council members. It provided an overview of the partnerships, projects, and strategies the City of Roseville is pursing to remain nimble and fiscally strong to take advantage of a recovering economy.

A presentation of the region's 2013 Business Awards by GALLINA LLP included the Young Professional of the Year, Entrepreneur, and Business Person of the Year awards. Following the program, attendees were able to unwind at a networking reception hosted by the Westfield Galleria at Roseville, which was situated in the midst of the business showcase that allowed them to interact and get to know the region's local businesses.

"The day provided many opportunities for attendees to forge new business connections and highlighted the economic strength that keeps the region thriving. We want to thank all of our sponsors and attendees that made the day such a success and one that everybody is sure to be talking about for a while," stated Wendy A. Gerig, Chief Executive Officer of the Roseville Chamber of Commerce, which led the planning and coordination of the affair.

 

 

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Advantage Roseville

Williams + Paddon Partners with the City and other Local Businesses to Advance the Economic Development of Roseville

The Roseville Community Development Corporation, RCDC, helped create a partnership between 21 private businesses--including Williams + Paddon--and the City of Roseville. Through this partnership, the businesses and the City have committed time and resources to the success of the Advantage Roseville program, totaling more than $600,000 over a three year period.

What is unique about this partnership is the coming together of private business and a public agency to collaborate and work together on issues that are of shared importance. The primary objective of the Advantage Roseville program is to attract businesses to the City of Roseville, whether it is through expansion or relocation.

The biggest question the partnership started out with is, who should we target in our search? It was determined that efforts would be focused within the State of California. "These businesses want to be here and we know it's hard to attract businesses from other states," stated Mark A. Riffey, Business Development Manager for the City of Roseville, Economic Development. "We worked with a third party agency to identify target market sectors that align with our strengths and goals. Using these techniques, we have identified over 12,000 company names and contacts."

"To be successful we need everyone’s help--the founding members, every business in Roseville, and YOU," he emphasized. "We all represent the community when it comes to those considering relocating to Roseville. So, join the team. If you know of a business that you want to see here or you think would benefit from being here or is looking to relocate or expand, send them to me."

Mark Riffey can be reached at the City of Roseville by calling 916.660.6870 or emailing mriffey@roseville.ca.us.To learn more, please visit the Advantage Roseville website.

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W+P at this Friday's Central Valley Charter School Symposium!

Free Event Covering Critical Issues for Charter School Developers and Operators

W+P’s Brian Whitmore will be presenting this Friday, June 21^st, at the “Central Valley Charter School Symposium” held at the Fresno County Office of Education! This free, full-day event will cover critical fiscal and legal issues for charter school developers and operators. Don’t miss Brian’s 1-2:30 PM session on “Designing, Renovating, and Constructing Private Charter School Facilities.” The attached flyer provides more information and registration details.

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Ella Elementary School Improvements Move Forward

One of 230 Shovel-Ready School Construction Projects funded by the State Allocation Board (SAB) in May 2013 

 

Williams + Paddon is proceeding with work that began in 2009 for the Marysville Joint Unified School District. The District received $3.2 million from the State Allocation Board last month, which will be put towards continued improvements at Ella Elementary School. This phase will involve the construction of a new 19,900 sf 2-story classroom building, bus loop, staff parking lot, and off-site improvements; and removal of three portable classrooms.

 

This project is utilizing the Lease-Leaseback delivery method; Broward Builders is the general contractor. It will employ High Performance Incentive (HPI) program attributes:

• Use design and materials that promote energy and water efficiency
• Minimize and treat runoff after construction
• Maximize the use of natural lighting
• Improve indoor air quality
• Use recycled materials and materials that emit a minimum of toxic substances
• Employ acoustics that aid in teaching and learning

The Williams + Paddon team is proud to continue helping shape the growth of Marysville Joint Unified School District’s campuses. In addition to this project, we have provided planning and design services for Ella Elementary’s campus master plan, Arboga Elementary’s new preschool, the relocation/placement of portable classrooms at multiple campuses, and the design of Cedar Lane Elementary’s new outdoor preschool play area.

Read more on the Ella Elementary project starting construction from the Appeal Democrat, Sutter and Yuba Counties’ local news source.

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Mark Your Calendars! Central Valley Region Architecture Festival in October

Join us in celebrating our region’s unique built environment and design community!

The AIA Central Valley is organizing the second annual Central Valley Region Architecture Festival, a 10-day celebration to be held on October 10 – 19. The goal of this event is to engage members of the public and design enthusiasts with architects and designers to promote awareness and a deeper appreciation for our rich architectural and design heritage, current achievements in our built environment, and the vision for our future.

Planning is underway! Please "like" the official festival page on FaceBook to receive updates as it evolves. Expected outreach:

• 1,000+ AIA members / website subscribers. 
• ~400 Crocker Art Museum Members attending the opening event at ArtMix
• 90,000 circulation of Comstock’s Magazine
• Additional outreach via local media blogs and articles, industry affiliates and the general public attending the events and activities

For more information on how to participate in and support the festival, please contact Tracy Librea-Asunto at 916.786.8178 or via email, or visit the AIA CV's festival sponsorship page. 

For general information about the festival, please contact the AIA CV office at 916.444.3658 or email Maria Ogrydziak. For general information about the Design Awards, please email Dustin Littrell. For more information on Comstock’s Advertising related to the festival (discount packages available), please email Clayton Blakley.

We look forward to seeing you at this many events lined up for this year’s Architecture Festival & Design Awards in October!
 

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Finished Photos : CSU Chico Normal Ave. Parking and University Police Department

It is always exhilarating to see the project vision become reality.

 

Some things inherently go together—Batman and Robin, for example, or peanut butter and jelly. But a parking structure and a university police station? There are many reasons why one would think they shouldn’t. With a demanding schedule, design-build delivery, and such inherent programmatic issues, this parking structure and police station project necessitated thoughtful design. An intriguing dynamic emerged—the occupied space gives scale and life to an otherwise vanilla structure, and the structure provides a strong backbone under which the occupied space coexists, resulting in a project that sets a new standard for parking technology and public safety functionality while enhancing the modern design vocabulary of the campus.

 

Through creativity in exterior skin and structural design, acoustic and security challenges were addressed without compromising quality and aesthetics. The concrete structure and lower level panels gave mass and sound deadening quality to the garage. Metal scrim panels were used as skin to give relief to the structure while preventing security threats to the police department from above. Trespa panels—an exterior grade plastic laminate material—provided a strong, maintenance free skin to the station; and full brick veneer was used for the vertical circulation towers for durability as well as to tie back to the vocabulary of the existing University campus.

The project achieved LEED® Gold Certification primarily through the use of high efficiency lighting, HVAC, and rooftop mounted PV panels and shade devices. A large portion of the upper deck is reserved for electric vehicles and includes recharge stations exclusively for this use. The structure is technologically sophisticated, utilizing complex camera systems and kiosks for vehicle counting and permitting.

Williams + Paddon is honored to have been involved in this critical project for the Chico State University campus. It was through exceptional collaboration with the University, Otto Construction, International Parking Design (IPD), and the entire design and construction team that this parking garage and police station came to life.

 

 

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Arianna Smith : W+P's Not-So-New Hire!

In case you didn't know...

 

Technically, our newest Interior Designer, Arianna Smith, came aboard full-time in April… but it feels like forever ago, since she started out as an intern with us back in May of last year. We’re über excited to have her officially on our team—the lady’s got real skills and a healthy dose of creativity, both in design as well as in problem-solving. Thanks to her no-nonsense work ethic, she can whip out space plans, 3D models and construction documents like nobody’s business.

Arianna is great to work with, always ready to listen and learn, at the same time bring fresh ideas to the table. She may come across as soft-spoken, but don’t think you have her all figured out. When needed, she won’t hesitate to speak her mind or point out something everyone else may have missed. (We pretend we skipped it on purpose just to test her, of course!) The contradictions don’t stop there… born in Italy, Arianna does NOT speak Italian—the language OR the incessant hand movements! This one never fails to surprise us… all the more we love her for it!
 

Welcome aboard, Arianna!

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