About the Project
Situated in the heart of Sacramento’s historic government center, the new 1021 O Street State Office Building is currently serving as the temporary home for California’s legislative and executive elected officials for the duration of the Capitol Annex project. Over the long term, this campus will provide additional state-owned facilities for joint occupancy by legislative and executive branch entities. The State of California Department of General Services (DGS) led this 472,000 SF project, which rises 10 stories above downtown Sacramento and provides stunning views of the State Capitol Building. The building fulfills critical office space infrastructure needs for the state, maximizing flexibility and maintainability while achieving DGS’ carbon neutrality and infrastructure resiliency goals. This all-electric building is Net-Zero Energy, Net-Zero Carbon, meets CalGreen Tier 2 requirements and has achieved LEED-NC Platinum Certification.
Challenge
The 1021 O Street State Office Building required an accelerated turnover date to support the elected officials moving out of the existing Capitol Annex prior to the start of the 2022 legislative session.
In working to achieve the accelerated schedule, the project team encountered additional challenges that had the potential to impact and prolong the schedule, including civil unrest, the COVID-19 pandemic and wildfires across the region.
Solution
To accommodate this accelerated schedule, the State of California Department of General Services (DGS) utilized the progressive design-build delivery method for the first time.
Hensel Phelps and its design-build partners embraced this fast-track challenge and, working closely with the state’s construction manager and criteria architect, commenced construction of the project just eight months after planning began. The team worked at an accelerated pace to incorporate input from multiple tenant groups that all had unique workspace requirements and robust security standards. The phased permitting process required by the California Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM), combined with the need for efficiency and acceleration of the design phase, was accomplished through pull planning sessions focused on the design schedule. Several sessions were held with the entire team of design consultants and design-build trade partners to work backwards from the planned OSFM phase submissions and identify and sequence critical tasks to support the milestones. This highly effective approach led to OSFM approvals of Phase 1 and 2 and the on-time submission of Phase 3 to support the fast-paced construction schedule.
On this historic journey to complete the State of California’s first progressive design-build project, the 1021 O Street project team also encountered many challenges that threatened the accelerated schedule. The team worked through each challenge as they came up with solutions to keep the team safe and the project on track. The three main challenges the project faced while working to achieve the accelerated schedule included:
Civil Unrest: Downtown Sacramento and the Capitol area were ground zero for civil unrest protests, and the project team had to take extra precautions to protect the site from vandalism. Working with the government and the California Highway Patrol (CHP, who provide security for the Legislature), the team was able to coordinate protection with the California National Guard and avoid any major damage to the building and site.
Covid-19 Pandemic: During the height of the pandemic, the team experienced labor shortages of up to 50%, due to both illness and contact tracing requirements. This required the project team to get creative with scheduling. To avoid further delays, the team was able to immediately secure the 1021 O Street Office Building status as an essential project and get certification from the government to that effect, which allowed the team and labor force to continue work uninterrupted as many other jobsites were being shut down. This proactive approach significantly contributed to the project staying on schedule to meet the critical State Legislature move date.
Wildfires/floods: Wildfire smoke was a major concern for workers, but additionally, the wildfires constrained the resources of the California Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) which had the potential to delay the project’s inspection schedule. To help mitigate these delays, and based on the trusting relationship the team had built with the OSFM, the project team implemented a series of virtual inspections using mobile devices and cameras to coordinate with OSFM staff. These innovative techniques helped keep the project on schedule to achieve the critical legislature move date.
Result
Overall, the progressive design-build process saved the State of California 18 months versus a more traditional design-build process. Despite construction schedule challenges associated with civil unrest, COVID-19, wildfires and supply chain shortages, the team moved the elected officials into the building on time. The team estimates that if they had missed the completion date, it would have cost the government up to $130 million in delays by pushing out the legislature move and the start of the Capitol Annex project.
The project serves as a benchmark for future DGS buildings, setting a new standard for sustainability and flexibility for the State. To date, the project has won multiple design-build and partnering awards due to the total team collaboration on this project.
Awards
2022
- Sacramento Business Journal Best Real Estate Projects of the Year | Public Project
2023
- Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) | Project of the Year
- Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) | Best in Process – Progressive Design-Build
- Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) | Award of Excellence
- Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) | Merit Award – Federal/State/County/Municipal
- Design-Build Institute of America Western Pacific Region | Innovation Award
- Design-Build Institute of America Western Pacific Region | Design Excellence Award
- International Partnering Institute Partnered Project of the Year | Buildings & Public Infrastructure Over $250: Diamond Level Award
- American Architecture Awards | Design Award: Government/Civic Buildings
- AIA Central Valley | Merit Award
- AIA East Bay | Large Scale: Greater than 25,000 GSF | Merit Award
- CMAA Northern California | Project Achievement Award: Sustainability
- CMAA Northern California | Project Achievement Award: Buildings over $300M
- ENR California Regional Best Projects, Northern California | Best Government / Public Building
- ENR California Regional Best Projects | Excellence in Sustainability
- Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) | Design Award: Best Government and Public Building
- Green Technology | Sustainable Facilities Forum Leadership Award: State Government
2024
- Associated General Contractors of California (AGC of California) | Constructor Award: Builder $100 Million & Over
- Engineering News-Record (ENR) Best of the Best | Excellence in Sustainability
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