Organized Labor

60-Story Tower and 12-Story Amenity Building Will Provide Work for Two More Years

By Paul Burton
Contributing Writer

The Millennium Tower under construction by Webcor at Mission and Beale Street is a condominium/mixed-use project that will be a 60-story, 645 foot residential tower and 12-story amenity building. An atrium and five levels of below-grade parking are also part of the 1,150,000 square-foot construction.

Kurt Ricci, Webcor’s Project Manager for 301 Mission Street, said that about 140 workers were on the job — including laborers, carpenters, cement masons, electrical workers, operating engineers, plumbers and ironworkers.

"The project is being done in two parts," said Ricci. "For the main tower, the core has been poured to level 12 with the decks at level nine." Meanwhile work on the second mid-rise structure was also proceeding on schedule. Pile extraction was completed in October for the mid-rise building to allow room for structural shoring elements. The temporary trestle foundation is complete. The trestle will be used by the shoring subcontractor and others for their work over the 60-foot deep hole which will become the five-level below-ground garage.

Iron Workers Local 377 Business Agent John Rocha said that about a half-dozen ironworkers are currently on the job, with two shifts working for subcontractor Regional Steel. Besides installing rebar and doing reinforcing, Rocha said that the ironworkers and glaziers are coordinating work on installation of the Curtain-wall. The Curtain-wall subcontractor has placed window hardware as high as the 9th floor, and each floor is being staged with glazing panels for installation. Work on the first level began in early March. "Work is going fast, and we’re real busy," said Rocha. He said that "There’s plenty of work in the Bay Area right now and it’s projected to look good for the next few years."

The $400 million Millennium high-rise project began in August 2005 and is projected to be completed by February or March of 2009. The new tower will contain 423 one to three-bedroom units, and at 645 feet will be the fourth tallest building in the city, after the Bank of America building, the Transamerica Tower and the First Interstate Building. The Transbay Tower directly across the street is will overtake it at about 1,000 feet.

Webcor Builders is the general contractor, with subcontractors American Piledriving, Condon Johnson for shoring, Ryan Engineering, Webcor Concrete, Regional Steel (RPS) for rebar work and post tensioning, Allied Fire Protection for sprinklers, Broadway Mechanical (plumbing), Critchfield Mechanical for HVAC, Rosendin Electric, Mitsubishi-elevators, Olson and Company stairs, Viking Drillers (dewatering), Ferma for demolition work, Anning Johnson (drywall), J&J Acoustics, and Enclos Corporation for the aluminum curtain wall and exterior glass.

Hundreds of construction jobs will be provided by the project for union members over the next three years.