Inside
This Issue
Calendar of Events.............2
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.......................3
Check It Out.........................2
Classifieds............................3
Film Review..........................2
Hawthorne Happenings....3
Legals................................ 4-7
Looking Up...........................7
Pets........................................8
Weekend
Forecast
Animo Goes on a College Tour
On day three of the four-day Northern California Spring Break College Tour, students from Animo Inglewood Charter High School landed at UC Merced courtesy of a grant provided by the Los Angeles
Rams. Next, the group traveled to California State University, Monterey Bay and then to UC Santa Barbara before heading home. Photo: Animo Inglewood Charter High.
New Inglewood Senior Center
Completed Ahead of Schedule
When the City of Inglewood tasked Pinner
Construction with completing its $28 million
new Senior Center months ahead of schedule,
the Southland public works contractor
enthusiastically welcomed the challenge.
Meeting such an aggressive schedule using
conventional design-bid-build methods was
unlikely, so the City opted for the designbuild
delivery method. This shift in delivery,
coupled with innovation, collaboration and
complete transparency with the City contributed
to the successful completion of this
momentous project and a new Senior Center
for the seniors of Inglewood to hang their hats.
Inglewood contracted with Pinner Construction
- a leading commercial and public works
projects contractor with century-old roots in
Southern California -- to design and build a $28
million Senior Center to replace a much smaller
facility built in 1975. The 35,000 square-foot,
two-story facility would serve the communities
of Inglewood, Hawthorne and Lennox.
In June 2015, City officials informed Pinner
the scheduled opening had been accelerated
to January 2018 – approximately two months
ahead of schedule and less than 20 months
since Pinner had commenced construction.
“We were in the middle of Phase II when the
city informed us it was critical to advance the
timeline,” said Dirk Griffin, CEO of Pinner
Construction. “We knew we’d have to think
outside the box in order to meet the City’s
accelerated completion schedule.”
Pinner Construction uses the design-build
approach, since it is typically 33 percent faster
than the more traditional design-bid-build
delivery method. Even so, the Pinner team
knew they would have to wring additional
innovation out of the design-build method.
“The solution we came up with was what we
called an ‘Early Work’ phase,” said Griffin.
“We proposed starting Phase III – the final
construction phrase – at the same time we
were wrapping up Phase II. Overlapping
these two phases allowed us to capture the
time savings necessary to meet the City’s
new deadline for opening the Senior Center.”
Pinner separated the design into two
distinct increments. The first consisted of
shoring and mass excavation for the twolevel
subterranean parking directly below
the Senior Center facility. Simultaneously,
the design and permitting of the remainder
of the project was completed. “The ‘Early
Work’ strategy shaved several months off
the construction schedule, allowing us to hit
Inglewood’s completion date,” said Griffin.
Griffin pointed out that a key element of
making this approach work was the positive,
mutually-trusting relationship the Pinner team
had already established with Inglewood officials.
“We had forged a great working relationship
and gained their trust,” said Griffin. “When we
presented them with this unorthodox strategy
for meeting their new timetable, they gave us
the greenlight based on that trust.”
Inglewood officials praised Pinner’s innovative
strategy. Inglewood Mayor James
Butts, Jr. noted the new Senior Center is
light years ahead of the old facility in terms
of public amenities, featuring a full-service
kitchen, multipurpose rooms, fitness rooms,
administrative offices and two levels of
underground parking. Seniors can enjoy a
variety of activities, holiday celebrations,
parties and classes, as well as have a hot
lunch, participate in clubs, take trips and
excursions and volunteer to help others.
“Completion of the Senior Center fulfilled a
promise Inglewood made to its seniors more
than a decade ago,” said Butts. “Even better,
this magnificent facility was completed on
time and within budget. We have never had
a project of this scope and magnitude completed
within such an aggressive time frame.”
This present era of constrained budgets,
aging infrastructure and heightened public
expectations puts a premium on the ability to
deliver public amenities quickly and within
budget. It requires the ability to think outside
the box and build trust between public
agencies and private contractors.
Griffin said Pinner’s ability to pivot and
adapt stems from the firm focus on making
construction management, best value and
design-build project delivery methods hallmarks
of Pinner Construction. “Our company culture
internalizes the necessity of meeting stringent
specifications, tight schedules and strict budget
requirements for public works projects, and
those values were really on display with the
Inglewood Senior Center project.”
The collaboration of Pinner Construction
and the City of Inglewood to complete a $28
million, 35,000 square-foot, two-story Senior
Center with subterranean parking in little more
than 18 months is a concrete demonstration
of what a public agency and private company
can accomplish when mutual trust empowers
innovation in the face of necessity.
– Content: Pacific Strategies •
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The Weekly Newspaper of Inglewood
Daily News on a Weekly Basis - Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - April 12, 2018