GAME ALMOST OVER
Bomel Construction set for December completion of high-security parking structure for Blizzard Entertainment
September 12, 2016––A five-level parking structure under construction in Irvine may not have as many cameras as what Fox Sports will use for its coverage of Super Bowl 51 in Houston. But as far as garages are concerned, it will have plenty of eyes watching when it’s completed in December, a couple of months before the big game in Texas.
“They will have a 34-camera security system, which is unusual, but that is what they wanted,” Bomel Project Manager Scott Lessard said a couple of weeks before the topping-out milestone was reached for the five-level garage being erected on Blizzard Entertainment’s existing three-building campus. By comparison, CBS had 70 cameras documenting Super Bowl 50 earlier this year.
“There will be a camera inside the elevator cab and one inside the electrical room,” Lessard added. “They added high-security swipe cards to get into the bike lockers. All enclosed with screens.”
Bomel will be doing the rough-ins for the surveillance system before Blizzard Entertainment handles the installation. It is Bomel’s first project for Blizzard Entertainment.
According to its web site, Blizzard Entertainment is best known for blockbuster hits, including World of Warcraft and the Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo franchises. Established in 1991 as Silicon and Synapse, Blizzard Entertainment develops and publishes entertainment software, renowned for creating some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed games. The company’s online-gaming service, battle.net, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players.
The campus is already well guarded. “Just to get onto the site you need to go through a gate-guarded entrance and have an appointment,” said Don Marks, president of International Parking Design, the project architect.
Marks said Blizzard seeks the same high level of security for the parking structure since someone could find an area of concealment.
“We integrate passive security into all of our garages by making sure they are open and bright and there is visibility across the entire garage to minimize hiding places,” Marks explained. “When they put a camera inside, there won’t be walls blocking it.”
Located near Laguna Canyon Road and Alton Parkway, the parking structure’s 650 stalls––all at grade or elevated––will replace a surface parking lot and create a single parking location for employees and visitors.
Bomel Construction, widely regarded as the dean of parking structure construction in the West, has gotten itself into another tight spot, so to speak, as the 214,000-square-foot project’s footprint is surrounded on three sides by Blizzard-occupied buildings.
“We’re parking on site,” Lessard said. “On pour days, it’s extremely congested. But we’re more than capable of doing jobs like this; we’ve done plenty like this in the past.”
Leading the way to keep the tight job site on schedule are Bomel superintendents Wayne Ferris and Manuel Mendoza. Chuck Meyers and Aaron Woolberg are the foremen. Mike Routh is project engineer.
In addition to International Parking Design, Bomel’s project partners include structural engineer Culp and Tanner and electrical engineer TK1SC.
The project’s developer has been impressed by Bomel’s ability to work unobtrusively on an active Blizzard campus.
“It’s a creative group and they are very sensitive to disruption and security,” Jason Knudson Sr., director of project/construction management for Irvine Company Office Properties, said about Blizzard employees. “The Bomel team has done a good job accommodating their needs and has handled it with a delicate touch. And that is always appreciated.”
About Bomel Construction Co.: Established in 1970, Anaheim Hills, Calif.-based Bomel Construction is widely regarded as the dean of parking structure construction in the West. The family-owned business generated $135 million in total revenue in 2014. Its other current high-profile projects include Del Amo Fashion Center (1,950 stalls), Cal Poly Pomona (1,800) and Plaza San Clemente (1,167), with several additional parking structures set to begin construction this year. Bomel Construction, a design-build concrete contractor, has completed major parking structures for developers and owners of many of the largest shopping malls, casinos, stadiums, high-rise office buildings, colleges and universities throughout the West. Bomel has regional offices in Carlsbad, Calif., and Las Vegas.
For more information, please contact Paul Napolitano at 626-852-9959 or paul@napolitanocommunications.com.
