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Gabe Karam, facilities management director of San Joaquin County, shows a display of prehistoric woolly mammoth bones that were dug up underneath the site of the new San Joaquin County administration building before construction began. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)
With water and artistic glass, San Joaquin County administration building to open in Stockton
It is green, stuffed with art, and cost $92.9 million. It is not just a building, but a destination. After two years of planning and construction, the new six-story county administration building in downtown Stockton is coming to life.
The green structure with custom glass is more than a bunch of government offices. It's a downtown focal point filled with sophisticated artwork and displays by each of the seven cities in San Joaquin County.
"I like especially the ones on the floor I call the mezzanine," Supervisor Ken Vogel said. "There's a vineyard scene which could very easily be the north county. It has kind of a wide range of art."
Two county departments are scheduled to move in this morning, while others will transfer operations to the new building during the next month.
The $92.9 million building at the southeast corner of San Joaquin Street and Weber Avenue — just east of the county courthouse — will house 550 county employees in 19 departments. It took just under two years to complete.
"We're hoping that by having a good number of departments moving in there, it will stop people from having to run all over Stockton," Vogel said. "We're setting up to perhaps provide faster services."
Artwork, architecture incorporate ag, water themes
The themes of mountains, water and farmland are incorporated all over San Joaquin County's new administration building, says Gabe Karam, the county's facilities management director.
The county is using the concept of "the whole building being an artpiece," Karam said.
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You can see paintings on the second and sixth floor, and many of them feature water, soil and the farmers who work the land. You can even see illustrations of creeks and irrigation ditches in the floor design, Karam noted.
Here are some of the major art features at the administration building, according to Karam:
— A 7-foot-tall water feature in front of the main entrance. The steel and water sculpture mirrors the shape and reflective nature of the building itself, Karam said. Karam describes the steel sculpture as evoking a farmer's plow moving through the soil, as viewed from the lobby. The waterfall conveys a calm, low tone of flowing water.
Laddie Flock, who owns Natural Rock Formations in Lockeford, created the outdoor water feature with Scott Runion and Jeff Gamboni, of Stockton.
— The signature artpiece of 306 pieces of blown glass, measuring 9 by 6 feet in the front lobby, which was created by world-renowned artist Dale Chihuly of Seattle, whose artwork can be found all over the world. One of his gaudiest pieces is on the ceiling of the Bellagio Hotel lobby in Las Vegas.
— Paintings on the first, second and sixth floors by artists within the county, some of whom were commissioned by Lodi artist Robin Knowlton. They portray life in the county, including one outside the Board of Supervisors' chambers by Ray Roberts of what appears to be the Downtown Lodi Farmers Market. Sacramento-based artist Gregory Kondos is also featured.
— A county seal in etched glass 10 feet in diameter. It also incorporates an agriculture and water theme.
— Elevator door artwork by Steve Pereira, of Stockton, that reflects the geometric tone of the building.
— Metal sculpture depicting the seven cities, by Frank Cameron, of Tracy.
— Pastel paintings on the second-floor lobby by Gil Dellinger, a retired art professor at University of the Pacific.
Holy woolly! Prehistoric woolly mammoth bones found on county property
San Joaquin County officials were greatly surprised almost two years ago to find some 100,000-year-old bones of a great woolly mammoth 65 feet beneath the surface of where the county's new administration building is located.The woolly mammoth, which resembles an elephant, is estimated to have been 9 to 11 feet high and weigh 4 to 6 tons. The skull was narrower from front to back than those of modern elephants, and there was a large dome on the top.
As indicated by the name, woolly mammoths had a dense coat of hair. The tusks were substantially larger than those of modern elephants, sometimes exceeding 13.5 feet.
Bones from the woolly mammoth found at the county administration site in 2007 are in two display cases on the second floor of the new building at San Joaquin Street and Weber Avenue.
Source: San Joaquin County, Academy of Natural Sciences
County administration building at a glance
Location: Southeast corner of San Joaquin Street and East Weber Avenue. Mailing address is 44 N. San Joaquin St., Stockton, CA 95202. All phone numbers and e-mail addresses will remain the same.
Cost: Budgeted for $92.8 million, but it came in slightly under budget. The county didn't use the $3.5 million in contingency funds for the project, so it was used for solar electrical panels on the roof.
Cost savings: County will save about $830,000 in lease payments the first year alone because the county won't have to lease other buildings for about 70 employees in several departments. Additionally, the District Attorney's Office will move into four floors at the county courthouse once the county offices are moved across the street to the new administration building.
Contractor: Hansel Phelps Construction Co., of Greeley, Colo., but with an office in San Jose.
Size: 250,000 square feet.
County building earns architectural award
San Joaquin County's new administration building in downtown Stockton has been named the 2009 project of the year by the American Public Works Association.The award was based on construction management techniques, the project being completed on time, safety performance, environmentally friendly features, quality control and construction innovations as evidenced by time, money-saving techniques and community relations.
The county received its award at 11:30 a.m. on Friday at Lions Gate Hotel in Sacramento.
Source: San Joaquin County
Occupancy schedule
Monday: Information Systems and Facilities Management offices move in.Friday: Ribbon cutting from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Will include remarks from county officials, refreshments, and tours of first, second and sixth floors (which public will use most often).
Aug. 31: Opens to the public for the first time; Assessor's, Treasurer-Tax Collector and Revenue and Recovery departments will move in.
Sept. 8: Human Resources, Auditor-Controller, Labor Relations, Recorder-County Clerk, and Registrar of Voters to move in.
Sept. 14: Board of Supervisors, Clerk of the Board, County Administrator's, County Counsel and Purchasing offices to move in.
Sept. 15: Board of Supervisors meeting canceled.
Sept. 22: First Board of Supervisors meeting in new building.
Note: On each department move, professional movers will transport furniture and files beginning at 5 p.m. the previous Friday and be ready for occupancy the following Monday morning, except for Sept. 8, a Tuesday.
Source: San Joaquin County
The artwork was financed through a formula that stipulated that 1.5 percent of the building cost go toward purchasing art. Normally, the art budget is charged to the developer, but in this case, taxpayers are footing the $1.6 million cost because the county happens to be the developer.
Being green
No metal detector: People seeking county services or attending Board of Supervisors meetings currently have to go through a metal detector, because it is basically a courthouse. Without court services in the new building, a metal detector won't be used.
Wedding chapel: "We hope the assessor can start marrying people in a couple of months," Karam said.
Board of Supervisors chambers: Seats 196, compared with the 67 to 68 seats available at the county courthouse. There will be separate areas for department heads waiting for their reports to be heard and for the media.
Bicycle racks: Employees will be encouraged to bicycle to work. Showers will be provided for bicycling employees.
Training rooms: One for 50 people on the first floor; another for 102 people on the fourth floor.
Expansion: Space to serve a growing county population for the next 50 years.
Being green
Being environmentally friendly is a key element of the new county administration building. Some examples provided by San Joaquin County:
— Construction materials and furnishings contain recycled materials where appropriate.
— High-performance roof and window materials are designed to insulate the building from excessive heat and ultraviolet light.
— Building systems selected for efficiency and cost-effectiveness approximately 25 percent below California requirements.
— Environmental controls and sensors provide flexibility in adjusting temperatures and lighting to accommodate various needs and schedules.
— Air handlers incorporate a filtration system to remove fine particles, thereby improving indoor air quality.
— Interior materials and finishes have been selected that reduce the amount of contaminants released into the atmosphere.
— Solar power generation system utilizes rooftop space to partially offset the building's electrical use.
Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.
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Mrs. S. wrote on Aug 17, 2009 6:40 PM:
I ditto all comments here. All that glass! I was in the county social services building a few months ago and noticed an etched glass skylight there, too.
Government spares no expense on this stuff. However, when they have to cut, teachers, firefighters and police are the first to lose jobs.
The upkeep costs on this behemoth, not to mention the utility bills, will be monstrous.
Why didn't they just settle for a plain cement block building? Perhaps they could have added art and decorations by CalJobs employees for good training and feng shui. "
PATRICK HALNAN wrote on Aug 17, 2009 2:45 PM:
dogs4you wrote on Aug 17, 2009 1:38 PM:
If the big one should strike, and sooner or later it will, in front of that glass managery is the last place I would want to be. "
Pat Maple wrote on Aug 17, 2009 1:17 PM:
VOTE: Vote Out The Egotists "
gail1 wrote on Aug 17, 2009 12:42 PM:
jbhiker wrote on Aug 17, 2009 9:41 AM:
stopgovernmentwaste wrote on Aug 17, 2009 9:07 AM:
pooreastside wrote on Aug 17, 2009 7:41 AM:
judy wrote on Aug 17, 2009 6:55 AM:
1422 wrote on Aug 17, 2009 5:58 AM:
KenH wrote on Aug 17, 2009 4:11 AM:
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