Report to Carson Reclamation Authority
Tuesday, September 03, 2019
Discussion
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSTRUCTION UPDATE ON LOS ANGELES PREMIUM OUTLETS PROJECT/CELL 2 REMEDIATION WORK
Body
I. SUMMARY
This item is a brief summary on the Authority’s recent construction activity on the Los Angeles Premium Outlets project. A PowerPoint presentation is included (Exhibit 1.) and a recent video shot from overhead will be shown at the meeting.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
1. RECEIVE AND FILE.
1.
Body
III. ALTERNATIVES
1. TAKE another action the Board deems appropriate.
IV. BACKGROUND
The Los Angeles Premium Outlets (LAPO) project is currently under construction on Cell 2 of the Authority’s 157 acre site, the Former Cal Compact Landfill, on approximately 41 acres. The project will feature approximately 120 retail stores in 566,000 s.f. of GLA built in two phases: 400,000 s.f. in Phase 1 and 166,000 s.f. The Developer is CAM-Carson, LLC, a partnership of the Macerich Company and Simon Property Group.
The environmental oversight for the project is under the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), which oversees landfill closures in the state. Because of the site’s geotechnical conditions, all buildings and other structures must be constructed on structural piles - reinforced concrete columns that are driven through the landfill and into the underlying soil by pile driving rigs. Some piles are nearly 100’ long. There are approximately 2,300 piles for this project.
All work currently being performed on the site is under the direction of the Authority’s Horizontal Master Developer, RE|Solutions, LLC (RES). Two prime general contractors work under the RES contract: the civil general contractor is Snyder Langston (SL Carson Builders, LLC) and the environmental general contractor is TRC Solutions, LLC. All construction work is performed by subcontractors to either Snyder Langston or TRC, though TRC directly manages the operation and maintenance of the site with its own staff.
Snyder Langston manages the pile driving, slab construction, and civil general contracting work, such as the construction of streets and utility lines. TRC is responsible for all surface and subsurface work, such as site grading, liner installation, and construction and maintenance of all the environmental systems. The Authority is reimbursed by the Developer for most of the Snyder Langston work, while most of the TRC work is the responsibility of the Authority.
While the installation of the 2,300 piles is not the sum total of all of the Authority’s work, it is a benchmark Staff has to date used to inform the Board of the project’s progress. As of August 22, the pile counts are as follows:
• Piles cast: 2,015
• Piles delivered: 1,909
• Piles driven: 1,654
• Total piles with Refusal within cutoff area: 77
• Total piles with Refusal above cutoff: 3
Piles that hit refusal are those that get “stuck” while being driven and cannot reach their specified depth. Those within the cutoff area are those driven close enough to completion to cut off and still meet the design requirements for structural strength and seismic loading. Those that hit refusal above the cutoff area (a length of 10’ at the top end of the pile with extra rebar to preserve its structural integrity if cut off) are cut off and abandoned, and a new pile needs to be driven next to it. Fortunately, that number has been quite small.
The start of horizontal work was in October, 2018 with grading activity. However, the project has experienced significant delays due to three main factors: adverse weather; pile refusal during the indicator test pile program, and the development and approval (by DTSC) of a new pile driving work plan requiring the predrilling of all piles; and, the impact of unanticipated volumes of waste required to be reconsolidated. The current schedule delay is in excess of 60 days from the baseline schedule.
However, work is proceeding at an aggressive rate. Work on forming the edge of the structural slab commenced on August 26, with the slab pours beginning later in September. Concrete pouring for the slab will commence in Block A while pile caps and liner installation is proceeding on Blocks C and D. A map/chart of the pour sequence is included in the PowerPoint presentation.
The Authority’s work on this Project will be completed in early 2020, when the CAM-Carson partnership will begin the vertical work, the actual construction of the mall. W.E. O’Neill is the general contractor for the vertical work. In addition, the Authority will commence construction on Stadium Way later this fall, with construction-period completion in mid-2020.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
The Authority is reimbursed by the Developer for most of the Snyder Langston work, while most of the TRC work is the responsibility of the Authority.
The Snyder Langston contract, because it is a specified set of tasks based on an approved design of the piles and the structural slab, is a guaranteed maximum contract of approximately $55 million. The TRC construction contract is on a work order/task order basis based on unit costs. TRC’s costs for Cell 2 - rough grading, waste consolidation, landfill gas system installation, liner installation, and installation of the BPS system - is in excess of $40 million.
VI. EXHIBITS
1. PowerPoint presentation (pp. 4-25)
Prepared by: John S. Raymond, Executive Director