Pension Fund Building Stresses Union Solidarity

Pasadena’s $23-million, 11-story Lake-Corson Office Building, under construction at 301 N. Lake Ave., has become a monument to union brotherhood.

The building is owned and being developed by the Operating Engineers Pension Trust Fund, which is affiliated with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 12.

Along with two other buildings in the area being developed by the union, the Lake-Corson building will use American union-made steel rather than imported steel, even though this will add an estimated $300,000 to the cost of all three projects.

The 219,500-square-foot Lake-Corson building covers 1.2 acres of a three-acre site. The remainder is being reserved, possibly for a hotel or other development, according to Leo Majich, manager of the pension fund.

Thanks to the design by Langdon Wilson Mumper Architects, the city’s design review committee awarded the building a 15% height bonus. That made it possible to have 11 stories instead of the 10 permitted within the zone height limit.

The steel-frame structure’s stepped-back design provides 12 corner offices on each floor.

McCormick Construction Co. of Burbank is the general contractor.

The two other projects are being developed eight blocks away. The pension fund is building a $10-million, four-story office building at Raymond Avenue and Corson Street. This building is expected to be completed by the end of October.

Local 12 will develop its own $5-million headquarters building adjacent to the pension fund building.