Pankow Schedule Set in Concrete : Firm’s On-Time Performance Cited for Steady Growth
When Charles Pankow Inc. quotes a price for a construction project, it is set in concrete--and the building itself more often than not is constructed of that material.
Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, the Altadena-based company has grown to the third-largest design/build firm in the nation, with 1987 contracts topping the $425-million mark.
The biggest firm in the field last year, according to Building Design and Construction magazine, was Fluor Daniel, Greenville, S.C., a unit of the Irvine-based Fluor Corp., while the second-ranking firm was the Austin Co., Cleveland.
The contract price for an office building, hotel, condominium, shopping mall or parking structure is bonded at commencement of working drawings, and the Pankow firm guarantees the construction schedule, according to Charles J. Pankow, founder and president.
Keeps to Schedule
“We’ve never been over budget or late on a project in the quarter century of our existence,” he said with obvious pride during an interview.
This on-time record includes 411 East Wisconsin in Milwaukee, the largest concrete office building in Wisconsin, where the 20-month construction schedule was not delayed by typical well-below-freezing winter temperatures.
Concrete has a special place in the hearts and minds of Pankow and his staff: The company is considered a national leader in the use of the material, holding two patents in concrete precasting and job-site automation.
The use of a concrete core with the building’s steel frame anchored to it was pioneered on the West Coast by the Pankow firm. The technique permits the use of lighter steel, resulting in lower material costs.
There is a great deal of confusion on what “design/build” means, even among supposedly sophisticated clients, contractors and architects, Pankow said.
A perhaps oversimplified definition of design/build starts with a design/build contractor who assembles a team that will produce the project, from design to construction.
The firm hires the architects, engineers and other professionals and contracts with local subcontractors and material suppliers to perform the work, Pankow said. Design/build firms have the familiarity with construction techniques to accurately project costs and completion deadlines, he added.
‘Team of Professionals’
“Under our design/build concept, key Pankow people--engineers whose technical knowledge is backed by extensive experience in the field--participate as members of a team of professionals who are specifically assembled for a particular project,” he said.
“No design in our design/build philosophy is subordinated to a particular construction technique or material.”
Among the projects under construction by the Pankow firm are the Shoreline Square office-hotel-retail development in downtown Long Beach; Marathon Plaza, a 900,000-square-foot office building in downtown San Francisco, and the remodeling and expansion of the Brea Mall shopping center in the northern Orange County community of Brea.
Pankow’s San Francisco regional office, headed by vice president Brad D. Inman, was responsible for the design/build of 2101 Webster, a 20-story office building near Lake Merritt in Oakland.
Tomm Smail of Webster Street Partners Ltd., the developer, is an enthusiastic supporter of design/build.
“We are fully leased now, but we were at 93% occupancy in just over 12 months in a soft market,” he said of the 456,187-square-foot building designed by Bolles Associates. “We believe key factors in the project’s success were a very cost-efficient building process, 802 parking spaces and our own aggressive leasing.”
Smail added that the design/build process resulted in highly efficient floor layouts that were helpful in marketing 2101 Webster to such blue-chip tenants as AT&T;, Blue Cross, Touche Ross and Matthew Bender Co.
In addition to the San Francisco branch, the Pankow firm has a Honolulu office that handled the recent remodeling and expansion of the 29-year-old Ala Moana Shopping Center in Honolulu and the construction of the Windward Mall center at Kaneohe, a suburb of Honolulu.
Other Pankow-built projects in Hawaii include the Hale Kaheka Condominium and the 43-story Hobron Hotel Condominium in Waikiki. The latter building was completed in 11 months, a tribute to the speed of design/build, combined with fast-track construction methods, Pankow said.
“The two--design/build and fast-track--are ideal for each other because under our design/build concept, construction operations can begin quite early,” he added.
Getting Early Start
“In fact, the total contract price is established with earthwork and foundations well under way before the working drawings for the rest of the project are completed.”
A 1947 civil engineering graduate of Purdue University, Pankow has ongoing recruiting programs at his alma mater and at Oregon State University in Corvallis.
Before forming his firm, he worked for more than 15 years in the construction industry, in both design and construction. He was president of the American Concrete Institute in 1980 and is a member of many other professional organizations, including the Urban Land Institute, the American Society for Concrete Construction and the Structural Engineers Assn. of Southern California.
