San Jose Calif., June 21, 2021 – Blach Construction (Blach), a full-service commercial contractor serving the Greater Bay Area and Monterey since 1970, and ELS Architecture and Urban Design (ELS) celebrated the official topping out of the City of Millbrae’s new Recreation Center on Tuesday, June 8th. Signifying structural completion, the ceremony was a chance for guests to gather safely, enjoy refreshments, and hear updates from the City and project team while the final steel beam was hoisted into place. The milestone is a major step forward in delivering this long-awaited community resource following the tragic loss of the original building to arson in 2016.
“It was a pleasure to attend and speak at the topping out event for our new Recreation Center, which will be the heart of our community,” said Mayor Ann Schneider. “I look forward to the upcoming grand opening of this state-of-the-art facility that will include a licensed preschool, senior center and banquet facilities, and if necessary, will serve as Millbrae’s emergency evacuation center. The City is extremely pleased to be working in collaboration with the experienced and outstanding design-build partnership of Blach+ELS to bring this long-awaited project to fruition.”
The 24,000 sq.ft. project broke ground in October 2020 and is being delivered through a design-build contract. A prime example of the inherent efficiency and cost-effective benefits of design-build, the Recreation Center is expected to complete Spring of 2022, remaining on schedule under the experienced guidance of the project team despite working amidst a global pandemic.
“We are honored to bring this important and beautiful health and wellness resource to life for the Millbrae community,” said James Woodbury, vice president of Blach Construction. “Thanks to another highly collaborative partnership with ELS, our project team is able to align our expertise with project goals in order to deliver a high-quality facility while maintaining an ambitious schedule. We value our trusted relationship with the City of Millbrae and are thrilled to be able to celebrate this milestone as we look forward to completing this project on-schedule, within-budget and ready to serve the greater Millbrae community.”
Leveraging critical input from community members, the new Recreation Center has been designed as a flexible and innovative resource that will provide lifelong learning, cultural events and a broad array of recreational activities for Millbrae’s residents. To see construction at the site in real-time and to read about the project’s design-build process, please visit www.millbraerecreationcenter.com.
“We are very enthusiastic about the progress being made on the Recreation Center, in spite of the many challenges we have faced as a community this past year,” said Millbrae City Manager Tom Williams. “We could not have foreseen how the completion schedule for this vital city resource would coincide with our community’s need for such a space. The project team has implemented their expertise in design-build delivery, keeping the project on-track and within budget. We are hopeful that this long-awaited hub will serve a resurgence in community programming and wellness post-pandemic and we look forward to making this space available for a variety of events that will commence next spring.”
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