Right Before Your Eyes

We have been using our Pacific Cannery Lofts renderings for months to help those interested to picture the look and feel of this unique loft community. As you can see, those rendering will very soon be obsolete as we are heading for the finish line at PCL. The sidewalks, hallways and gardens are now going in as we begin to wrap up these future homes.

Here at Holliday Development we are thoroughly enjoying watching these finishing touches become a reality instead of a two dimensional image. Check out the insert on the attached rendering. That is a recent picture of the real thing!

Progress on the Courtyards

Progress on the courtyards is moving along. We posted a few weeks ago about the palm trees being craned in, as were the concrete benches and tables in the center of the courtyard.

More paving and landscaping is underway, but the courtyard is already really taking shape. Yesterday we enjoyed the warm weather for a few minutes by relaxing on the benches.

The third courtyard, which we'll post about soon, is just as serene but with a very different feel. Slatted-wood pathways warm that third courtyard, creating a contrast to the stone pathways in this Living Room courtyard.

One Huge Crane

What kind of crane does it take to lift palm trees over tall buildings? Well they have what you need at Hatton Cranes.
The crane pictured here, which is the one used to move trees at Pacific Cannery Lofts, is the largest mobile crane made and a permit is needed every time it is moved. This is a 500 Ton Hydraulic All Terrain Crane with a
197' Main Boom
276' Luffing Boom
With "All Wheel steer"

The tires on this rig were as tall as I am(just over 5') and there were at least 10 of them. The people from Hatton were amazing with their precision and placement of the trees. Although it was a very windy day the trees were lifted over the building and placed bulls eye into 4' x 4' holes that the crane operator could not even see. (He had a 40ft tall building in between himself and the holes.) Standing in the courtyard was another Hatton team member with a walkie talkie directing the crane operator's every move. Hats off to the Hatton/Miller team. "LIKE BUTTA!"

Flying Palm Trees!

So how did they get those 3500 lb palm trees up over the 40ft high Pacific Cannery Lofts building and into the three courtyards. Under the watchful eye of Jeff Miller of Miller Company Landscape Architects these trees and the concrete garden furniture were craned up and over the building and lowered into a previously prepared 4' x 4' x 4' hole. As the tree was precisely placed in the hole, the Miller Company's team held it in place while dirt was tossed around the root ball to hold the tree upright in its new home. These Mexican Fan Palms, that were in the ground in Arizona just two days prior, were trucked to the site at PCL. Their leaves are tied in a upright position to aid nutrition to the roots for a healthy transition to their new home at the Pacific Cannery Lofts. For more pictures please visit the PCL photoblog in the next few weeks as we have many amazing photos to share from this event. WOW!

Mexican Fan Palms in the PCL Courtyards!

Eight, 25ft Mexican Fan Palms, (Washingtonia robusta), were placed into the courtyards at the Pacific Cannery Lofts last week. These trees weigh approximately 3500 pounds each and will grow high enough to clear the 40ft building. The gray trunk is ringed with closely set leaf scars although usually at least part of the trunk remains covered with dead leaves that hang in a thatch. The solitary trunk, about 10-12 in in diameter, bulges at the ground and becomes slender as it approaches a crown of large palmate leaves with gracefully drooping leaflet tips. These are rich glossy green and grow to about 5 ft long and 4 ft wide. They are borne on 3 ft (0.9 m) orange leaf stems that are edged with sharp sawtooth spines.

In addition the concrete benches and tables were also set in the courtyards so you can now start to see what a wonderful space this will be.

Now I know what you are thinking....how do they get the trees, and concrete furniture over the building and into the courtyards if they weigh so much. You can find out in our next blog where we will share this incredible process.

Let the Landscaping Begin!

Work on fhe first of our three courtyards began this week. With the scaffolding down, the green light was given for the landscaping crews to get their work underway with plants, shrubs, greenery, palms trees, and hardscape. For the past few weeks our landscape architect has rented out a shop that is half a block away from the Pacific Cannery Lofts, and they have been forming and pouring concrete benches and furniture for the courtyard. Sometime either next week or the week after the palm trees will be craned in and planted - we'll keep you posted as the work progresses. Soon people will have a much better understanding of why one of our models, the Courtyard Loft, has its name - thus far visitors have had to look out windows onto scaffolding and plastic coverings instead of trees and greenery, which can be a challenge for even the most imaginitive minds.




The view outside the courtyard model now can be seen below:

And when it is done, it will look a little more like this:

Paint'n Time

Gallons and gallons of EnviroKote, an environmentally friendly primer, are stacked up as painting gets well underway.

As we'd mentioned before, some scaffolding is starting to come down throughout the Cannery. One of the 3 courtyards has the scaffolding down and is within a week of having the landscape installation begin....that means hundreds of shrubs, groundcover plants, and even palm trees.

Also shown below is the Grove, what will be a richly landscaped pathway that meanders between the original Cannery building and the new townhomes. This Grove is perfectly suited to become the home to a commercial row of live-work owners, with the ability to have a client entrance on one side and a private entry from inside of the building.

Wave GOODBYE to the Scaffolding (or at least some of it)

This is when it gets exciting. The scaffolding at PCL is starting to come down, revealing the building one elevation at a time. We first saw the beautiful eggplant color of the stucco at the entrance to the sales office and design center. This color will continue into the largest courtyard where it will be complimented with a soft blue/grey on the opposite courtyard wall. Next you will see the soft green/yellow color of the middle courtyard that will soon be complimented by lush greenery. The last courtyard will be more of a soft yellow. The real pop will come along the main corridor wall with a bright lime green that you will walk by but not stare at everyday! It should be gorgeous!

Apprentices from the Neighborhood

While working on this project, I’ve come across a lot of interesting people, literally hundreds of whom are involved in the construction process alone. While finishing the final touches in the Grove model, I met Reggie Collier the Second (not to be confused with his father), a 24 year old apprentice with Cannon Construction through the Alliance for West Oakland. The Alliance for West Oakland was created by Bruce Cox, an Oakland resident who connects local individuals ranging in age from 18 to 30 years with various trades and sets up internships and apprenticeships. With a project like the Pacific Cannery Lofts and the rest of the Central Station developments, there have been some great opportunities for local residents to get involved through his program.

Stephon Taylor, a 20 year old local is also a member of Mr. Cox’s program and is presently working and studying under Rex Moore Electricians. He is very excited and appreciative of the opportunity to advance in the electrical field.

Both young men grew up and currently live in Oakland, discovering the Alliance for West Oakland program through different avenues. Reggie was encouraged by Mr. Cox, a family friend, to pursue his interest in construction. He found his way onto the adjacent Pulte site, which then led to the opportunity with Cannon Constructors at Pacific Cannery Lofts. Stephon on the other hand, found Cox’s program through his personal job search and has been balancing on-the-job electrical training with his night classes through Rex Moore. Both Reggie and Stephon see these hands on experiences as a crucial career step. When asked about their goals, Stephon sees himself staying in the electrical field with more job responsibility and project management, and eventually owning his own business, while Reggie sees himself moving into the elevator technician trade. Good luck to you both!

Walking the Site

From windows to sheetrock to cabinetry, here are a few shots of what's happening onsite at the Cannery.

It's a bit quieter today with the weather, but every week great new additions are taking form.

The dog washing station (LaundroMutt) and Bike Maintanance room/lounge (Velo Lounge) are what I'm most anxiously awaiting.

Salvaging Historic Equipment

Last week Jeff Miller – Pacific Cannery Lofts’ landscape architect and landscape sub contractor – salvaged the historic ice making equipment that will become a feature piece at the west entry to the building. Jeff describes the process:

“Thought you would all be interested in our underground work to capture the ice making equipment from the dungeon of the Icehouse building. Quite the task indeed, but very exciting to handle such tonnage... The wheel is cast iron and I estimate its weight to be 4000 lbs. The motor seems to be just about 2500 lbs itself. My thought at this time is to assemble a single large wheel and its motor in north side of the west entry ramp. The wheel will be mounted on its stainless steel axle set on a concrete base at the bottom of the ramp and the engine will sit on a concrete plinth at the top of the ramp. We will use all of the original mounting structures and bolts in the reassembly. This arrangement resembles the original positioning - the wheel sat in a channel pit in the floor of the basement. My thought is that we will gain ground space on the low end of the ramp, much like the channel pit. The diameter of the wheel is 8'-0" and it will be quite an imposing sculptural element - the motor is impressive as well and will project 5'0" into the ramp area.

Since the room that they have been living in is quite small, my assumption is that they were possibly installed first and then the building was constructed around them... I can't imagine how they got in there otherwise... It has been quite the struggle to move them out of their habitat...”

Pacific Cannery Lofts - Progress in the Field

Working through the details with the team in the construction office. From left to right: John Thompson of David Baker Architects, Bill Brandenburg of Cannon Constructors and Thomas Jameson of Holliday Development


Walking the main courtyard with Ken Kuhn of Cannon Constructors

East Bay MUD installing the water service to the building

Laying rebar for the 15 Grove Town Homes

Pacific Cannery Lofts - Building Transformation

Time to play catch-up - here is a quick summary of the construction progress over the last year and a half:

How we started

Demolition of the non-historic buildings


Opening up the walls for some natural light


Cutting out three massive courtyards to let the sun in


Framing the perimeter


Constructing the garage


Framing the units


Turning the units white


More updates to follow...

It's Oakland's Turn...Jerry Brown wasn't crazy.

San Francisco magazine has made these assertions in their current issue regarding development in and around downtown Oakland. I couldn't agree more with SF magazine's assessment. Seven years ago I bought the main Oakland Train Station and 25 acres of vacant land that surrounded it. When I bought the site I decided to delve directly into the neighborhood and learn more about the hopes and aspirations of the residents. I spent time in the local barbershop where I heard many stories of the rich history of the area. I also became aware of a very deep frustration with the lack of progress in getting new buildings and new residents to the area....the neighbors were saying that "It's Oakland's Turn"....isn't it??

One of the most interesting people I met in the early days is my counterpart in the photo above. his name is Marcel Diallo and he shared his vision for bringing back the neighborhood by organizing creative young folks like himself....he's was in his middle 20's at the time......and getting them to focus on a few blocks in West Oakland known to locals as the "Lower Bottom". His vision is to create an opportunity for entrepreneur's like himself to re-create the lost culture of the Black community.

As a 54 year old "white guy" I was intrigued at how we might work together to start the process of re-building this amazing neighborhood. This blog is designed to tell our story in real time as the buildings come to life. Our first building ...the Pacific Coast Cannery is scheduled for completion this spring 2008. I hope you find this story interesting and compelling and that you participate in Marcel's and my effort to redevelop this special neighborhood the right way....by reaching out and including ALL interested parties and blending ALL of their hopes and aspirations. This is the Bay Area's oldest neighborhood...the Station was the end of the trans-continental railroad in 1870...it has been called "Ellis Island West" by local historians as it was the landing point for all new residents to Northern California. I will post at least once a week to update you on our progress.