First in the Field

Bomel Construction has begun building the initial new structure, a four-level parking garage, in the redevelopment evolution of Hollywood Park in Inglewood. The 1,435-stall garage will serve the existing Hollywood Park Casino. A new 238-acre mixed-use development is programmed for 3,000 homes, 620,000 square feet of retail space and 25 acres of parks. The centerpiece of the property is expected to be a $2-billion stadium designed to hold 80,000 pro football fans; St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke plans to break ground in December.

June 19, 2015.––An enormous chunk of terrain in Inglewood these days looks more like a mess than a masterpiece. But the spacious site will change, step by step during the next several years.

Leading the transformation of the 238-acre property is Bomel Construction, which today began construction of a four-level parking garage that will better serve Hollywood Park Casino near the intersection of Century Boulevard and Prairie Avenue. The casino is within view of the recently renovated Forum, the largest indoor performance venue in the country and former home of the “showtime” Los Angeles Lakers before the NBA team moved 16 years ago to the $375-million Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.

Anaheim Hills-based Bomel Construction begins working on the 1,435-stall parking structure while the clean-up continues following last month’s implosion of the grandstand of the Hollywood Park Racetrack, a 75-year-old venue that closed in 2013 due to prolonged poor attendance. The once-thriving track featured a host of hall of fame horses, including Seabiscuit and Triple Crown winners Citation, Seattle Slew and Affirmed. Moreover, the first Breeders’ Cup was held there in 1984.

Now, a new Hollywood Park is unfolding. A $2-billion master-planned community featuring a mix of about 3,000 homes, more than 600,000 square feet of retail shops and restaurants and three large community parks will fill the massive footprint.

The Hollywood Park Casino is an art-deco styled building that opened in 1994 and has served as a popular filming location for a number of motion pictures and television shows. The casino will remain operational throughout the construction process, scheduled for an April 5, 2016 completion.

High praise for plan-check process
The parking structure’s pre-construction phase has pleased Bomel’s project manager. The city of Inglewood used an independent consultant for plan-check purposes, which has greatly expedited the now-completed process.

“It’s so much more productive when you can meet with the plan checker and talk through the issues instead of simply submitting it and getting questions back and not being able to talk through it. Often, a 10-minute conversation would have avoided a list of 20 comments,” said Kasey Shay, Bomel’s senior project manager.

Normally on a project similar to this parking structure, six to 12 weeks would transpire before comments were sent back to the design-build team. For this project, questions and comments were returned in less than three weeks, followed by a face-to-face meeting with CSG, the independent plan-check firm.

“It’s a great system. We have been cleared with plan check and are ready to pull permits,” Gilbert Ruvalcaba, president and CEO of Parking Design Solutions, said in mid-May.

Ready to roll
Both Shay and Ruvalcaba agreed that the $13.7-million project should be free from any major challenges. The garage’s pad is already in place.

“It makes things quicker,” Shay said of the prepared site. “And sometimes we find some unknown elements during excavation that can cause some delays and challenges.”

All underground utility work and the slab on grade should be done by mid-August. The pouring of the three decks for the seven-bay garage starts in mid-August and will continue through the first of next year.

The garage will have two entrances, one being a helix ramp. One entrance is for VIPs; the other entrance is for guests. A combination of VIP, handicapped, electric vehicle and guest parking will be on the first floor; the second and third level will be reserved for guests while the upper level is designated for employee parking.

The parking structure, located about 200 feet from the casino entrance, will have two glass-backed elevators and three staircases.

“It’s a very clean, industrial look,” Ruvalcaba said. “It has a moment-frame design with some articulations with the reveals.” 

‘Committed to their craft’
Ruvalcaba has partnered on projects with Bomel for more than 20 years. “It’s a pleasure working with such a knowledgeable team,” he said. “The time Bomel spends up front is definitely greater than other parking structure builders. Bomel has people that are very committed to their craft.”

During the last 15 years, Bomel has been a major participant in casino construction and expansions. Its roster of completed facilities includes more than a dozen parking structures at some of the most popular casinos in southern Nevada, many of which have more than five levels and several thousand stalls. In Southern California, Bomel built the first parking structure at industry giant Pechanga Casino near Temecula.

About Bomel Construction Co.: Established in 1970, Anaheim Hills, Calif.-based Bomel Construction is widely regarded as the dean of parking structure construction in the West. The family-owned business generated $135 million in total revenue in 2014. Its other current high-profile projects include Del Amo Fashion Center (1,950 stalls), Cal Poly Pomona (1,800) and Plaza San Clemente (1,167), with several additional parking structures set to begin construction this year. Bomel Construction, a design-build concrete contractor, has completed major parking structures for developers and owners of many of the largest shopping malls, casinos, stadiums, high-rise office buildings, colleges and universities throughout the West. Bomel has regional offices in Carlsbad, Calif., and Las Vegas.

For more information, please contact Paul Napolitano at 626-852-9959 or paul@napolitanocommunications.com.

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