T.B. Penick Announces Final Pour of Avalon Fashion Valley Podium Parking Structure
Company’s design-build affiliate, Convergent Inc., proving invaluable to contractor Avalon Bay Communities for problem solving, time savings and quality craftsmanship
SAN DIEGO – November 16, 2007 – Today T.B. Penick & Sons, one of the largest and most trusted contractors in Southern California for more than a century, announced that it is entering the final podium pouring phase of the Fashion Walk foundation and parking structure. T.B. Penick’s design-build affiliate, Convergent Inc., has proved to be an invaluable subcontractor to Avalon Bay Communities, who purchased the project from D.R. Horton in March 2007. Convergent’s demonstrated ability to foresee and address design problems, to adhere to schedule and to provide impeccable craftsmanship has created a positive outlook for the finished product at Fashion Valley. At this time, the project is approximately 90 percent complete and should be finished in December.
Avalon Fashion Valley, a 1.8 acre condominium complex project across the street from the world-renowned Fashion Valley Mall in the heart of Mission Valley, was originally purchased in 2005 by D.R. Horton, America’s largest homebuilder. D.R. Horton selected to work with Convergent as a concrete subcontractor for the complex’s podium structure. When the project was sold to Avalon Bay Communities in March, Project Manager Mike Kraus insisted on keeping Convergent on the project, due to the company’s impressive pre-construction efforts.
“The bottom line is that Convergent’s pre-con service takes out the unknowns and eliminates the contingency factor we’ve seen with other subcontractors,” said Kraus. “D.R.Horton and Avalon Bay are national firms with high expectations for our building partners, and Convergent has exceeded our expectations at every turn. Their team was able to see through potential problems on the plans and get them fixed early, while giving us the best price, performance and professionalism of any subcontractor we have worked with.”
Convergent is a design-build company, which means that, in contrast to the conventional design-bid-build approach, all structural design, engineering and construction for a project comes from a single source. Typically, building owners are forced to contract with different design and construction companies, a practice that often leads to communication problems, cost increases and schedule delays.
Convergent performed Avalon Fashion Valley as a design-assist subcontractor, and this design-assist offering is what allowed Convergent to foresee problems that a typical construction subcontractor would likely have missed. According to Convergent Superintendent John Lesnik, “We found issues with the design that could have caused stability problems. We were able to redesign early and save the headache of addressing a serious flaw during construction.” He also noted, “Even with our eye for detail we have stayed on schedule, which is a huge benefit in this industry.”
“I’m really proud of the Convergent team and how we perform at the level this type of customer rightly expects,” noted Tim Penick, CEO of Convergent Inc. “I personally spoke with the customer about the performance of the Convergent team at Fashion Valley and was told the Convergent team has met or exceeded their expectations, saved them time, money, and has been able to see through potential problems early on,” adds Penick.
In addition to Convergent’s ability to spot design problems and adhere to schedule, Lesnik has been pleased with the company’s top-quality work product. “The standard of our craftsmanship is extremely high,” he said. “From the fit and finish of the structure to the smoothness and consistency of the concrete, we intend to impress.”
The Avalon Fashion Valley complex is scheduled for completion in the Summer of 2008.
About Convergent
Convergent is a design-build/design-assist company that offers a single point of contact and expertise for project design, engineering and construction. Convergent’s design-build approach allows clients to drastically reduce costs while improving efficiency and speed to completion. Convergent is an affiliate of T.B. Penick & Sons, which provides award-winning construction, structural concrete, design and general contracting services for clients in the commercial and public building sector. Founded in 1905, T.B. Penick is the largest and most experienced concrete subcontractor in San Diego. For more information, visit www.convergentdesignbuild.com or www.tbpenick.com.
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