City of Orange Metrolink Parking Garage

City of Orange Metrolink Parking Garage

Location Orange, CA

Client Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA)

Services Commissioning, Construction Management

Project Value $20 million

Hill provided construction management services to the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) for the construction phase of the Metrolink Parking Structure. The new parking structure is designed to meet the current demand and accommodate future transit parking needs at the Orange Transportation Center serving Metrolink commuters in Orange, CA. The 202,200 SF, pre-cast brick-clad parking structure consists of 5 parking levels, with 2 below grade, accommodating 611 parking stalls in total.

Major scope items included the implementation of an adaptive management plan to survey and protect nearby historical structures, site demolition, remediation of contaminated soils and underground storage tanks, installation of an excavation support system of soldier piles and tiebacks, mass excavation, construction of a cast-in-place frame and post-tension decks, erection of pre-cast panels, and construction of two elevators and stairways. Due to the enclosed nature of the building, additional air/mechanical systems were required as well as additional security systems (CCTV, Code Blue Phones, and physical gates to secure the structure). Other unique features include extensive electric vehicle charging locations and photovoltaic installations to offset the facility’s electrical demand. Work also included enhanced plaza areas and landscaping to integrate the garage into the historical area of Old Town Orange.

This project involved several layers of complexity. The project team encountered a challenge when contaminated soils, two underground storage tanks, old railroad ties, and rail were encountered during the excavation process. None of these items were anticipated according to the environmental documents. Through collaborative meetings, a remediation plan was quickly put in place and schedule impacts were mitigated.

Hill provided construction management services for the project. Specific services included performance of an independent review of conceptual architectural designs, schematics, final construction drawings, specifications, and cost estimates developed by the architect. 

Notably, the Hill team discovered the design development was heavily biased towards architectural scope and undervalued the need for comprehensive geotechnical and environmental studies. A more detailed geotechnical and environmental study would have more accurately identified and mitigated a substantial amount of the sub-grade risks. Hill determined the contaminated soils and unforeseen sub-surface change conditions accounted for 81% of the changes on the entire project.  

The project won two awards from the Western Council of Construction Consumers: the Exceptional Project Achievement Award in the Infrastructure – Renovation category and the Sustainability Excellence Award.

The Hill team proactively resolved numerous design errors and missing details, resulting in cost savings for OCTA. The team negotiated down all the claims to date on this project, settling them for less than 60% of their original values. In addition, the Hill team supported the schedule management of the project to avoid costly delays.

City of Orange Metrolink Parking Garage
City of Orange Metrolink Parking Garage
City of Orange Metrolink Parking Garage
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