The booming economy of Los Angeles, the second largest city in the US, has been particularly strong over the past few decades. From international trade to entertainment, Los Angeles is home to numerous industries. At least three of the Fortune 500 companies 2018 are headquartered in the metro area, as are all six major film studios in the United States. Facilitating this economy, in part, are an array of exquisite office buildings that house the daily operations of a business. These were built or rebuilt by excellent contractors with certain sets of skills that instill productivity to every business. This list honors the top 15 office contractors in Los Angeles.
15) R.D. Olson Construction
2955 Main St 3rd Flr, Irvine, CA 92614
Based in Irvine, CA, R.D. Olson Construction is a national general contractor and construction manager that specializes in hotel, resort, multifamily housing, country club, retail, and restaurant projects. The company was formed by CEO Robert Olson in 1979, who continues to lead the company together with President Bill Wilhelm. The firm’s list of repeat clients includes Marriott, Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, Starwood Lodging, UDR, and Affirmed Housing Group. The Engineering News-Record has given R.D. Olson Construction a spot on its National Top 400 Contractors List.
R.D. Olson transformed a seven-story hotel into the medical offices of the Health Research Association at 1640 Marengo Street. The 70,000 square-foot remodel entailed demolishing the building to its basic structure and building seven new floors of medical office space. New elevators, plumbing and HVAC, communications, fire/life safety, and electrical systems were put in place in accordance to the strictest medical office standards. The project delivered the Association’s corporate headquarters, medical office suites, lobby areas on seven floors, and a conference center and restaurant.
14) Matt Construction
261 S Figueroa St Ste 120, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Matt Construction is a general contractor established by late founder Paul Matt, Executive VP Al Matt, and CEO Steve Matt in 1991 and headquartered in Los Angeles. The firm’s portfolio ranges a wide variety of projects, from mixed-use to commercial, institutional and hospitality. Matt earned the AIA Los Angeles Building Team of the Year Award two times, as well as the AIA Los Angeles Presidential Award.
At 5999 Center Drive, Matt Construction built the new headquarters of Univision Communications, a US media company servicing the Latino and Hispanic communities. This Gensler-designed headquarters stands at seven stories tall and with a gross floor area of more than 160,000 square feet. The project includes an office building, a parking structure, and facilities for television broadcasting.
13) Suffolk Construction
550 S Hope St Ste 700, Los Angeles, CA 90071
Suffolk is a Boston-based general contractor with offices in several locations across the country, including Los Angeles. The company lives true to its motto, “build smart”, by encouraging each employee and associate to innovate in their work. For its projects, Suffolk has received numerous recognitions, such as the Associated Builders and Contractors National Award for Excellence in Safety and the NAIOP Public Service Award.
In Irvine, CA, Suffolk built the Jamboree Business Center for The Irvine Company. The business center is a complex of three 3-story office buildings with two of those buildings sharing a nine-acre site with the last one built on a separate 7-acre site. The three nearly-identical buildings total 225,000 square feet in gross floor area. The project also included extensive site improvements, including sidewalks with an exposed aggregate finish, planted pots, and tables and benches in the common areas.
12) Charles Pankow Builders
1 Sutter St Ste 200, San Francisco, CA 94109
In 1963, Charles Pankow established his eponymous firm with its high-quality design-build services. Today, Pankow is a reputable designer-builder with more than 1,000 projects under its belt, based in California and with a wholly-owned subsidiary in Hawaii. The firm is one of the founding organizations of the Design-Build Institute of America. Through the years, Pakow has won various awards, including the DBIA National Awards, the ENR Best Project Awards, and the American Society of Landscape Architects Award of Excellence.
Pankow built the Zev Yaroslavsky Family Support Center at 7555 Van Nuys Boulevard for the Los Angeles County. The 210,000 square-foot office building houses seven County departments and a service center on the ground floor. The project also includes a parking structure with a capacity of more than 1,300 cars. The center achieved a LEED Gold certification, as well as a number of awards, including two from the DBIA WPR Design-Build Awards Competition.
11) McCormick Construction
2507 Empire Ave, Burbank, CA 91504
McCormick Construction is a Burbank-based family-owned and operated general contractor and designer-builder serving California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Oregon, and Washington. The firm was established in 1914 by George McCormick and is currently led by fourth-generation siblings and principals Michael and Steve McCormick. The company specializes in the general construction and construction management of mid- to high-rise commercial and institutional buildings, industrial projects, retail and medical facilities, multi-family residential, and interiors for both the public and private sectors. McCormick has been the recipient of many awards, including the Design-Build Institute of America National Award of Merit, the ENR Best Project Awards, and the ENR California Award of Merit.
In Burbank, McCormick built 2300 Empire, a Class-A office building with separate parking structure developed by WH Empire Center V. The office tower is seven stories tall and has a gross floor area of more than 300,000 square feet, while the parking structure has more than 1,300 stalls available. The building also features a number of emergencies and safety features the services the entire complex, such as a 600 KW Emergency Generator unit, a 40,000 gallon under building fire water tank with 1,000 GPM fire pump system, and 5,000 amp electrical service with associated trenching, conduits, transformers and cabling.
10) KPRS Construction
444 S Flower St. Ste 2590, Los Angeles CA 90071
KPRS Construction is full-service general contractor established in 1998 and headquartered in Brea, CA. The firm specializes in projects for a wide array of markets, including office, hospitality, retail, medical and multifamily housing. The company portfolio is currently valued at more than $3 billion. KPRS is frequently featured on industry lists in the recent years, having been recognized as one of the top general contractors by both national and California editions of the ENR, as well as the Los Angeles Business Journal, and the Orange County Business Journal.
KPRS was responsible for building the C3 building in Culver City for developer IDS Real Estate. The tower consists of seven stories and more than 300,000 square feet of office space. The design philosophy employed for this project follows the principles of interaction and flexibility. Two sky bridges provide convenient access between the building and the adjacent parking structure.
9) Morley Builders
3330 Ocean Park Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90405
Santa Monica-based Morley Builders is an employee-owned, full-service general contractor serving southern California. The company specializes in general construction for major civic structures, educational and research facilities, parking structures, commercial, retail, medical and healthcare buildings, and multifamily residential complexes, and is experienced in design-build, seismic strengthening, preservation, modernization, and sustainable projects. To say Morley Builders is experienced in office construction would be an understatement; the firm has completed over 4 million gross square feet of office space in the Greater Los Angeles area.
Morley recently completed this adaptive reuse project transforming a long-abandoned Paper Mate manufacturing facility into a multi-tenant creative workplace that promotes an open, casual, and flexible work environment for innovative companies. The LEED® Gold certified project is accessible by the light rail Metro Expo Line, while a new subterranean parking facility provides capacity for 270 bikes and 700 cars. The colorful ‘pen line’ stripes along the side of the building as well as the open courtyard creates a playful and creative environment that revitalized the formerly deserted site. For this project, Morley was awarded the Architectural Award in the Under Construction category from the Los Angeles Business Council.
8) W.E. O’Neil Construction
909 N. Sepulveda #400, El Segundo, CA 90245
W.E. O’Neil Construction Company is a Chicago-headquartered general contractor with offices in Tucson, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Ontario, San Diego, Denver, and Nashville. The award-winning firm is led by Chairman William O’Neil and CEO and President Brian Ramsay. The company is proud of its relationships with clients over the years, boasting an 80% repeat customer rate. Among O’Neil’s many accolades are the Cisco Project of the Year Award, the Building Design + Construction Top 75 Retail Construction Firms, and the American Shotcrete Association Outstanding Project of the Year Award.
The Los Angeles County Metro Transportation Authority hired O’Neil to build the MTA Transportation Building #9 on an existing operational bus terminal facility owned by the California Department of Transportation. The three-story, 50,000 square-foot office was constructed from a structural steel framework with an exterior skin consisting of glass and metal panels. O’Neil made successful efforts in bringing in sustainable process mechanisms during construction, resulting in a LEED Gold Certification.
7) C.W. Driver Companies
468 N Rosemead Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91107
Pasadena-based C.W. Driver Companies is a general contractor and designer-builder serving California since 1919. The firm specializes in general contracting, construction management and design-build services for clients in the academic, entertainment and sports, retail, civic and cultural, commercial, office, hospitality and gaming, healthcare, residential, and senior living industries. Some of the group’s work includes landmark projects, historical renovations, and occupied campus programs. C.W. Driver’s extensive resume of achievements includes the LA Architectural Award of Excellence, the AIACC Award of Honor, the AIA Los Angeles Design Merit Award, and the ENR California Best Projects Award.
C.W. Driver added two state-of-the-art office buildings to Sony’s campus in Culver City. Each of the buildings are four stories tall and more than 105,000 square feet in gross floor area. In addition to the two towers, Driver upgraded a number of the campus’ amenities and features to cater for the top entertainers of the day, including an industrial size restaurant with three dining facilities, a commissary, an employee health club, a 1,100-stall parking structure, site improvements including entry gates and new guard structures, the existing building facades and “Main Street”, and a central plant.
6) McCarthy Building Companies
1265 Battery St, San Francisco, CA 94111
McCarthy Building Companies is a 100% employee-owned general contractor headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, with offices in 15 cities across the country, including San Francisco. From an Ann Arbor-based lumber business developed in 1864, McCarthy has grown to have a substantial nationwide portfolio in a wide variety of markets including hospitality, healthcare, education, science, commercial, government, renewable energy, and civil. Over the years, the firm has earned many awards, including the Society for College and University Planning Jury’s Choice Award, the San Francisco Business Times & Silicon Valley Business Journal Healthiest Employer Awards, the AIA Awards, and the ENR California Best Project Awards.
In Irvine, CA, McCarthy built the 20-40 Pacifica Office Buildings. The complex is a set of two 15-story, Class-A speculative office buildings totaling 660,000 square feet with surface parking for more than 350 cars. Clad in rich Italian travertine, the towers are located adjacent to the I-405 freeway.and has convenient pedestrian access to the Irvine Spectrum Center. McCarthy made the building sustainable through numerous features, such as floor-to-ceiling, high-performance glazing, and efficient water, lighting, and energy systems.
5) Hathaway Dinwiddie
811 Wilshire Blvd, Ste 1500, Los Angeles, CA 90017
Founded in 1911, Hathaway Dinwiddie is a San Francisco-based construction company with offices in Santa Clara and Los Angeles. The firm is currently composed of more than 300 employees, a third of whom are LEED Accredited Professionals. The company is experienced in a wide variety of project types that include commercial office, higher education, biopharmaceutical, healthcare, technology, entertainment, finance, and special use facilities. President and CEO Greg Cosko currently lead the company that has been honored with several awards, including the ENR California Contractor of the Year Award and the DBIA National Award of Merit.
Hathaway Dinwiddie is currently building EPIC, an office tower at 5901 Sunset Boulevard. The 15-story, 750,000 square-foot tower is divided into four major components: a nine-story, 340,000 square-foot office space, 15,000 square-foot ground floor retail, 5-story 300,000 square-foot above-grade parking, and 2-level 100,000 square-foot below grade parking. The towel also includes a rooftop central plant, outdoor terraces, extensive lush landscaping, and associated site work. EPIC is targeted to achieve LEED Gold Certification.
4) Swinerton
865 S Figueroa St, Ste 3000, Los Angeles, CA 90017
In 1888, a young Swedish migrant in Los Angeles started a brick masonry and contracting business that developed into Swinerton, today a San Francisco-headquartered general contractor with 3,500 employees and 15 offices across the country, including the origin city of Los Angeles. In addition to the past, the firm also looks towards the future, being a member of the USGBC, and establishing the Center for Excellence in Project Delivery in 2012 to pursue their commitment in sustainable construction. Their efforts have been recognized through a laundry list of awards, including the Associated General Contractors of California Safety Excellence Award, ENR CA #1 General Contractor, CEA Award for Excellence in Safety, ENR California Best Project Awards, and AIA Award of Honor for Excellence in Design and Execution.
In Pasadena, Swinerton built the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Flight Projects Center, where NASA plans and develops space missions in its early stages. The six-story office includes a basement and an auditorium that can sit up to 400 people. The campus is built with many green features including a “living roof” of desert plants, low-flow faucets and toilets, a “smart” heating and cooling system, showers and bike racks for bike commuters, and outdoor lights that reduce light pollution. The building earned a LEED Gold Certification, the first amongst NASA’s buildings.
3) Clark Construction
18201 Von Karman Ave, Ste 800, Irvine, CA 92612
Clark Construction has grown from a small local excavator in 1906 into one of the most capable and trusted contractors in the entire United States today. The firm is proud of having balanced its heritage as a local contractor with its reach throughout the country. With over 4,200 employees spread across its regional offices, the company has the experience and capability to tackle any project of every size, and successfully deliver each through their impeccable service. The firm has won many awards, including the Associated General Contractors Build America Awards, ABC National Excellence in Construction Eagle Awards, ENR Best of the Best Awards, DBIA Awards, and Sustainability Awards.
The California Department of General Services tasked Clark to construct the State’s Department of Transportation’s District 7 Headquarters at 100 South Main Street under the State’s Excellence in Public Building Program. The office tower stands at 13 stories with a gross floor area of more than 750,000 square feet. The 1.2 million-square-foot complex also includes four levels of underground parking for more than 1,100 cars.
2) Webcor Construction
550 S Hope St, Ste 2100, Los Angeles, CA 90071
Bill Wilson, Ross Edwards, Dave Boyd, and Miller Ream founded Webcor Construction in 1971 in San Mateo, CA, with the goal of delivering projects with unmatched innovation, efficiency, and personal involvement. In 2007, Webcor became the latest acquisition by Obayashi, a major Japanese general construction firms. Webcor has a headquarters in San Francisco, and offices in Los Angeles, Alameda, San Jose, and Honolulu. Webcor has received a multitude of awards, including the Gold Nugget Grand Award, the ENR California Contractor of the Year Award, and the ENR Top 400. Webcor also received an ISO 9001 Certification in 2013, the only California-based general contractor to have done so.
Webcor built Symantec’s campus in Culver City. The campus consists of two mid-rise concrete frame office buildings with a gross floor area of more than 500,000 square feet and an expansive six-level parking garage. This high-tech facility achieved LEED Gold certification while catering for the campus’ demanding power and data needs. The campus also received a Best of 2008 Award of Merit for Green Building from California Construction.
1) Turner Construction Co.
555 S Flower St, Ste 4220, Los Angeles, CA 90071
Turner Construction Company is a New York-headquartered international general contractor established in 1905. From humble beginnings, the firm now boasts a staff of 5,200 employees spread over 57 offices around the world and an annual global portfolio of 1,500 projects with an aggregate value of $10 billion. Turner’s Los Angeles office was its first in California, established in 1964. The firm’s projects in Los Angeles earned many accolades, including the ENR Top 100 Green Buildings Contractors, the BDC Top Contractor, the National Building Museum Honor Award, and the AGC in the Community Award.
Turner was responsible for two of the tallest buildings west of the Mississippi River; both of which are found in Los Angeles. The first building is the US Bank Tower at 633 West 5th Street. This office tower is the second tallest building west of the Mississippi, standing at 73 stories tall and with a gross floor area of 1.4 million square feet. From its completion in 1989 until 2010, it held the record for the highest building with a rooftop helipad in the world. The second building is the Wilshire Grand Central at 900 Wilshire Boulevard. This mixed-use tower is the tallest building in the United States west of the Mississippi River at 73 stories high. More than 670,000 of the 1.5 million square feet and 20 out of the 73 stories of the tower is dedicated for Class-A office spaces.
