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The Grand | Courtesy of Related Companies and COREThe four-block area in the Bunker Hill district of downtown Los Angeles on which The Grand project construction has commenced has been the site of much envisioning, planning, and development over the past 17 years. Once fully completed, the multi-part redevelopment initiative seeks to create a cultural corridor with residences, arts complexes, and retail space. Those involved in the ambitious project, from the city mayor to the architect Frank Gehry to the Los Angeles commercial concrete contractors who built these project, all with the hope to create a cultural hub that invites Los Angeles residents to live, linger, and take in all the downtown neighborhood has to offer.

The Capstone of a Cultural Corridor

The Grand project began construction in May 2019 and will be the capstone in a years-long revitalization and redevelopment initiative for the Bunker Hill district, a joint effort led by private developers and the City and County of Los Angeles. The initiative has already seen several components completed, including the Emerson apartment tower and Grand Park, as well as multiple important cultural institutions such as the Broad Museum, the Grand Avenue branch of the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Disney Concert Hall. Like the Disney Concert Hall, The Grand is designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry who conceived of the two structures complementing and “talk[ing] to each other” while artfully interacting with the surrounding skyline. As the final component in the redevelopment initiative, The Grand will bring more residences, the Equinox hotel, retail space, and public open space.

The Grand’s Scale

The Grand will feature two immense towers: a 39 story residential tower and a 20 story Equinox Hotel. The vertical surfaces of the towers are broken up and staggered to create a multi-tiered appearance to the towers, which will also be composed of different materials at different levels, such as metallic cladding and vast expanses of glass. The residential tower will have over 400 units with over 80 units set aside for low-income residents, while the Equinox hotel boasts 309 guest rooms. The two towers will be connected by a large central courtyard where public art will be displayed and this outdoor public area will be ringed with 176,000 square feet of retail space that also connects to the sidewalk. After years of anticipation for the commencement of construction, The Grand project has a fast schedule and is relying on contractors that can keep pace while delivering quality outcomes that match the ambitious vision of the project. The Conco Companies was contracted to provide concrete services including structural concrete forming, placement, and finishing, concrete pumping, and shotcrete services. To begin, they’ll be providing three significant mat pours of 14,000 cubic yards, 10,000 cubic yards, and 1,500 cubic yards of concrete.

The Conco Companies’ mission is to be the best supplier of concrete services in the Western U.S. and to bring expertise and incomparable quality to each project. We continue to upgrade and expand our facilities to better serve the growing market for commercial, educational, parking structures, public works projects, and other development. Contact us to learn more about the services from one of the most trusted concrete contractors in Los Angeles

Within the concrete construction industry there are several avenues for recognition for Los Angeles commercial concrete contractors, such as for the design, scope, or execution of a project. And while an award for outstanding concrete work on a restoration project is impressive, awards garnered for the safety of a project or overall operations are particularly important to the industry. One such award is the Albert H. Atwood Safety Achievement Award which seeks to recognize a significant contribution to safety and accident prevention by a company or individual of the Southern California Contractor’s Association (SCCA). For 2019, SCCA announced that the Conco Companies were selected as the winners of Atwood Safety Achievement Award.

Conco Pumping receives the 2019 Albert H. Atwood Safety Achievement Award.
The award is presented in recognition of distinctive achievement by a company, individual, or crew that made a substantial contribution to safety and accident prevention.Pictured left to right: Mike Martinez – Conco Pump Sales; Jon “JP” Madigan – Conco Pump Service Manager; Dora Veronica – Conco SoCal Office Manager; Doug Marquis – Conco Pumping SoCal GM; Gary Brandt – Conco Pump Sales; Robert Thacker – Conco Safety

Conco’s Innovations in Safety Practices

In order to be considered for the Albert H. Atwood Safety Achievement Award, candidates must submit an application to the award committee that outlines the safety issue they worked to address and the practices or initiatives the candidate employed to mitigate the issue, along with the impact of those efforts. As a prominent commercial concrete contractor offering a range of concrete services, Conco Pumping recognized a gap in safety measures with concrete pumping and belting technologies: there was a general absence of fall protection systems on concrete boom pumps, separate placing booms, and Telebelt mobile conveyors. Conco’s concrete pumping safety team worked diligently over the course of four years to address this significant and unnecessary safety risk by partnering with manufacturers to provide fall protection systems on its equipment.

Years of Work to Increase Safety

Conco’s concrete pumping safety team used a combination of approaches to shift the safety provisions of concrete pump and conveyor manufacturers. For new equipment, they ordered and purchased the technology with the contingency that fall protection systems would be provided with the delivered equipment, which was already a common practice in Europe for standard boom pump models. Conco also worked with engineers and manufacturers to develop and test new fall protection systems, and then required that they be installed on the concrete boom and placing pumps and conveyors they utilize. Conco has shared their work openly with the industry at large, leading to a increased adoption of these fall protection systems in the industry.

The Conco Companies’ mission is to be the best supplier of concrete services in the Western U.S. and to bring expertise and incomparable quality to each project. We continue to upgrade and expand our facilities to better serve the growing market for commercial, educational, parking structures, public works projects, and other development. Contact us to learn more about the services from one of the most trusted concrete contractors in Los Angeles.

Conco Pumping receives the Zero Accidents 2018 Award. The award is presented in recognition of distinctive achievement by a company, individual, or crew that made a substantial contribution to safety and accident prevention.

Pictured left to right: Mike Martinez – Conco Pump Sales; Jon “JP” Madigan – Conco Pump Service Manager; Dora Veronica – Conco SoCal Office Manager; Doug Marquis – Conco Pumping SoCal GM; Gary Brandt – Conco Pump Sales; Robert Thacker – Conco Safety

Every year, the Southern California Contractors Association (SCCA) hosts its annual Safety Awards to recognize the achievements of those in the industry working to create safer, accident-free working environments and job sites. This year’s Safety Awards were held at the Phoenix Club in Anaheim, CA and looked back at all SCCA’s members accomplished in 2018. Los Angeles commercial concrete contractors and other contractors from across the region were in attendance, including The Conco Companies, who walked away with the Zero Accident 2018 award that evening.

Industry leaders: SCCA and Conco Pumping

SCCA is a longstanding membership organization that brings union-affiliated contractors in the construction industry together to foster superior industry standards by encouraging sound business methods, efficiency, and cooperation among contractors. The SCCA accomplishes this by hosting several membership meetings throughout the year and across southern California that provide opportunities for professional development and networking. In addition to these meetings and educational seminars, SCCA also provides legal, labor, and safety resources and advocacy for its members, as well as opportunities to celebrate those who are reaching the high construction industry standards the SCCA is working to promote.

The Safety Awards

TThe SCCA Safety Awards were created to recognize the members who have performed and excelled in accident prevention. SCCA understands the importance of safety within the construction industry, and believes an innovative safety culture, adherence to strict safety practices, and accident-free operations is worth celebrating. At this year’s Safety Awards, the Conco Companies was recognized with the Zero Accidents 2018 award for its stellar record, along with other companies that attained the same laudable accomplishment. Obtaining and maintaining an accident-free record is not an easy feat, as OSHA reports the average rate of recordable incidents within the industry to be multiple incidents per year, per contractor. Conco has worked to mitigate this risk within its own range of concrete services by utilizing a thorough accident prevention program and promoting the vision and initiatives of its safety teams. This combination of diligent safety practices and innovation helped make Conco a worthy candidate for industry recognition at the 2019 Safety Awards.

The Conco Companies’ mission is to be the best supplier of concrete services in the Western U.S. and to bring expertise and incomparable quality to each project. We continue to upgrade and expand our facilities to better serve the growing market for commercial, educational, parking structures, public works projects, and other development. Contact us to learn more about the services from one of the most trusted concrete contractors in Los Angeles.

Project Labor Agreement (PLA) / Workforce Development System (HireLAX)

WHAT IS THE HireLAX PROGRAM?

The HireLAX Program provides local residents access to enroll in a comprehensive, construction apprenticeship preparation program offered by select public agencies or community partners. Upon completion, program graduates are competitively positioned for placement consideration on a LAWA construction project through its contractors and local craft unions. Veterans and women are strongly encouraged to participate in the program.

Conco Attends Contractor Speaking Panel for the HireLAX Apprenticeship Readiness Program

HireLAX Contractor Open House – November 1st

Cumulus Tower Project - The Conco Companies

On July 14^th, Conco successfully completed over 40,000 square feet of finished slab work for the Cumulus Tower after pouring over 8,000 cubic yards of concrete for the project. This large scale project was first proposed in 2015 and architectural firm Solomon Cordwell Buenz, known for its long history in the residential market, designed this 30-story residential tower. Cumulus Tower will be the first tower in this area of Los Angeles and will be a cornerstone feature of a larger complex that will also include open spaces, offices, and 100,000 square feet of retail, with plans to include a supermarket in the retail space.

Cumulus Tower and the surrounding complex is located in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles and will create 1,210 new apartments. This exciting new development seeks to promote public transit as it provides more housing and retail stores next to new metro rail stations. The Cumulus Tower is located across from the La Cienega / Jefferson station on the Expo light rail line which opened in 2012.

Conco was selected for this large project based on its reputation as the best value in concrete services and its commitment to delivering exceptional quality construction on schedule and budget. This experience was particularly important for the Cumulus Tower as the project requires a fast schedule, that started in June 2018 and will wrap up July 2019. During this timeframe, Conco is providing a range of concrete services including structural concrete forming, structural concrete placement and finishing, pumping, and structural shotcrete services for the project.

The Conco Companies mission is to be the best supplier of concrete services in the Western U.S. and to bring expertise and incomparable quality to each project. We continue to upgrade and expand our facilities to better serve the growing market for commercial, educational, parking structures, public works projects, and other development. Contact us to learn more about services from one of the most trusted shotcrete contractors.