Watkins Landmark’s May 2022 Newsletter
Build To Serve
Hello,
For almost a decade, May is the month that Watkins Landmark makes a big push for donations to the Loaves & Fishes Food Bank. As was stated in a previous announcement earlier this month, I spend the anniversary of my Mom’s passing each year distributing food and hygiene products to the homeless and at risk communities of Ocean Beach. During my Mom’s lifetime, one of her missions was feeding the homeless. Memories from my childhood include being in the car when my Mom would pull over to donate money or food to a homeless person living on the streets of Phoenix. I would like to open this newsletter to send out another request for donations to Loaves and Fishes Food Bank. Please click on the link above and hit the donate button to make a contribution. Thank you.
This month’s newsletter contains two articles about our projects, and our culture section. The first article is on our Rising Sun Apartment project in La Mesa. Our second article is on our Indian Wells Country Club Security Entrances project. Our Culture Section covers the Celebration for Tom Fey, Tennis Guru at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Thank you for all of your comments and suggestions for our newsletter over the years. We truly try to incorporate the best of your remarks into our periodical. You can always click on my name and email me at Jody James Watkins with any observations or critiques.
Sincerely,
Jody James Watkins
CEO/Founder
WATKINS LANDMARK CONSTRUCTION
San Diego / Inland Empire
Rising Sun Apartments (Spring Street) Update
By Krysten Santiago, Business Development Coordinator
Our Rising Sun Apartments project hit a major milestone back in April, with the podium deck concrete pour. The Rising Sun Apartments project is located on Spring Street in La Mesa. In one day, three trucks at a time continuously poured concrete to complete the full podium level deck of the building. There were 69 trucks in total which equates to over 620 cubic yards of concrete. Since then, there has been a lot of progress and we had the opportunity to visit our Superintendent, Michael Smith on-site, who gave us the rundown on what is to come in the following weeks.
According to Michael, “Last week, framing had begun and we are tackling all walls of the first residential floor. We have started the plumbing and the current goal is to get the first floor of the units completely framed by next week.” This is an exciting milestone for the team as this is the first part of constructing the residential units now that the foundation and podium is complete.
Michael continued by mentioning, “Following this, the plumbers will be able to run pipes through the podium and into the walls. Once completed, we can begin to sheet it. Once sheeted, the process begins all over again to the levels above until we top out on the fourth floor and push towards finishes and completion!”
The team is scheduled to complete one floor every two weeks. Currently, plumbers are at work doing the waste, venting, water, and storm drain setup, with 90% completion on the first floor. The new (self-taught) WLC Drone pilot, Bill Bagby, will do a flyover of each floor, which will give us a great overhead view of the work in progress and show what has been completed. Additional scope includes work requested from the City of La Mesa consisting of relocating traffic signal lights and other minor misc. items.
Michael finished our site visit by sharing, “My goal is to finish three weeks early! That is what our Project Management team and I are striving for; to be efficient and to keep our valued clients happy.”
The project has a substantial completion date in December 2022. The Project Management team consists of Geoff Sherman (Sr. Project Manager), Michael Smith (Superintendent), and Marco Peña (Assistant Project Manager).
Indian Wells Country Club Project
By Eric Mudge, Sr. Project Manager
Watkins Landmark and the DBK Group have teamed up to design the new Main Gate Guardhouse and the new Service Gate Guardhouse at the Indian Wells Country Club. The project is currently in the conceptual design phase. DBK has prepared preliminary design concepts for the expansion and renovation of the guardhouses. The new design will over double the size of each building and allow for more efficient and usable space.
The design concept will also freshen up the exterior look of the building, while taking care of much needed repairs on the façade and roof. The team has also provided new entrance and landscaping design concepts for the Country Club to consider. The Watkins-DBK team will be presenting the designs to the City of Indian Wells in June for approval in order to proceed to the next design phase.
Culture Section: Remembering Tom Fey
On May 13, 2022, a Celebration of Life was held for Tom Fey, Tennis Guru at the Indian Well Tennis Garden in the shadow of Stadium #1. During the course of many high profile projects WLC built at this desert Landmark since 2010, Tom was always quick with a question and wanted to know as much about the construction process as possible. Naturally inquisitive, he would take great joy in walking the site with you and soaking up as much knowledge as he could. Since we were both born in the Pacific Northwest, we bonded quickly over our love for the Seattle Seahawks. He would always great me with a smile and fact, statistic or rumor about our beloved ‘Hawks. As Raymond Moore so eloquently stated at his memorial “You always came away from a talk with Tom in a better mood than when it started.”
Tom brought his natural passion and enthusiasm to all facets of his life. Especially Tennis. Tennis was not just a job to him, it was a ministry. He was a true disciple of the sport and sought out as many converts as possible. His passion for the sport he loved as well as the life he lived will be missed by all of those who knew him. I know I will miss him dearly and will think of him while watching my beloved Seahawks. RIP my fellow 12.
Jody James Watkins