Hospitality Design and Construction 2005

Quite a Combo

 

Dole Food Co. is building a 359,000-sq.-ft. Four Seasons Hotel, 58,000-sq.-ft. TV production facility, 28,000-sq.-ft. wellness center and 41,000-sq.-ft. fitness center on the same site in Westlake Village. The $250-million project is scheduled to be finished in July.

It's a project by Dole, but the new $250-million Four Seasons Hotel, Westlake Village Wellness Center and Spa is no pineapple plant.

"This is the biggest and most diverse project that I have ever worked on," said project director Marvin Wheat, a vice president with Santa Fe Springs-based Matt Construction, the project's general contractor. "It's like doing five or six projects at once, all packaged on one site."

The $250-million project site, adjoins Dole Food's world headquarters building and is visible from U.S. 101. The project broke ground in March 2004 and in August was about 70 percent complete.

Spanning an entire block, the 490,000-sq.-ft. development will feature such elements as an innovative wellness center, fully staffed medical facility, five-star hotel/conference center with two restaurants and retail shops, full-service spa and fitness center and a TV production facility.

The 20-acre campus, scheduled to open in July, also includes a 280,000-sq.-ft., four-level parking garage with 800 stalls.

Located 35 mi. northwest of Los Angeles, the project site adjoins Dole's world headquarters building and is visible from U.S. 101 near the Lindero Canyon exit. The project is being developed by Dole Food Co. Inc. and its affiliate, Westlake Wellbeing Properties, LLC.

The project broke ground in March 2004 and in August was about 70-percent complete.

"It's like a city," said design architect Arnold C. Savrann, a senior vice president with Los Angeles-based Castle & Cooke Inc. "There will be a hotel and one-stop shopping for health and nutrition."

The centerpiece of the project is the 270-room Four Seasons Hotel, which will be managed by Toronto-based Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. The 359,000-sq.-ft. inn will include a conference center with eight meeting rooms, grand ballroom capable of accommodating 350 guests, business center and sky-lighted pool with garden views.

A 28,000-sq.-ft. wellness center will pioneer interactive information systems designed to benefit quality of life through guidance in the areas of food and nutrition, physical fitness, recreation and emotional health.

The 15,000-sq.-ft. California Health and Longevity Institute will be staffed with onsite physicians who will provide state-of-the-art diagnostic and outpatient recuperative services.

In addition to the MRI, CT and other body-scan imaging equipment, the medical facility will employ diagnostic methodologies based on cutting-edge research in human genetics.

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"It has long been my belief that Dole and its affiliated companies can play a crucial role in helping consumers eat healthier and thus lead longer, healthier and more vital lives," said David H. Murdock, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Dole. "This new complex will be a major step forward in accomplishing this goal."

The 58,000-sq.-ft. health spa and fitness center will feature 28 treatment rooms, lap and hydrotherapy pool, steam rooms, private gardens and spas, as well as a staff of beauty experts.

Additionally, a 41,000-sq.-ft., ultramodern television production facility will serve as a "food network" that will be used in developing and offering cable television programs and videos that teach people how to eat well and live healthy and productive lives.

"This combination, especially the aspect of the TV studio, is something I haven't come across in 20 years," said Bill Reed, director of architecture for Newport Beach-based Wimberly, Allison, Tong and Goo, the project's associate architect.

Matt Construction's Wheat said it hasn't been easy following and sticking to blueprints.

"It is literally being designed as we build it," he added. "We're [constructing] building shells while [the architects] are designing interiors."

Wheat schedules several weekly coordination meetings to keep workers abreast of new project developments.

He said that without final interior designs, crews don't know where to put electrical, plumbing and mechanical systems.

"And those affect the structure of the building, so in order to keep the field moving, we're responding to new design information on a weekly basis," he added.

An example of this arose in the entry lobby of the wellness center, where his team had just installed the rough plumbing, utilities and rebar for a large indoor water feature--and then the architects intervened.

"When they saw how the feature was going to occupy the lobby, they said, "'This isn't what we thought it would be; we are going to redesign it,'" Wheat said. "So we just accommodate the next design when it comes."

The $250-million complex is being designed in a "contemporary style, using traditional materials like red brick and precast concrete," said design architect Arnold Savrann.

He added that the design-on-the-move technique won't slow the construction schedule.

"At the end of the day, the owner is not going to relinquish [any] time in terms of the finish date, so we'll work out of sequence and figure [other] ways to keep the project moving," he added.

When finished, the project will have moved 190,000 cu. yds. of dirt and consumed 28,000 cu. yds. of concrete, 1,300 tons of structural steel and 2,700 tons of reinforcing steel.

It is also expected to employ about 450 people.

The complex is being designed in a "contemporary style, using traditional materials like red brick and precast concrete," architect Savrann said.

It will be surrounded by more than nine acres of lush gardens with 90 50-ft.-tall redwood trees, a 14-ft. sound wall blocking freeway noise, walking/jogging paths, waterfall and outdoor function area.