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In Southern California, a former industrial zone continues to revitalize with an award-winning office property

Office Buildings

In Southern California, a former industrial zone continues to revitalize with an award-winning office property

The three-floor building offers about 25,000 sf of office and amenity spaces, as well as a variety of sustainable and energy-efficient components.


By Novid Parsi, Contributing Editor | May 4, 2023
In Southern California, a former industrial zone continues to revitalize with an award-winning office property. Photo: Patrick Tang, Take Flyt Imaging
Photo: Patrick Tang, Take Flyt Imaging

In Culver City, Calif., Del Amo Construction, a construction company based in Southern California, has completed the adaptive reuse of 3516 Schaefer St, a new office property. 3516 Schaefer is located in Culver City’s redeveloped Hayden Tract neighborhood, a former industrial zone that has become a technology and corporate hub. In March, Los Angeles Business Journal gave 3516 Schaefer St the top Gold award in the commercial office category.

Owned by Redcar Ltd. and designed by RAC Design Build, with contract administration services from Formation Association, the three-floor property consists of about 25,000 sf of office and amenity spaces. In addition to 18-foot-high floors, the building’s features include a mix of open-floor work areas and conference rooms, a second-floor break room with kitchen space, a third-floor mezzanine area, private patios, outdoor decks on all floors, and a secured parking lot.

Originally, the project site included an existing single-story building that Del Amo Construction removed, as well as a crane-rail steel structure that was modified and incorporated into the new building. The new space, which is adjacent to Redcar’s two-story 3520 Schaefer St, provides an airy, low-rise structure with indoor-outdoor features, a sloping roof line, and an exterior of metal, glass, concrete, and wood.

3516 Schaefer St’s sustainable and energy-efficient components include custom steel windows and doors fabricated to allow for fresh air and ventilation, roof solar panels with a fully integrated photovoltaic system, variable refrigerant flow (VFR) HVAC, EnergyStar appliances, programmable Lutron lighting, three fully operational EV charging stations with eight additional pre-installed locations, bicycle parking, a stormwater capturing drywell system, and drought-tolerant landscaping.

On the Building Team:
Owner/developer: Redcar Ltd.
Design architect and architect of record: RAC Design Build
MEP engineer: AMA Consulting Engineering
Structural engineer: Glotman Simpson
General contractor: Del Amo Construction

In Southern California, a former industrial zone continues to revitalize with an award-winning office property Photo: Patrick Tang, Take Flyt Imaging
Photo: Patrick Tang, Take Flyt Imaging
3516 Schaefer St adaptive reuse 8B2A3940
Photo: Patrick Tang, Take Flyt Imaging
3516 Schaefer St adaptive reuse 8B2A4000
Photo: Patrick Tang, Take Flyt Imaging
3516 Schaefer St adaptive reuse 8B2A3912
Photo: Patrick Tang, Take Flyt Imaging

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