PALO ALTO, CA—C.W. Driver has completedconstruction on the 120,000-square-footBloomingdale's in the Stanford ShoppingCenter. Located directly off El CaminoReal in Palo Alto, the new three-story retail spacereplaces the original Bloomingdale's store that had opened in1996. Construction on the $18 millionproject began on December 2013 and completed on September2014.
“In previous years, renovations have dominated retail constructionwith the increased need to reconfigure empty big box stores,” saidAndy Kirby, director of operations in the C.W.Driver office in San Mateo. “At C.W. Driver, we're now seeing aninflux of ground-up retail construction, like Bloomingdale's at theStanford Shopping Center, as the economy recovers and shoppingcenter owners look to make more significant upgrades to outdatedspaces.”
The scope of C.W. Driver's work on the project included theinstallation of 657 tons of structural steel inless than 2 months. The project consisted of four escalators, afreight and passenger elevator, an extensive design-build exteriorthat included glazing and an Italian thermocromex stucco system. Inaddition to the shell and core construction, there was an added63 individual vendor shops for various high-endretail clients that were constructed inside the store at the sametime.
Additionally, a project goal was to reflect a clean, contemporarydesign similar to other stores in the center. By utilizing adesign-build exterior glazing system with patterned obscure panels,C.W. Driver was able to reflect the overall look of the StanfordShopping Center.
“The thermocromex application on the exterior really made the storestand-out,” said Jim Gentile, superintendent atC.W. Driver. “This gave the store the look of an iconic structure,aligning directly with the overall contemporary feel of theshopping center.”
C.W. Driver targeted this project to utilize its latest technologypractices. In this effort, the project team was dedicated toreducing paper use and fully utilizing technology to the greatestextent in the field and the office, using products likeBlueBeam Revu, iPads, PlanGrid, BIM360 Glue andBox.com. All of these programs and devices allowedthe project team to spend more time in the field and reduceconfusion between plans. This effort was carried over to thesubcontractors as well as consultants, with all submittalstransmitted electronically via the firm's Box.com site and sent tothe architect for review the same way. This reduced paperwork andtime while promoting increased productivity.

In addition to Kirby and Gentile, the C.W. Driver project teamincludes David Kerr, senior project manager;Richard Poolis, assistant project manager; StephenJasion, assistant project manager; JasonLuong, project engineer; Andrew Wells,project engineer; Tom Zaczyk, senior projectplanner. The architectural team on this project includedKevin Kennon Architects, CallisonArchitects, who designed the interiors andGensler's San Francisco office, who designed thebuilding shell.
Bloomingdale's Stanford Shopping Center joins a number of otherC.W. Driver retail projects in California for Macy's, Inc.,including the Bloomingdale's stores at the GlendaleGalleria located in Glendale, Santa Monica PlaceMall located in Santa Monica and the South CoastPlaza located in Costa Mesa.