Construction

McCarthy Building Companies Inc. of Newport Beach completed construction of a $73-million performing arts center to be opened on the Soka University Campus, in Aliso Viejo, in 2011, officials announced last week. McCarthy served as general contractor for the project that began in December 2008 and encompasses 1.9 acres of the campus. Construction included a three-level, 47,836-square-foot performing arts center housing a reception lobby, various support spaces and a 1,200 seat auditorium, according to a company press release.

Newport Beach traffic may be impacted while the Orange County Sanitation District performs construction on West Coast Highway. A contractor will trench across the highway starting Monday, and construction will stretch between Tustin Avenue and the Balboa Bay Club entrance, according to the district's website . The construction may take three weeks. Traffic in the area will be reduced to one lane in each direction, and noisier activities are scheduled between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. to reduce impact on the community, the district said.

COSTA MESA — Construction of PBS SoCal's new studio headquarters will break ground with a formal ceremony Thursday, the company announced Wednesday. The new television production studio at 3080 Bristol St. will replace PBS SoCal's use of production facilities at Golden West College in Huntington Beach. PBS SoCal finished construction on its corporate headquarters, also on Bristol Street, in January. Construction of the production studio is scheduled for completion by fall.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors is set to vote Tuesday on about $11 million worth of work for John Wayne Airport's improvement project. A $7-million contract would kick off improvements to existing terminals A and B airline interior spaces and heating/air conditioning systems. Los Angeles-based ICON West, the recommended contractor, would also build interior airline areas in the under-construction Terminal C. In other items, the board is scheduled to vote on about $4 million in additional work requested by contractors.

A Costa Mesa library near Lions Park is expected to close for four months at the end of the year. The Costa Mesa Donald Dungan Library, 1855 Park Ave., will close Nov. 18 for construction, the city of Costa Mesa announced Wednesday. The closure will allow a major support beam to be replaced. The construction is being funded by the Orange County Board of Supervisors. Residents can visit the Costa Mesa Verde branch, 2969 Mesa Verde Drive, and the Costa Mesa Technology branch, 3033 South Bristol St. while the Dungan branch is closed.

Construction on the Corona del Mar High School pool parking lot has begun with hopes that traffic will flow more smoothly during drop off and pick up when school begins in September. Last fall, members of the schools PTA complained about congestion in the lot and demanded changes. “The bus drop off has been moved to a new dedicated space off Eastbluff to keep the buses entirely out of the north lot,” according to an email written by Deputy Superintendent Paul Reed, which was sent by Laura Boss, a Newport-Mesa Unified School District spokeswoman.

A number of streets in Newport Beach are getting a makeover this summer at a price of more than $6 million. First on the list to get a major face-lift is Eastbluff Drive, whose rehabilitation project began a few weeks ago and should be finished by the end of summer. The project is a pavement overlay for the entire street, grinding the edges and adding new asphalt, and will patch up potholes and other trouble spots, city officials said. Those additions will reduce noise, better the drive, and improve the general wear and tear of the road, public works official Dave Webb said.

Traffic is expected Monday on Pacific Coast Highway between Bayside Drive and Superior Avenue/Balboa Boulevard, officials warn. Two construction projects are slated to begin Monday and officials are recommending residents use alternative routes, according to a news release from Newport Beach spokeswoman Tara Finnigan. One of the projects, by the Orange County Sanitation District, requires trenching across PCH. One lane will be open in each direction between the entrance to Balboa Bay Club and Tustin Avenue as work is done on the district's Rocky Point Pump Station.

Thank you for attending Wednesday's meeting regarding Harbor View Elementary School and the article discussing parental concerns. I do feel, however, that your question does not encompass the problem faced by parents. It is not just that Harbor View should be moved so school can start on time -- the question should be: "Should the school district move Harbor View Elementary students until the construction is completed on the campus?" We are not willing to have our children attend school during ongoing construction and will be happy to return once construction is complete.

The Coast Community College District may soon put to rest an issue that's drawn threats of political retribution and hours of testimony from union and nonunion activists. A task force has recommended the board of trustees reject crafting an overarching agreement with local unions that would govern how to spend about $700 million earmarked for construction. Trustees will consider that recommendation at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the board room, 1370 Adams Ave., Costa Mesa. The agreement, often called a project labor agreement, or PLA, would pre-negotiate hiring terms with Orange County unions for every infrastructure project funded by Measure M - $698 million of bonds that voters approved in November.

Newport Beach announced Thursday that it can begin construction of Sunset Ridge Park in West Newport following a state Supreme Court decision not to hear an appeal trying to stop it. The decision ends a three-year legal battle between the city and the Banning Ranch Conservancy, which is seeking to block the proposed residential and commercial development of old oil fields on the border of Newport and Costa Mesa. The conservancy maintained that the city's environmental impact report should have included the adjacent Banning Ranch, which the group sees as an area intermingled with the park.

Crews swung a final steel beam into place Tuesday, marking a milestone in construction of the middle school enclave and theater at Corona del Mar High School. Newport-Mesa Unified School District board members and staff members signed the beam, and construction workers planted a flag on the girder before a crane set it into place. The "topping off" ceremony marked the last structural beam needed at the project, but the rest of the building still needs to be filled out. With the skeleton of the structure completed, CdM's project is expected to be finished in summer 2014, about three years after it and a similar project at Costa Mesa High School began.

Orange Coast College officials think they could generate up to 40% of their own electricity and offer more summer classes as a result of recently approved bond money. In November, voters passed Coast Community College District's $698-million bond measure for rehabilitation and construction at the district's campuses. According to school officials, the first tangible return on investment taxpayers can expect to see will be slim, black and likely covering a parking lot: solar panels.

For my family, 2013 will be remembered as the year the new house was built. Literally, The New House, a precision-built, pre-fabricated home created by RSI Development, is being assembled nextdoor as I write this. Poof! — as RSI's marketing campaign touts — an instant home. Only two-and-a-half months into the process, following a two-day demolition of the existing 1950s structure, and the house is framed, drywalled, stuccoed and roofed. Our neighbors, a couple with young children who have lived here more than a decade, realized they needed more space and this quick and simple solution perfectly met their needs.

Students will start classes at Coastline Community College's newly opened Newport Beach campus in a few days. For years, pupils at Early College High School in Costa Mesa also anticipated moving to the gleaming new site with ocean views. While it was under construction, Kristina Dresher's son asked her to drive by so he could sneak a look. When his grandmother visited from South Carolina, he even made sure she saw it, Dresher said. "I was excited because he was excited," said the mother said of the Early College freshman.

As taxation and other costs go up in California, one place is looking better and better: Walla Walla. Moving to the eastern Washington town of some 32,000 — where you can rent a mansion for $2,500 a month, have a short commute and not pay state income taxes — was one of the take-aways from economist Esmael Adibi at Chapman University's 35th annual Economic Forecast. "You might say this is a joke," Adibi told the audience at Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa. "It's not a joke.

This is a tale of two schools, one church, and three construction projects. The building projects are underway at Costa Mesa High School, Corona del Mar High School, and Our Lady Queen of Angels, the Catholic parish across the street from CdM in Eastbluff. All began about the same time in the summer of 2011. Guess which one is nearly done, while the others won't be finished until early 2014, at least by current estimates. If you chose the church, you'd be correct. There are plenty of reasons why the dedication ceremony for Our Lady's grand new sanctuary is scheduled for Dec. 15, while the construction zones at CdM and Mesa are still mostly dirt lots.

The Coast Community College District has put a $698-million bond measure on the November ballot to support facility rehabilitation and construction. Measure M would help the district improve access for people with disabilities; install and repair safety and security equipment; fix leaking roofs and decaying walls; remove asbestos; expand courses in science, technology, engineering and math; upgrade and construct classrooms, laboratories and job training facilities; and improve educational resources for active military and veterans.

A Costa Mesa library near Lions Park is expected to close for four months at the end of the year. The Costa Mesa Donald Dungan Library, 1855 Park Ave., will close Nov. 18 for construction, the city of Costa Mesa announced Wednesday. The closure will allow a major support beam to be replaced. The construction is being funded by the Orange County Board of Supervisors. Residents can visit the Costa Mesa Verde branch, 2969 Mesa Verde Drive, and the Costa Mesa Technology branch, 3033 South Bristol St. while the Dungan branch is closed.