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As we near the end of 2021, we would like to wish you a wonderful Holiday Season and a Happy New Year! KCM Group closes out the year with some notable accomplishments as well as the addition of some talented and experienced industry professionals to our team.

COMIC CON MUSEUM OPENS IN NOVEMBER

KCM Group played an instrumental role working with San Diego Comic-Con to ready the new Comic-Con Museum in Balboa Park for its grand opening in November 2021. Located in the historic Federal Building constructed for the 1935 California-Pacific International Expo, this first phase of improvements to the building created new gallery space, multi-functional spaces, and a gift shop. Future phases of the museum’s development will include additional gallery and multi-functional space, administrative support offices, and a theatre. The opening of the newest of Balboa Park’s institutions represents a continued revitalization of the Palisades area of Balboa Park.

KCM GROUP CONTINUES PARTNERSHIP WITH WAKELAND HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT

KCM Group continues its collaboration with Wakeland Housing and Development Corporation, a leader in the creation and operation of affordable housing in the state of California. In October 2021, Wakeland celebrated the grand opening of Trinity Place in the Grantville neighborhood of San Diego. Trinity Place provides 73 homes for formerly unhoused seniors. Combining affordable housing with social and medical services allows these formerly homeless individuals to develop a solid foundation and thrive in their new homes. KCM Group’s involvement in the project helped the project finish months ahead of schedule, allowing residents to move in earlier than anticipated. KCM is proud to partner with Wakeland Housing and Development on these projects which are so essential to enriching communities throughout Southern California.

CITY OF DEL MAR UTILITY UNDERGROUNDING PROJECT
MAKES PROGRESS

KCM Group is part of a project consultant team (including Utility Specialists and Fuscoe Engineering) overseeing the multi-phase Undergrounding Project that will remove unsightly utility poles and overhead power and telecommunication cables and relocate them underground. This project was identified as a priority by Del Mar voters with the approval of Measure Q in 2016. This one-cent sales tax measure is generating the funds needed to implement this project.

The Del Mar City Council approved the formation of three Undergrounding Districts this spring: Tewa Court/10th Street, Stratford Court South, and Crest Canyon. Since the formation of the Tewa Court district, KCM Group has managed the Civil Design process, coordinated with homeowners within the District on service lateral undergrounding, and prepared the project specifications and public bid documents. With the design for Tewa Court/10^th Street complete, the project went out to bid in early November with construction anticipated to begin late February. The two remaining districts, Stratford Court South and Crest Canyon, are in the beginning stages of the design process. KCM Group has assisted the City in hosting two virtual neighborhood meetings to share information about the process and has managed the survey and mapping process required to begin Concept Design.

KCM GROUP WELCOMES NEW EMPLOYEES TO THE TEAM

KCM Group is pleased to introduce you to some new faces!

John Stephenson - Construction Project Manager

John joined KCM Group after many years of experience in the construction industry in Arkansas, Nevada, and California. He has more than 15 years field experience in local and major infrastructure including underground utilities and road work projects, vertical construction of both residential and commercial projects, commercial and residential pools, landscape construction, and bond exoneration. John also has more than five years of project management experience taking various projects from inception of conceptual design through permitting and construction to eventual turnover to the client. John is proficient in project accounting, contractor quality assurance, scheduling, estimating, and acting in the role of liaison between owner and contractor.

Lar Bjorum - Construction Project Manager

With over thirty-five years in the planning, design, preconstruction and construction management, Lar has an extensive and diverse background of experience. He has managed more than forty major projects with several projects over $95 million. The total area of all these projects amounts to more than four million square feet. His diverse experience includes hospitality, educational (university, college and secondary/primary), governmental, judicial, commercial office and retail projects. Lar has extensive specialty experience in Master Planning and associated Environmental Impact Reports (EIR/CEQA) as part of designing and constructing facilities. He has received a number of awards, including the American Institute of Architects Alpha Rho Chi Medal, two Honor Awards and one Award for Excellence. Certifications and registrations have included, Architect, Construction Management Association of America, LEED/CHPS and Project Management Certification.

Daniel Deets - Construction Project Manager

Daniel is well versed in project management and has proven to be exceptionally skilled in schedule analysis and asset management. Through the performance of site visits, he ensures construction work is being conducted according to local building codes and regulatory standards and that the project delivery meets or exceeds the client’s expectations. Daniel has been given high marks from public agency managers for his communication and his keen eye for attention to detail. He is proficient in reviewing documents such as RFIs, change orders, submittals, project invoices, as well as providing in-depth contractor schedule review. He has managed construction projects from $100K – $13M, trained teams, provided financial analysis and managed payroll, budgets, and proposals.

Dana Ursino - Administrative & Operations Manager

Dana comes to KCM Group with nearly 20 years of administration experience in the construction industry. Her expertise in and knowledge of all aspects of office management, accounting, payroll administration, contract development, and human resources, will be instrumental to KCM’s efficient operations.

KCM Group is a full-service construction project management consulting firm. For over 20 years, KCM Group has effectively served the interests of public and private building owners and developers in San Diego, Riverside, Orange and Los Angeles Counties. KCM Group’s multi-disciplinary approach delivers customized solutions to our clients in government, commercial, tribal, education, non-profit and residential sectors. From inception to completion, we mitigate risk, control costs, expedite permitting, provide document control, and maintain timelines to achieve success for our clients.

Contact Gordon Kovtun at gkovtun@kcmgroup.net or Tony Norton at tnorton@kcmgroup.net to inquire about how we can assist you with your next project.