BUSINESS INSURANCE: State Fund opens $77 million Solano campus

BUSINESS INSURANCE: State Fund opens $77 million Solano campus
by D. Ashley Furness
Business Journal Staff Reporter
Nov. 17, 2008

VACAVILLE – Workers’ comp insurer State Compensation Insurance Fund has opened its new $77-million Vacaville campus, which is expected to earn a top-tier environmental building accreditation.

The project took nearly two years to complete and encompasses about 255,000 square feet in three buildings. The organization had originally included plans for two additional 85,000-square-foot buildings, but an official for the company said leaders do not plan to move forward with that construction at this time.

“There is still a chance those buildings could be started by 2011, but depending on the economy and other factors, those plans are undecided,” said spokesman Vicente Hernandez.

State Fund broke ground on the office in December 2006 with hopes of relocating about 1,200 employees to the 32-acre site. Currently, the office that officially opened Oct. 28 houses about 750 people, but the number could fluctuate. Mr. Hernandez said the company still has another 120,000-square-foot office in the county in Fairfield where it has a lease until 2011.

The site is part of the 416-acre Vaca Valley Business Park situated between Interstate 80 and Highway 505. Other large occupants include Genentech and Kaiser Permanente.

The office is the company’s 17th regional office and new “data center,” according to officials, though it will also house other service call and policy processing staff.

HOK provided architecture for the green campus, and Devon Construction of Milpitas was the builder. Mr. Hernandez said the building expects to receive silver rating from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design early next year.

Builders estimate that about 20 percent of the materials used for the building are recycled, and the parking lot includes 1,050 solar-panel shade structures. The interior is equipped with cork flooring; low-emitting adhesives and paints; and energy-efficient light fixtures, heating and cooling systems and other electrical equipment.

As part of LEED requirements, builders also diverted about 75 percent of construction waste to recycling facilities and included low-water-usage fixtures and irrigation systems. In total, the company received about $1 million in incentives from Pacific Gas & Electric for its energy-saving features.

The site includes priority parking for alternative energy vehicles and as well as electric charging stations.