Construction has been completed and leasing is nearly finished at Saich Way Station, a sleek 15,650 sq. ft. retail center in a prime, high-traffic area just off Stevens Creek Boulevard between Target and Whole Foods Market in Cupertino.

The busy location in Cupertino’s desirable “Heart of the City” area and within walking distance of Apple’s many offices has quickly attracted top tenants such as Vitamin Shoppe, T-Mobile USA, The Melt, and Blast 825° Pizza — resulting in all but 840 sq. ft. of space being leased. With development wrapping up, the retail center has now been listed for sale through widely respected real estate brokerage firm, Marcus & Millichap.

“Saich Way Station is ideally located in a city with a well-deserved international reputation,” said Tom Purtell, chief operating officer of developer, Borelli Investment Company. “Cupertino is the home of Apple’s headquarters and has many attractive community amenities, such as outstanding public schools, neighborhood parks and acclaimed De Anza College. Together with the Class A retail center’s impressive client list, this will make for what we expect to be a strong sales environment for Saich.”

Rising from the Ashes

The Saich Way Station development is a story of transforming bad news into good for the community. In July of 2008, sparked by a fire in the Bombay Oven restaurant, a small retail center occupying the current 1.29-acre site burned to the ground.

After a time, the owners approached Borelli Investment Company about rebuilding. Years of seeing the project through the detailed planning and approval process paid off — with construction starting in 2014, and the first tenant, anchor Vitamin Shoppe, an international health and wellness retailer, opening for business in the spring of 2015. Other tenants soon followed, including:

• The Melt — A rapidly growing chain of fast-casual restaurants that offers gourmet burgers, grilled cheese sandwiches, salads, and more
• Blast 825° Pizza — A quick-fired pizza restaurant chain known for creating custom pizzas in just three minutes
• T-Mobile USA — A national provider of wireless voice, messaging and data services
• H&R Block — The world’s largest tax services provider with approximately 12,000 company-owned and franchise locations in all 50 states
• Site for Sore Eyes — The preeminent retail optical brand in the Bay Area, with 40 locations
• TheCoderSchool — An innovative after-school, drop-off program for kids interested in learning to write computer code

Quality, Environmentally Friendly Construction

Saich Way Station features a modern profile with a low roofline, ample glass, attention-getting awnings, and stylish lighting — making it a perfect fit for such an upscale area. Working in close cooperation with city planners and other officials, general contractor SiliconX Construction incorporated numerous environmentally friendly, California Green features, such as a sophisticated drainage system that contains all runoff on-site — except in the case of a 100-year rain event — plus orchard-sized shade trees.

The center is pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly — with broad walkways, outdoor seating areas and convenient bike racks. Well-chosen paving stones and decorative tree grates provide added refinements to the center. Each store offers plenty of parking at the door — so retailers can attract and serve their share of the 30,000 vehicles that pass by daily on busy Stevens Creek Boulevard.

SiliconX Construction has also handled the custom tenant improvements as each retailer prepares its space for occupancy. Heritage Bank provided the construction loan for the project.

Marcus & Millichap Accepting Sales Offers

With only one small unit remaining — a highly visible, easily accessible end-cap space on the building’s far end — Saich Way Station has been listed for sale. Well-known broker Marcus & Millichap is currently accepting offers, and expects significant interest not only from U.S. groups, but also from international buyers.

Tenants interested in the final space at Saich Way Station can reach Randol Mackley of SRS at (408) 216-2316, or via email at randol.mackley@srsre.com. Prospective buyers can contact Vince Schwab at Marcus & Millichap at 415-625-2171 or vince.shwab@marcusmillichap.com.

For additional information about Saich Way Station, please contact Larry Bengiveno, vice president of Borelli Investment Company, at (408) 453-4700, or email larry@borelli.com.

About Borelli Investment Company

Now in its 61st year in business, Borelli Investment Company is one of the oldest commercial real estate firms serving the Santa Clara Valley, Central Valley and Sacramento areas. The company provides a full range of commercial real estate services — from development and asset management to land sales and property management services — as well as general contracting through its SiliconX Construction affiliate. More information about Borelli Investment Company’s services may be obtained by calling (408) 453-4700 or visiting www.borellli.com.

About SiliconX Construction

SiliconX Construction is a full-service general contractor that provides a wide array of value-focused construction services to clients throughout Northern California. Specialties include ground-up construction, major renovations, tenant improvements, and facilities maintenance. For more information, call Tony Gonzales at (408) 418-0099, or e-mail tony@borelli.com.  Or visit siliconxconstruction.com.

About Marcus & Millichap

With over 1,500 investment professionals located throughout the United States and Canada, Marcus & Millichap is a leading specialist in commercial real estate investment sales, financing, research, and advisory services. Founded in 1971, the firm closed more than 8,700 transactions in 2015 with a value of approximately $37.8 billion. The company has perfected a powerful system for marketing properties that combines investment specialization, local market expertise, the industry’s most comprehensive research, state-of-the-art technology, and relationships with the largest pool of qualified investors. To learn more, please visit: www.MarcusMillichap.com.

Office remodeling is challenging and expensive, yet occasional. According to the stats, home and office remodeling has increased by 5.4% since 2010. Office remodeling not only changes the personality of your office but it also motivates the employees, adds functionality to the workspace, attracts new clients, and adds value to the property. However, the first step for initiating your office-remodeling project is to create a budget.

Consider the Costs of Flooring

Flooring defines the personality of your office. Wooden or tiled flooring is ideal for workspace. However, it is necessary that the flooring is comfortable to walk. Different types of floorings have different costs, ranging from $473 to $1310. Visit the market with your contractor to find out the suitable flooring for your office. If you are on budget then replace the flooring of most used areas only, including doorways, passages, and stairs.

Painting and Wall Art

Ideally, wall art creates a dramatic look and personality to your office. However, choosing a nice color for your office paint is a cheaper way. You can also use different types of wall paints and designs to save the cost of wallpaper along with adding motivation to the workplace. The price of professional paint costs around $250 to $650.

Improve the Lighting

The productivity and comfort of your employees and clients largely depends on the lighting. Too much brightness or dim light causes discomfort. Professional lights like energy efficient bulbs are better for offices than wall lamps. However, you can install wall lamps and small chandeliers in the meeting room to add royalty and confidence. The cost of lighting ranges from $95 to $350 for small offices. Consider energy-efficient lights to save the cost of bills in long run.

Make Windows More Functional

Replacement of windows is beneficial only if you make them more functional. Energy-efficient windows cut the electricity bills up to 35% per annum. Tinted energy-efficient windows reflect the dangerous UV lights but allow healthy sunlight to enter the workspace. These windows also improve the brightness in the rooms and reduce the requirement of artificial light. Installation of the simple windows costs around $350 to $750. Installation of energy-efficient windows is a little expensive than simple windows but it is also one time investment, and ranges from $650 to $1450.

Furnishings and Renovation Items

The cost of furnishings and renovation items completely depends on your choice. You can cut this cost up to 100%. However, furnishings, decoration, and renovation items are important to make the workplace a livable and more functional area. Average sized shelves cost from $250 and more. The desks cost from $450 and above.

Budgeting According to the Room Size

Remodeling of the entire office space is important for professional touch. However, you can reduce the costs by remodeling the important areas only. An office from 200-300 sq-ft space requires at least $850 or more for remodeling. A 400-500 sq-ft office requires at least $1,500, and a 500 sq-ft office requires at least $2000 for remodeling.

1. Measure the total area of the office and divide it into high-priority and less-priority areas.
2. Note down the required items of remodeling along with their costs.
3. Calculate the total estimated cost of remodeling.
4. Compare the cost with your estimated budget. If the total cost of remodeling is higher than your estimated budget then re-check the requirements of remodeling and cancel out the less-required items.
5. Calculate again to estimate the total cost of remodeling.

When preparing the budget, make sure to add at least 35% extra cost as a backup of your project. Remember that office remodeling is an occasional project and cutting out less-prioritized items may make you suffer a loss to some extent. Therefore, always prepare the budget carefully and re-check it as many times as possible to finalize a foolproof budget plan. For more information and consultation on office remodeling, contact us today!

In any type of project, specifically construction project, time management is crucial for success. For construction project managers, failing to meet the deadlines is a red flag for manager’s career. Moreover, the construction industry is already blacklisted for delays in completion of the projects. A planned and systematic schedule could help you save a lot of money and complete the project before the deadline successfully.

These dos and don’ts of time management in a construction project will be helpful even if you complete your projects on time.

Dos of Time Management

1.      Do Create a Detailed Plan

Many construction project managers fail to complete the project before deadline because they do not plan the project in detail. When planning your construction project, make sure to list down everything in detail, including micro projects and write down the estimated time to complete each project. This will help you create a timeline of activities.

2.      Do Motivate Your Crew

Motivation is exceptionally effective in keeping your crew on track and encouraging them to be more productive for your company. A motivated crew is potent to complete a project even before the deadline. Apart from encouraging your employees, set up a motivation plan including offering free food occasionally, starting the day with a quick motivational speech or quote, and mentioning the best workers of the day after the completion of a working day.

3.      Do Find Overlapping Spaces

The construction managers can overlap the activities on the site by putting multiple activities in progress simultaneously. The managers can find the overlapping activities while planning the project beforehand.

4.      Do Estimate Realistic Completion Time

It is ideal to complete a project at least two weeks before the deadline. However, it is your responsibility as a construction manager to find out the practicality of this dream. Make sure to estimate the practical time to complete a project.

Don’ts of Time Management

5.      Don’t Add too Many Restrictions and Conditions

It is the responsibility of the project managers to make sure that the project fulfills the essential construction and safety rules and regulations. For this, you may need to restrict the mobile phone usage on the site. However, do not impose too many conditions and restrictions as it results in de-motivating the crew.

6.      Don’t Ask For Updates Time and Again

The project managers should realize that asking for updates repeatedly may put pressure on the workers. It is important to share the updates with the crew before starting a working day. Assign the responsibilities and get updates only once or twice a day. Make sure to evaluate the behaviors. If you find a procrastinator in the crew, do ask them about the updates more than other workers on the site.

7.      Don’t Forget Smart Management

Accurate digital workforce training, planning, and updating is ideal to manage the projects smartly. Technology helps save time, money, and hard work, and brings a lot of other benefits pertaining to the nature of the job. Smart management includes the usage of project management tools, digital automation of the estimates, sharing the plans with the crew, and using construction management apps.

Completing your projects on time not only helps in saving costs and time but it also helps in building good market reputation and increasing your industrial value.

Let us know how we might help you – contact SiliconX Construction today.

A successful construction project does not revolve around just planning and execution. The project managers have to own projects like their own babies and implement effective policies to make it a successful construction project. The managers need to be thoughtful, innovative, technical, and unbiased when converting their efforts into practical success.

These 5 keys will help you manage and complete every construction project successfully.

1.     Free Flow of Communication

Free communication from stakeholders to suppliers and workers is essential to ensure that you pass the instructions in the most accurate manner. There are many benefits of practicing free flow of communication. Firstly, it saves a lot of time. There are no job repetitions. It helps build a sense and practice of teamwork among employees. The workers realize their importance and give their fullest to complete their daily tasks.

2.     Continuous and Innovative Planning

Most of the construction projects do not complete in their estimated time. Common problems include absence of employees, lack of supplies, and mechanical problems. Exceptional cases include incompetent or quarrelsome workers and change in deadlines or requirements by the client. In either case, it is the responsibility of project manager to make sure that the project is completed before the deadline ends.

Continuous and innovative planning helps unfold the next stages of the project and find clever ways to complete the jobs while saving more time. Assigning more workers on one task and keeping a backup of supplies are good techniques to escape common construction project management problems. Again, it is ideal to stay in touch with the clients.

3.     Pay Attention to Tasks on Site

Some project managers prefer spending time on their desks and going through the daily progress reports only. But as a project manager, you also need to be present on site and be attentive to observe the operations. Ask questions, establish links with the workers, and offer them tips and ideas to complete their jobs in lesser time. It also helps retain the clients for good.

4.     Use Online Tools to Calculate and Monitor the Costs

The costs of a project are calculated in advance. The contract of your project contains a clause that describes the range of extra costs. In worst cases, the cost may exceed the range described in the clause. You can use online tools and calculators to keep a track of the projects costs and create estimates by shuffling the costs of different projects. Completing a construction project within the cost given by the client is a success in itself.

5.     Implementation of Automated Reporting System

Some projects include only 50 workers on site. In contrast, some projects include more than 1000 workers on site. Apart from workers, there are also many other people involved in a project. As a project manager, you cannot afford to spend time replying hundreds of emails a day. Implementing an automated reporting system will help clients, suppliers and workers to directly report to you and receive the next instructions.

Along with all this, you also need to be a dynamic team player in order to complete the project successfully, professionally, and timely.

Silicon X Construction has been providing excellent quality and service to its Bay Area customers for years.  Why not give us a call at 408.520.2450 or send us a message to find out how we can make your next project shine?  We look forward to hearing from you.