Rudolph and Sletten Inc. is part of the team building Red Hawk Casino, an Indian gaming casino in Placerville, Calif., that is unlike anything in the area.

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KHS&S Contractors Marelich Mechanical Co. Inc. Takehara Landscape John Jackson Masonry Airco Mechanical Capitol City Tile & Marble Teichert Cupertino Electric Inc. George Family Enterprises

Despite the general market slowdown, California is seeing a boom of large construction projects. There is an abundance of casino construction in the state, fulfilling a demand from both residents and visitors for more entertainment and gaming venues.

Red Hawk Casino promises to blend Las Vegas-style entertainment with the natural beauty that Northern Cali­fornia offers.

General con­­tractor Rudolph and Sletten Inc. of Redwood City, a wholly owned subsidiary of Perini Corp., is building Red Hawk Casino in partnership with developer and management firm Lakes Entertainment Inc. of Minnesota and owner Shingle Springs Tribal Gaming Au­thority/Shingle Springs Band of Miw­ok Indians.

Rudolph and Sletten’s Sacramento off­ice, located in Roseville, is spearheading the casino project with an expected completion date of December 2008.

Located in Placerville, Calif., about 35 miles from Sac­ramento, this Indian gaming casino is nothing like the others in the area, Senior Project Manager How­ard N. Mills says. “It is comparable to the casinos you see in Vegas,” he notes. “It will have veneer finishes from Italy, an elaborate ceiling system, cutting-edge gaming eq­uipment and premium restaurant venues.

“‘I think custom­ers are going to be happily surprised when they walk into this first-class facility.”

The three-story casino is 278,000 square feet, with app­roximately 90,000 square feet of gaming space. Some of its notable features include:

• 2,000 slot machines;
• 75 gaming tables;
• High stakes gaming room;
• Six restaurants, including a 24/7 full-service employee restaurant;
  
• A number of gaming floor bars – one with a stage;
• A retail center;
• Childcare facility and arcade with an 11,000-square-foot children’s interactive area; and
• A water feature that cascades down the hillside in front of the casino entrance.

In addition, Rudolph and Sletten, in con­junction with Clark Pacific of Sacra­mento, is building an eight-story, 3,100-space covered parking garage, which will be connected to the casino’s upper levels. Rudolph and Sletten is also constructing a waste treatment facility with a capacity to store 3 million gallons of treated, re­cycled water. A separate 500,000-gallon potable water storage tank is being in­stal­l­ed by Auburn Constructors Inc.

Working Side-by-Side
Although Red Hawk’s plans and specs were completed more than five years ago, Rudolph and Sletten was not granted acc­ess to the site until June 2007, and even that was limited, according to Mills.

Gain­ing full access a month later, Mills says, the company had to quickly address issues, such as uncovering the existing site conditions. “Within the short period of time coming on to the site, we encountered a num­ber of challenges that arise when you build a casino on a mountain,” he recalls. “Con­struc­tion is occurring on a hillside de­sign­ed with a 1:1 slope with a 60-foot elevation change.

“We were tasked with in­stall­ing an in­tricate and complicated foundation system down this slope while we have to provide access to heavy equipment. This required us to stabilize the hill­side with shotcrete and soil-nailing both for the safety of construction activities, as well as to provide permanent stabilization after we are gone. We had to do that over an approximately 65,000-square-foot surface area, something that was not originally part of the design and could not have been determined until blasting had exposed the existing conditions.”

Red Hawk’s grading package was aw­ard­ed to Sacramento, Calif.-based Teich­ert Construction, which processed more than 450,000 cubic yards of dirt, rock and soil. The company also performed site utility, earthwork and retaining structures throughout the 160-acre rancheria.

All About Teamwork
Teamwork, Mills notes, is key to undertaking a project like this. “The combination of good teamwork internally and ex­ternally has contributed to the successes of this project so far,” Mills asserts. “We’re doing all this work on a fully operating rancheria, so we have to work side-by-side.

“It’s about keeping constant communication with everyone that is on the pro­ject site to ensure that there are no sur­prises,”?he adds.  

Cumming Corp., based in Tem­ecula, Calif. serves as the on-site construction manager for the project, and Atlan­ta, Ga.-based Baker Barrios Architect serv­ed as the interior designer.

Working With Experts
Many of the subcontractors working on the Red Hawk Casino project have extensive experience with other gaming and entertainment venues in Las Vegas. Dry­wall subcontractor KHS&S installed more than 100 miles of cold formed metal. They also performed the exterior EIFS finishes work at the casino.

“They have a prominent reputation doing Vegas work,” Mills states, “and we have subcontracted them on other gaming work in Southern Cal­ifornia.”

Quality Cabinets and Fixture Co., San Diego – also well known for its work within the gaming industry – is performing the substantial interior millwork pack­age. In addition, Marelich Mechanical out of Hayward, Calif., is responsible for plum­bing and HVAC, while San Jose, Calif.-bas­ed Cupertino Electric Inc. is in charge of the electrical work.

With more than 9,000 light fixtures to install, Mills notes, Red Hawk will have enough power to ser­vice 300 homes. In the event of a pow­er failure, an emergency back up system makes the entire Casino self-sufficient and prevents any disruption.

Stepping In
California Construction ranked Red Hawk  as one of the top-10 largest projects in Cal­ifornia, so Rudolph and Sletten has to live up to a lot of expectations.

With its ex­pertise, however, the Red Hawk project is a perfect fit, Mills says. “We had prior experiences in the gaming work with relations to our parent company Perini Corp.,” he explains. “Per­ini has more than $9 billion worth of work in Vegas right now. Rudolph and Sletten has always been diversified, but we gained experience of casino projects by working side-by-side with Perini on some previous gaming and hospitality projects in Southern California.

“We got our foot in the door with a num­ber of gaming projects,” Mills adds, noting that Rudolph and Sletten completed about half a dozen smaller casino projects prior to Red Hawk.

Previous gaming-related projects include gaming floor expansions and high-stakes retrofits, with restaurant and bar additions.

The Red Hawk project was originally negotiated with Perini. After Perini acq­uired Rudolph and Sletten as a wholly owned subsidiary in October 2005, Rud­olph and Sletten took over the project.

At almost 80 percent complete, Mills says, there is a lot to be excited about.         “We’re working closely with the Shin­gle Springs Tribal Gaming Authority and Lakes Entertainment,” he notes, “and we’re looking forward to when they open the doors. We are proud of the project this team has created and I’m sure it’s going to be a beautiful property.”

Solid Expertise
Coming up on its fifth decade of service, Rudolph and Sletten has been a leader and pace setter in the California construction industry. “We’ve been pretty dynamic with our growth,” Mills adds, noting that the company will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2010. “Our philosophy revolves around strong ethics and stellar pre-construction services that em­phasize budgets and sche­dules.

“We combined these capabilities with a strong safety record. Getting the job done on time and within budget attributes to our historic success. The diversity of projects we work on keeps us competitive and knowledgeable within the market.”

Rudolph and Sletten is also known for projects such as biotech laboratories, medical facilities, corporate campuses and educational institutions.

The company says it has built its reputation based on “honest dealing, fair pricing and a commitment to quality.” Because of this, the company’s port­folio consists of 85 percent repeat clients. “That type of relationship is un­ique and separates us from our competitors,” Mills stresses.

With solid construction methods, the company says it deals with market chan­ges by staying innovative. “Adapting to the needs of the industry is how Rud­olph and Sletten stays on top of cutting-edge technology while still providing quality-oriented general contracting and construction management services,” Mills explains.