15 May 2023

Pankow Celebrates 60th Anniversary

As Pioneers of Design-Build and Collaborative Delivery, Pankow Positions for Continued Growth and Innovation for the Next 60 Years.

Pasadena, CA – Shaping the skylines in California for sixty years is an accomplishment worth celebrating, especially for a company focused on finding unique ways to solve some of the industry’s most complex challenges.

“Throughout the 2023 calendar year, we’re celebrating 60 years—reflecting on where we’ve been and the exciting new places we’re headed,” said Pankow President, Dave Eichten. “Pankow was built on a strong purpose to solve the needs of our clients and bring forward solutions that will help transform our industry,” said Eichten. “The organization has a stellar foundation and reputation that we are excited to build upon while consistently delivering exceptional business results,” said Eichten.

Major Milestones

Industry Leadership Contributing to a Better Way to Build

Pankow achievements have helped define the construction industry, its practices, and professional organizations. Charles Pankow was one of the founding members of the Design Build Institute of America (DBIA), and Pankow has infused it with continual leadership for the past 30 years. Elton Murakami, Pankow Project Executive, currently serves as DBIA-WPR Chair for Los Angeles/Orange County chapter. Additionally, Pankow has offered 50 years of support and leadership in the American Concrete Institute (ACI), leading to numerous advances in structural concrete design and construction. Scott Anderson, Chairman of Pankow’s Board of Directors, is amongst ACI’s Fellows of the Institute, previously having served as Secretary and Chair for ACI 117, a member of the Board Advisory Committee on Sustainability, and Chair of the ACI Scholarship Council, helping to support the next generation of leaders for the concrete industry.

The Charles Pankow Foundation (www.pankowfoundation.org) was established in 2002, two years before the death of Charles Pankow. It is the nation’s only privately funded nonprofit dedicated to building innovation. Catalyzing industry innovation, the foundation has advanced scalable solutions to practical challenges faced by the full spectrum of the architecture, engineering, and construction industry. More than just a funding source, they bring deep industry insight to identifying critical research topics. Pankow has contributed to multiple research reports, publications, and tools, including the Integrated Project Delivery: An Action Guide for Leaders; Professionals Guide to Managing the Design-Build Phase of a Design-Build Project; Maximizing Success in Integrated Projects: An Owner’s Guide; BIM Project Execution Plan Guide: An Introduction to Those New to BIM; and most recently the EC3 Tool: An Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator.

All work product is publicly shared for collective use and the advancement of the industry at large.

Landmark Structures

On May 17^th, 1963, Design-Build innovator Charles Pankow launched his new company, determined to excel in concrete construction, while he experimented and refined the Design-Build method. Now 60 years later, Pankow has constructed thousands of structures nationwide and is nationally recognized for its ability to introduce and advance better building methods.

In Southern California, Pankow has shaped the greater Los Angeles skyline, providing preconstruction and construction services for the Metropolis Phase 2 Residential Tower 3 (2019), a 56-story high-rise residential concrete structure totaling 853,309 SF. Pankow also served as the general contractor on the 12-acre Grand Park (2012), an expansion and renovation of the historic Civil Mall and pedestrian connection from the renowned Music Center to the Los Angeles City Hall. Additionally, Pankow constructed the Gateway Center Transit Station—East Portal (1995), one of its largest projects and a monumental archway through which travelers enter the city’s transit hub for buses, subways, Amtrak, light rail, and commuter rail.

In Northern California, Pankow has built hundreds of projects ranging from large-scale developments to complex special projects throughout the Bay Area. Notably, the Richmond Civic Center was a large-scale Design-Build, Public-Private Partnership totaling 184,000 SF of seismic upgrades and 140,000 SF of site improvements. In an ongoing relationship with the City and County of San Francisco, Pankow completed the San Francisco Public Safety Campus (2015), the city’s first CM/GC project housing the San Francisco Police Department Command Center, district police station and neighborhood fire station. Pankow also partnered with the city on seismic upgrades and improvements to the San Francisco War Memorial Veterans Building (2016), the home of arts and veterans organizations, and the Herbst Theatre.

Additionally, Pankow has completed hundreds of seismic upgrades, historic preservations, tenant improvements, and buildouts across California, tackling complex projects that help clients realize their goals.

A sampling of current work underway includes Design-Build projects for the Los Angeles Community College District at Mission College, Pierce College and Valley College, a large-scale seismic renovation project at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, and Design-Build projects at Burbank Airport Replacement Passenger Terminal and the California Institute of Technology’s Center for Quantum Precision Measurement.

Future Direction

As Pankow celebrates the past 60 years, the company looks to the future excitedly, well positioned for continued growth and innovation in the next 60 years. “Pankow will remain nimble and ready to embrace change,” said Mike Concannon, Pankow's CEO. “We are committed to strategically equip the organization to stay ahead of the complex challenges of our industry,” he says. “As the industry continues to evolve beyond the boundaries of construction as usual, Pankow’s leadership will keep us at the forefront of our client’s needs for years to come,” said Concannon.

About Pankow

Pankow Builders (www.pankow.com) is pleased to celebrate 60 years as an industry leader. Pankow has benefited clients through creative problem-solving, engineering expertise, and construction innovation. Pioneers of Design-Build and Integrated Project Delivery, we provide Design-Build, Design-Assist, general contracting, and tenant improvement services and specialize in complex projects and work in occupied facilities. We apply new construction tools, processes, and technologies, such as BIM Planning and Execution, and Virtual Design and Construction, Lean Delivery, and Alternative Energy Solutions – delivering a complete range of high-quality construction services to clients in the office, retail, hospitality, residential, healthcare, education, tenant improvement, and mixed-use market sectors. Pankow serves private and public developers, corporations, healthcare providers, universities, and institutional and not-for-profit entities. Founded in 1963, Pankow has 60 years of continuous presence in California in Los Angeles, Pasadena, Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose.