Livermore, CA
4771 Arroyo Vista Avenue
Scope/Solutions
The one-story commercial building at 4771 Arroyo Vista Avenue is a concrete tilt-up structure with a panelized wood-framed roof built in the late 1980s. Prior to purchasing the property, Black Mountain Properties commissioned another consultant to perform a due diligence survey that identified seismic vulnerabilities and recommended partially upgrading the roof-to-wall connections. Black Mountain Properties engaged SGH to design a voluntary retrofit.
SGH designed a retrofit to upgrade the roof-to-wall anchorage and improve the building’s seismic performance, allowing the new owner to avoid earthquake insurance. Highlights of our work include:
- Providing the owner with retrofit options for varying levels of seismic performance
- Recognizing that the concrete strength of the tilt-up walls, which was not available, could significantly influence the retrofit design
- Reducing the required scope of work by incorporating existing wall anchorage components into the anchorage design and executing a concrete testing program per ASCE 41 to determine the actual concrete strength
- Developing alternate strengthening for the roof-to-wall connections to avoid disrupting a tenant’s continuous food processing operations.
Designing a complete wall anchorage system to comply with ACSE 41 and costing less than the other consultant’s original estimate for a partial retrofit
Project Summary
Solutions
New Construction
Services
Structures | Applied Science & Research
Markets
Commercial
Client(s)
Black Mountain Properties
Specialized Capabilities
Seismic Engineering | Repair & Strengthening | Physical Testing
Key team members
Additional Projects
West
499 Illinois Street
SGH provided structural and building enclosure engineering services for 500,000 sq ft biotechnology center project that consists of two five-story buildings over two levels of parking with flanking retail and office spaces at grade level.
West
Williams-Sonoma at Union Square
Once known as Bullock & Jones men’s clothier, this 18,000 sq ft cast-in-place concrete building was reconstructed after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Williams-Sonoma wanted to create a dramatic effect with a new central atrium, which required major modifications to the existing structure.




