Orange County’s Credit Union, Santa Ana, Calif.

May 7, 2003

SANTA ANA, Calif. – What’s the worst building situation you can imagine? How about having the project partially erected before the client, architect and contractor end up in a lawsuit?
For the folks at the Orange County’s Credit Union in Santa Ana, Calif., there’s nothing imaginary about it. Their dreams of having a new office building and adjoining branch facility ground to a halt as litigation replaced construction.
The matter is still in court – but rather than give up on what had already been completed, the credit union opted to bring in a new architect and a new contractor to finish the job. They, in turn, revised the plan, including plenty of natural stone in the interiors and facades of both structures.
The end result: The credit union occupied its newly completed space last October; employees love the look the stone gives the structures; and plans are underway to incorporate the same look in the construction of future branch offices.
Two years ago, probably no one would have forecast such a happy ending for the project, least of all the credit-union’s officials. Katherine Busse, the credit union’s vice president, is reluctant to talk much about what prompted the organization to begin building a new headquarters, or the reasons for the suit involving the original architect and contractor,
She acknowledges that one of the issues does center on the façade for the two structures, with an original design calling for an EIFS (exterior-insulation finishing systems). Consequently, when the Irvine, Calif.-based architectural firm of LPA Inc. was brought in to complete the project, coming up with a new façade was a concern.
Craig Shulman, the project manager for LPA, says that when his company started work on the project in June 2001, the two structures were approximately 50-percent finished, and that the exterior skins would have to be removed.
“It created some interesting challenges for us,” Shulman says. “One of them was that it was a given the exterior skin would come off, so we had to come up with a new skin for the buildings.”
Further complicating the situation is that EIFS is a lightweight system, so the new exterior would have to be done without creating significant structural problems.
Shulman took the step of asking the clients what they might want to see on the exterior, and then suggested they spend a day driving around Orange County to look at building exteriors that appealed to them.
“We went and we looked and we liked stone,” says Busse. “We took pictures and showed them what we liked, and then LPA came back with some suggestions.”
Knowing the clients’ interest in stone, Shulman contacted Gail Kelly, an architectural sales rep for Anaheim, Calif.-based SpecCeramics Inc. The company specializes in working with architects on commercial projects, and Kelly works with LPA on a regular basis. In this case, she explains the project had some very particular needs in a stone.
“They had an existing floor on the interior, so they had some strict parameters as to how thick that could be,” she says. “At the same time, they wanted to be able to use a veneer on the exterior to keep costs down and meet the building’s structural needs.”
Kelly, in turn, suggested a rough-finished European limestone. While admitting the cost of importing the cut-to-order stone was actually less than buying an American product, she says the real selling point was the stone’s unique density.
“It’s one of the most-dense limestones on the market,” Kelly says. “It’s unusual to have a limestone with less than one-percent absorption. This one has five colors, and all but one have less than one percent. It had enough density to use as a veneer, plus it’s strong enough for the foot traffic in a commercial use like this.”
Shulman was already working on another project using the stone – although mainly in an interior application. He was able to show the clients that example, and they agreed, enthusiastically.
“Craig said, ‘What do you think of this one?’” says Busse. “We said, ‘Sure, let’s try it.’”
Shulman agrees that the stone was a good choice for the project.
“We selected it initially because of the way it looked,” he says. “Fortunately, it met the other criteria we were working from. There were a lot of reasons on which we could have based our decision, and the stone worked really well.”
Shulman explains that the limestone – in 5/16” cut in 6”, 8” and 10” widths and random lengths for the walls and flagstone for the flooring – was utilized for several purposes. Along with the buildings’ exteriors, the stone also went into some exterior paving around the buildings, in the floors of both lobbies and as a primary wall in the main entryways.
Newport Beach, Calif.-based Swinerton Builders was hired as the general contractor for the revamped building, and project manager Jerry Mejia says – aside from being hired to take on a project that was partially completed – the job was a pretty normal one.
He says the exterior installation of the limestone didn’t generate appreciable problems, because the stone tiles were simply applied over a dryvit base coat.
“It was just like it was shown on the drawings,” he says.
However, he says some scheduling challenges occurred because the installers were working in an ashlar pattern that needed to be done to the elevations of the building’s seismic joints.
“It was scheduled in sequence, so we would have elevations done,” Mejia says. “Otherwise, it was like putting blocks on the wall. The floors were like putting down flagstones. None of it was too tricky, and the buildings came out pretty nice. I think it’s especially a nice exterior texture.”
Torrance, Calif.-based MJ Tile served as the masonry subcontractor for the project, and owner Mike Jeremic says he, too, is pleased with the results.
Jeremic says as many as six men worked on the project for approximately six months, mainly because of the scheduling situation mentioned by Mejia. However, he says it was an easy installation.
“Everything was pre-measured, so it doesn’t take a lot of skill to put it on,” Jeremic says. “We did use a very-high-strength adhesive to maintain the exterior, but that was already in the specs. We just followed those, and it came out right.”
He says a big part of that was due to the selection of the European limestone for the project.
“I’m not always a big fan of stone, but this was really nice,” he says. “It’s an amazingly beautiful stone and it’s real pleasant to work with it. This was one of the easiest jobs I’ve done.”
LPA’s Shulman and the credit union’s Busse say they’re both pretty pleased with the finished job, too.
“It was tough, but it’s a great project,” says Shulman. “The buildings both came out wonderfully, people are pleased with the way they look and the way they function. Even though the process has been long and frustrating, I think they’re pretty happy with their buildings.”
Busse affirms that. She says she’s heard only positive comments about both buildings. And, credit union officials are so pleased with the stone that as the organization goes forward it intends to use stone in future branch buildings.
“It’s not like a logo, but it’s become a part of our brand,” Busse says. “It’s allowed us to build an image, and in the future we want our members to recognize that when you go to an Orange County’ Credit Union office, you can expect to see this stone.”

Client: Orange County’s Credit Union, Santa Ana, Calif.
Designer: LPA Inc., Irvine, Calif.
Contractor: Swinerton Builders, Newport Beach, Calif.
Stone Supplier: SpecCeramics Inc., Anaheim, Calif.
Masonry Subcontractor: MJ Tile, Torrance, Calif.