Author: Fernando Arteaga
Taking on the Corporate Challenge for First Tee – Central Valley
Being a successful company goes well beyond our daily operations. For Huff Construction, it’s also about giving back and supporting the communities in which we live and operate.
We had the opportunity to once again support First Tee – Central Valley in their Corporate Challenge Fundraiser event. First Tee is a youth development organization that enables kids to build the strength of character that empowers them through a lifetime of new challenges. By seamlessly integrating the game of golf with a life skills curriculum, they create active learning experiences that build inner strength, self-confidence, and resilience that kids can carry to everything they do.
Pictured is Garrett Ardis, Project Manager at Huff Construction, participating in the event. This successful fundraiser raised nearly $130k!
Project Video: Element Hotel – San Jose, CA
We are excited to share this video of the recently completed Element Hotel by Westin in San Jose, CA.
The Huff Team completed this hotel in about 26 months which includes the hiatus caused by the shelter-in-place orders due to the pandemic.The Element Hotel has 175 rooms throughout its 5-stories, encompassing 115,000 square feet. Some common amenities for this hotel will include an open-air pool, fitness center, meeting room, bar, lounge, market, and rooms with fully equipped kitchens. The Element Hotel brand has redefined the longer-stay experience with an outdoor-inspired design philosophy that is clean, modern, and bright. The exterior of this contemporary hotel is clad with black and white metal panels and features corten steel to add bronze-tone highlights. In addition to the hotel’s clean and modern design, it’s also built with sustainability in mind to achieve LEED Gold certification
Please visit the project page to see more of our team’s progress.
Completed Project: Element Hotel – San Jose, CA
The Huff Team completed construction for the 175-Room Element Hotel in San Jose, CA.
This 5-story hotel encompasses 115,000 square feet and features an open-air pool. Some amenities for this hotel include a fitness center, meeting room, bar, lounge, market, and rooms with fully equipped kitchens.
The Element Hotel brand has redefined the longer-stay experience with an outdoor-inspired design philosophy that is clean, modern, and bright. The exterior of this contemporary hotel is clad with black and white metal panels and features corten steel to add bronze-tone highlights. In addition to the hotel’s clean and modern design, it’s built with sustainability in mind to achieve LEED Gold certification.
Please visit the project page to see more of our team’s progress.
Huff Metal Building – Beeler Warehouse
The Huff Team is hard at work building a new 20,938 square foot pre-manufactured Huff Metal Building.
The facility will be used by BEELER INDUSTRIES, INC. as an office and warehouse space.
The office encompasses 7,134 square feet across its two floors. Floor-to-ceiling storefront windows are installed at the front of the building allowing natural light to illuminate the open office space. In addition, there are eight overhead doors for flexible storage options.
Please visit the project page to see more of our team’s progress.
Huff Employee Spotlight: Meet Larry Nelson, Senior Project Manager
Name: Larry Nelson
Title: Senior Project Manager
Hire Date: 1997
Where are you from?
I grew up in Salinas, CA and moved to the San Jose area right after graduating from high school. I have since moved to the Turlock area and have been living here with my family since 1987.
How did you get into the construction industry?
Well, right out of high school, I got a position as a carpenter at one of my friend’s construction companies. One of the most memorable projects working as a carpenter was a remodel for one of Alfred Hitchcock’s homes. I also worked on schools, banks, stadiums, and medical facilities.
What makes you excited to go to work in the morning?
I am always excited to come to work but what makes me most excited is working with our clients and fixing any issues or changes that come up on a project.
What’s your favorite part about working at Huff?
One of my favorite things about my position is having the ability to problem-solve. I like to work on large and complex projects because of the amount of problem-solving that is involved. I enjoy accomplishing goals as a team and working with our repeat clients.
What is your favorite project that you have built?
It’s difficult to choose one project but I really enjoyed building Samaritan Village in Hughson, CA. I have always wanted to build a mall and Samaritan Village is in a sense, a mall. It has a post office, movie theater, chapel, stores, barbershop, salon, assisted living space, and more. I also enjoyed working on the Mercy UC Davis Cancer Center in Merced, CA because it involved building a room for a linear accelerator. Some of the walls were 7 feet thick of solid concrete!
What has been your proudest moment at Huff?
I have had a few moments when I felt really proud. One proud moment is when I earned a promotion from a superintendent to a project manager back in 2005. Another proud moment working here is when my son, Kyle, started working for Huff in 2014. Anytime a project that I am working on comes to completion I like to take a step back and appreciate all of the hard work done by the Huff Team and the great subcontractors that work with us. It’s truly a team effort when it comes to building.
What sets Huff employees apart from people working at other companies? Are there certain personality traits or skills that do well at Huff?
What really sets us apart is that the owners of Huff Construction, Gary Huff and Brad Ardis, are deeply involved in every aspect of the company and they truly care about their employees and clients. They shape our company culture by setting high standards and leading by example. Their leadership translates to employees with an incredible work ethic and attitude. We truly work as a team and nobody is trying to climb over somebody else to get to the top which is prevalent in larger corporate settings.
What are your favorite things to do outside of work?
I like to work on things around my house, fishing for bass, and I also love traveling with my wife. We really enjoyed traveling to Thailand for one of our son’s wedding and also traveling to Italy which we visited in 2018. I look forward to going on many more trips.
Completed Project: Thermo Fisher Scientific
There are thousands of details that go into building a state-of-the-art facility like the Thermo Fisher Scientific facility.
Check out some of the detailed shots from the Huff Team’s recent work at the 40,000 square foot repository we built for Thermo Fisher Scientific.
This project involved transforming a concrete tilt-up warehouse shell into a climate-controlled space where pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and other biological samples are preserved and stored.
Please visit the project page to see more of our team’s progress
Project Update: Archway Commons Affordable Housing Project – Modesto, Ca
The Huff team is hard at work building the Archway Commons II affordable housing project in Modesto, CA.
Check out these aerial photos taken at sunset that show the progress of the affordable housing development.
The ninth and final apartment building is framed up and ready for the pre-manufactured roof trusses to be installed. This is the second phase of the Archway Commons Affordable Housing Community in Modesto, CA. The Huff team built the first phase of Archway Commons back in 2014 for EAH Housing. Our team also had the opportunity of working for EAH Housing when we built the Avena Bella Affordable Housing Community in Turlock, CA. We are proud to be working for such a great repeat client building much-needed affordable housing in the communities we live and work in.
Please visit the project page to see more of our team’s progress
Huff Team Work Anniversaries
We are thankful for the following team members who recently celebrated their work anniversaries with our company:
Michelle Hayes, Project Engineer | 5 Years
Alex Aja, Project Engineer | 3 Years
Michelle Ardis, HR Manager | 2 Years
We are proud to provide our employees with growth opportunities within the company. It is important for us to build a well-rounded team and create a positive work environment. Thank you all for your dedication and hard work. We appreciate you!
We are always looking for talented individuals who can grow with our team. If you’re interested in starting or advancing your career, we hope you consider Huff Construction.
Check out our careers page to view open positions.
Complete Project: Thermo Fisher Scientific Tenant Improvements
The Huff Team recently completed tenant improvements for our client Thermo Fisher Scientific.
This project involved transforming a 40,000 square foot concrete-tilt warehouse shell into a large climate-controlled repository where pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and other biological samples are preserved and stored. In addition to the repository, we demised the space to include a temperature-controlled pallet rack/storage room. Our work also includes the buildout of a shipping and receiving dock with an equipment pad, several office spaces, a conference room, and bathrooms.
The repository has an impressive HVAC system including two 60-ton units that cycle on and off to maintain a constant temperature and humidity throughout the space. The HVAC system also features custom-made “Thermo Fisher Red” duct socks that evenly disperse the cold air throughout the repository. The temperature-controlled storage space features four 4-ton units that run 100% of the time