Project completion hits differently when you realize it’s more than just the end of construction, it’s the beginning of what happens inside the space.
This week, we celebrated the ribbon-cutting of one of our recent projects in Palo Alto alongside our incredible clients, design partners, and the people who will soon bring this workplace to life every day.
For our team, moments like these represent thousands of hours of coordination, craftsmanship, problem-solving, and partnership. But the most rewarding part is knowing the space is now ready to support meaningful work, collaboration, and future growth.
We’re incredibly grateful to have played a role in this historic project. More to come soon, but here’s a sneak peek at the space!
📸: @garrybelinsky
For National Receptionist Day we want to take a moment to appreciate Cris Rosete. Cris has been the rockstar receptionist at GCI for the last 9 years, and our appreciation for her is endless. Beyond the countless day-to-day responsibilities she manages to help keep GCI running smoothly, Cris brings thoughtfulness and joy to everyone who walks through our doors, always greeting us with a welcoming spirit.
As the first face people see when they arrive, Cris plays an essential role as the connective tissue between teams, clients, vendors, and visitors. Helping everything stay organized, moving, and supported behind the scenes, she plays a huge role in keeping the wheels turning every day. More importantly, she does all of it with genuine care and positivity. She makes employees feel welcomed, clients feel valued, and visitors feel at ease.
And of course, Cris brings that same spirit to our Decathlon events, always cheering everyone on and lifting the team up. A (true) legend has it that at the last Decathlon she participated in, she held a seven-minute plank.
As @flagstar.bank expands its West Coast presence, we partnered with them to deliver their new downtown San Francisco location at California and Battery Street. In collaboration with @gensler_design , we created a space that blends open, welcoming client areas with private meeting suites to support everything from day-to-day banking to complex financial advisory.
The new space spans 6,400 SF across two floors designed to support 23 bankers and a fully immersive, concierge-style client experience.
Thank you to all our partners for making this another successful project!
GCI Team: Eva Truong, Dave Somera, Forest Gobble, Lucy Quion, Patrick Revetta
Architect: Gensler
Engineer: Meyers+ Engineers
Building Management: RedCo, Transwestern
Construction Management: Thompson Street Project Management
Photographer: Carlyn Strang
To celebrate Earth Day, a crew from our team spent the morning at Rockaway Beach to restore the local habitat with the Pacifica Beach Coalition.
With some sunshine and a great group, we rolled up our sleeves to clear invasive species, spread mulch, and help make space for native plants to thrive along the coastline. We also got a chance to learn about this year’s “animal of the year” — the Steelhead Trout — and its unique lifecycle.
We are grateful for the opportunity to give back in a hands-on way and make a small but meaningful impact on our local environment. 🌿
FEATURING, Jeremy crushing the invasive species (slide 2)
GCI’s sustainability team cares deeply about reducing waste and supporting the circular economy. We want to move from a linear model (extract-build-dispose) towards a circular model (use – recover- reuse or remake).
One of the most effective tools we use on our tenant improvement projects is manufacturer take back programs. These programs allow materials from interior demolition to go back to their manufacturing facilities to feed reclaimed content back into new products.
We are very proud to partner with manufacturers like @shawcontract Flooring with their ReTurned program for the take back of the carpet tiles, and @armstrongcommercialceilings for the take back of their mineral fiber ceiling tiles.
In 2025 alone, across our projects with interior demolition scopes, we returned more than 81,000 pounds of carpet tiles and ceiling tiles through manufacturer take back programs. By implementing waste reduction strategies like take back programs, we are helping our clients achieve reliable waste avoidance outcomes without adding complexity to their project. In turn, our clients can point to real, quantifiable material recovery outcomes that support their sustainability goals and company values!
Thank you to @interiordesignmag Magazine for highlighting our recent lobby at 680 Folsom in this issue showcasing 8 projects that are leading in sustainable design.
Our sustainability department works hard to ensure we're doing our part as contractors to prioritize efficiency, waste diversion, and sustainable practices across our projects. It’s rewarding to see that work recognized alongside other projects pushing the industry forward.
Architect: @nbbjdesign
GCI Team: James Buresh, Jenny Ha, Steve Sanchez, Tony Miller, Ray Soriano
March Madness is tipping off 🏀 — but at GCI, the real competition is happening a little closer to home.
We’ve got our own brackets set for the ultimate showdown: the GCI Pool Tournament 🎱
Singles. Doubles. Pride on the line.
The precon team is already locked in, studying the matchups like it’s Selection Sunday. Brackets are up, predictions are flying, and the competitive energy is very real.
Let the madness begin.
We come to the end of this series, reflecting on the last ten years in Mountain View with a strong sense of accomplishment, but even more anticipation for what the next ten will bring. Over the past decade, we’ve experienced incredible growth while building true community through the shared goal of creating beautiful spaces across the Bay Area.
In the last three years, our Mountain View team moved into a new office and completed incredible technical work for our clients across the South Bay!
We’re incredibly proud of what’s been built together and excited for everything ahead.
Great discussion on Wednesday at the Bisnow Bay Area Sustainability, Energy & Power Summit covering decarbonization in commercial real estate, with Jesse Swafford representing our team on the panel.
The conversation explored how sustainability initiatives are attracting tenants, new MEP systems designed to cut building emissions, and the challenges teams face when putting them into action. While there are still hurdles to navigate, the panel shared an optimistic outlook on the future of sustainable development.
A key takeaway was the importance of solutions where the financials pencil out for developers, allowing sustainability goals and project economics to move forward together.
It was great to talk alongside the other panelists in the industry and work together on these issues.
Imagine walking into work each day and being greeted with 360-degree views of the city. Whether heavy fog is rolling over the hills or the sky is crystal clear, this Am Law 100 firm's new office is truly immersed in downtown San Francisco.
On one side, the team overlooks the bustling Ferry Building and the serene scene of boats passing beneath the Bay Bridge. On the other, the office feels deeply rooted in the urban core – framed by soaring skyscrapers and iconic landmarks like Coit Tower in the distance.
It was a pleasure to partner with this client and Gensler to build out two full floors, including an expansive lobby, new private offices, conference and meeting rooms, break rooms, IDF/server rooms, and more.
We loved collaborating with our trade partners to bring this refined vision to life — layering in high-end woodwork, elevated tile finishes, and thoughtful detailing throughout to create a space that feels both polished and distinctly San Francisco.
Architect: @genslerbayarea
CM: @gt_llp
MEP Designer: @meyersplusengineers
📸 @garrybelinsky
GCI Team: Amy Moerman, Cesar Carrillo, Nixon Quilao, Jeff Seacrist, Jeremy Edwards, John Austin, Jose Chavez, Samuel Peters
We were so impressed by the creativity displayed at this week's Winter Olympics-themed event hosted by @allsteel in the GCI space! Check out these awesome snowboards on display in our "board room" (literally). The A&D and GC community absolutely showed up to show off their design/build skills!
Big thanks to the @genslerbayarea team for collaborating on our entry - workshopping our snowboard design and seeing it come to life was the best part!
Appreciate all who helped make this happen!
Gensler: Jennalee Rowden, Emily Ely, Benjamin Vela
Allsteel: Alana Makilan, Alicia Lemler, Kelsy Henderson, Stacia Franus, Whitney Feussner
GCI: Aashna Shah, Ali Oswalt, Carlos Parra, Carlos Polanco, Gerardo Gonzalez, James Buresh, Jon West, Sal Gil
Sustainability continues to be a core priority for our team, and it’s especially meaningful when a client shares that commitment and gives us the opportunity to fully lean in. And we’re starting off the year with great momentum – one of our client’s projects has officially achieved LEED CI v4 Platinum Certification, earning 100% of the points submitted during final review!
This was made possible by our incredible team dedicated to sustainability efforts, requiring lots of coordination and drawing on partnerships with local orgs throughout the Bay Area.
This included:
- Waste Diversion: We achieved 87.29% diversion across seven waste streams (carpet, ceiling tile, mixed C&D, sheetrock, metal, wood, material salvaged for reuse)
- Comprehensive Indoor Air Quality Strategies & Testing: We focused on removing pollutant sources and increasing ventilation during construction to reduce the building’s environmental impact while eventually supporting occupant health and comfort.
- Full compliance with Low-Emitting Materials: To protect the health of those who use the space every day, we identified and advocated for low-emitting materials across five key product categories – paints and coatings, adhesives and sealants, flooring, wall panels, ceilings, and insulation.
- Enhanced Commissioning: We went beyond standard commissioning through third-party verification to ensure all major building systems support long-term energy efficiency, operational reliability, and occupant comfort.
Achieving LEED Platinum – the highest level of certification – means this project is performing at an exceptional level for energy efficiency, water conservation, and overall environmental responsibility. Although sustainability has been an ongoing commitment across our 33 years in business, we are excited to be spotlighting more of these spaces and celebrating the impact we can make through collaborative commitment to healthier spaces.
Sustainability Team: Alejandra Arce-Gomez, James Jenkins, Jeff Seacrist
