Cumming Selected as Project Manager for New Viejas Hotel
Published October 21, 2011
Cumming has been retained by the Viejas Tribe to serve as project manager on its new 150-room, 5-story upscale hotel. The facility will be connected to the main Viejas Casino, creating a full-service destination resort for the Tribe. In addition to the new hotel, the project will include a buffet expansion, relocation of the bingo operation to a new and improved space, and a new resort-style pool.
The new hotel is currently in the planning phase. The project’s design is expected to be finalized next month, with the 12-month construction effort set to begin in late March. The Cumming team, led by Project Director Steve DeWulf, is providing design coordination, along with master scheduling and budgeting during the design phase, and will manage all elements of bidding and construction as the project progresses. Most importantly, Cumming is tasked with ensuring that the project stays within budget throughout the entire development process. The new hotel is being completed under a design-build delivery method by a team comprised of Swinerton Builders and JCJ Architects.
Dakota Jones Joins Cumming as National Hospitality Manager of Business Development
Published August 29, 2011
Cumming today announced the hiring of Dakota Jones as Business Development Manager within the firm’s national hospitality vertical. Based in Southern California, Dakota’s primary responsibilities include business development – through hotel owners and developers – and supporting Cumming’s growth initiatives nationwide.
Dakota has a Bachelor’s Degree in Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought from Amherst College in Massachusetts. After graduation, he began his career at Chicago-based Graycor Construction, a national construction firm with annual revenues approaching $600 million.
Dakota is credited with helping Graycor grow its client base, expand into new geographic regions, and develop new federal contracts. His career with Graycor included work with such clients as Ritz-Carlton, Marriott, Hilton, Host Hotels, the Pyramid Hotel Group, and Sunstone Hotel Investors. His efforts helped Graycor secure its position among the nation’s top hospitality builders.
A highly involved member of the building industry, Jones is an active participant in such industry events as the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS), Lodging Conference, Hospitality Design Conferences, and the NYU Hospitality Conference.
Cumming Shifts U.S. Headquarters to San Diego
Published August 15, 2011
Cumming, a cost-management firm, has moved its corporate headquarters from Orange County to Carmel Corporate Plaza, 15015 Avenue of Science, in San Diego.
The company established Orange County as its home base in 1996 and opened a San Diego office three years later, which has grown to one of its largest. “San Diego is the right place for our business to develop and flourish,” said Michael Jensen, president of the company. Other company leaders are Chief Operating Officer Peter Heald and Executive Vice President Derek Hutchison.
The firm has worked on Several San Diego County projects for the Grossmont Union High School District, San Diego Community College District, the Doubletree Hotel in Mission Valley, UCSD Medical Center, Sharp Grossmont Hospital and the Lindbergh Field expansion. [Read More]
Debbie Murray Joins Cumming Corp.
Published June 13, 2011
Debbie Murray, a 20-year construction industry veteran, has been hired by Cumming Corp. as director of the company’s education sector practice in San Diego. Murray has expertise in school expansions and renovations, including K-12 construction. Prior to joining Cumming, Murray served as program planning coordinator for Grossmont Union High School District. While there, she managed more than $75 million worth of public works projects and oversaw both the architectural design and construction side of the Proposition H program. She was also responsible for the development and implementation plan for the newly passed $417 million Proposition U bond program. The plan — called “Building a New Grossmont”, and for which Murray provided educational specifications, budgeting, and phasing — included modernization and new construction at various schools throughout the district, along with the construction of a new high school in the eastern part of the county. [Link]
Welcome Changes: Hotels Prepare for Better Times
Published June 6, 2011
Four San Diego area hotels are in the midst of renovations to bring the properties up‐to‐date and prepare them for the improving travel and business climate predicted — and hoped for — in the coming year. “Hotels regularly plan and schedule renovations ‐‐ they are almost always routine,” said hotel consultant Robert Rauch, president of R.A Rauch and Associates Inc., a San Diego‐based hotel consulting and administration firm. “Guest rooms get done every seven to 10 years. Public spaces don’t get the abuse that rooms do, but renovations and upgrades happen there pretty regularly.” Hotels, including the DoubleTree San Diego‐ Mission Valley, the DoubleTree Golf Resort San Diego in Rancho Penasquitos, the La Costa Resort and Spa and the San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina, look at renovations and upgrades as a way to hold onto their market share, he said. [More]
Recession in Construction Industry Nearing End, Experts Say
Published May 19, 2011
Construction officials are still optimistic that their industry’s recession is nearing the end, citing pockets of improvements in certain sectors as leading indicators that business is improving and stabilizing.
“We are seeing reemergence in hospitality renovation, more than new developments,” said Peter Heald, COO of Cumming Corp. “We are seeing healthcare take off in a big way in San Diego and California and in higher education and K-12 (schools).” [More]
Company President Attributes Mission Statement, Philosophy to Firm’s Success
Published
Mike Jensen, president of project and cost management firm Cumming, believes in hard work and leading by example. He stresses to his team members and those he mentors the importance of going above and beyond what clients ask for. “We’re service oriented,” said Jensen. “We take care of our clients and the projects we work on as if they were our own.” [More]
Cumming Announces Executive Moves
Published May 12, 2011
Thomas Noto III has been appointed director of business 
development at Cumming, an international project and cost consultancy firm in Carmel Mountain, and Alan Plummer has been promoted to the position of director of building information modeling for the company.
Cumming Selected by Hilton Worldwide to Deliver Project Management Services on Four Western U.S. Properties
Published April 8, 2011
Through competitive RFP processes, Cumming has recently been awarded project management services agreements on four Hilton Worldwide projects across California, Washington, and Texas. Cumming is to deliver cost and project management services on all four properties, with each involving various degrees of renovation. The total combined value of the projects is approximately $19 million. The properties include the Doubletree Mission Valley in San Diego, California; the Doubletree Hotel Spokane City Center in Spokane, Washington; the Doubletree Hotel Seattle Airport in Seattle, Washington; and the Embassy Suites Austin – Downtown/Town Lake in Austin, Texas.
Cumming’s primary role is to ensure not only that each property remains operational during construction, but also that the utmost attention is being paid to the Hilton guest experience throughout the process. The Cumming team will help develop logistics and phasing plans for each project, hire the A&E team, manage the design process, procure the contractor, perform on-site construction management, and lead all FF&E and close-out activities. The projects are currently underway with final completion set for March of 2012.
Cumming Creates Energy and Financial Savings for Sharp Grossmont Hospital
Published March 28, 2011
Cumming, a leading international project and cost consultancy firm, has teamed with Sharp Grossmont Hospital to provide valuable Cost Management services that will help ensure hospital-wide improvements including new energy-efficiency features, technological upgrades and internal renovations to the La Mesa site. By leveraging Cumming’s industry-leading construction consulting team, Sharp Grossmont looks to bring the hospital a striking new look and overhauled internal operational structure to meet the county’s growing health care needs. [More]
