THE GENERAL CONTRACTOR
Carl Otto
Some might consider a tree fairly expendable in the interest of building a community hospital. But the visionaries of the existing Community Hospital facility, who chose the wooded site overlooking the bay to build their dream, realized that they wouldn’t have a forest if not for the trees.
In building two new 100,000-square-foot additions as part of the Pavilions Project, the hospital relocated 100 mature trees and preserved hundreds more.
General contractor Carl Otto likes that.
“One of our greatest challenges and concerns in designing and constructing this project,” says Otto, owner and president of John F. Otto, Inc., “has been to understand the environment in which it is built. This project is very sensitive and responsive to all environmental issues, which include view lines, building setbacks, and the conservation of the trees.
“The trees alone have been not only a huge challenge but something the hospital took on from the beginning. They transplanted, saved, boxed, and replanted hundreds to preserve the environment. The hospital deserves a huge accolade in that regard.”
Another challenge, says Otto, is to construct additions that nearly double the size of the hospital while making it appear as if they’ve always been there. A daunting task, perhaps, but the company’s reputation for architectural assimilation preceded it with the construction of the Comprehensive Cancer Center five years ago.
Established in Sacramento in 1947, John F. Otto, Inc., was founded by and named for Otto’s father, who ran the firm almost until the time he passed away two years ago at 84.
“Even in his last couple of days,” says Otto, “my father would ask how things were going at CHOMP. This is a big project, and my father respected that. It’s got thousands and thousands of parts and pieces, and organizational issues become very, very challenging. You really need to be in the healthcare business or have good healthcare experience to take on a project of this size and complexity. Over the last 20 years, we’ve done a significant amount of business in the healthcare field; we’re very comfortable with it.”
Otto graduated from USC with a degree in business and went to work for the firm in 1971, working his way through the ranks until he reached the top.
“I have a brother and three sisters who are not in the business,” he says. “I’m here by choice; it’s what I wanted to do at a very early age. I was born into it. I studied business because it’s what I felt the company could best use. It began as a hard-knock construction company, and I thought if I brought a little business sense to it, we could grow to the next level.”
The legacy continues with daughter Allison and son John. Allison Otto serves as director of development and writes the newsletter for the Pavilions Project; John Otto is a project engineer for the firm. “I’m here because I want to be,” says Otto, “and I believe my children are, too. It is a family operation, but that really includes everyone who works with us."