Building New Frontiers: Dreams Happen Playhouse

South Bay Construction has been playing in the sandbox again. We have been at work building for the Dreams Happen Gala and Playhouse Auction put on by Rebuilding Together Peninsula — a non-profit organization dedicated to rehabilitating the homes and community facilities of neighbors in need from Sunnyvale to Daly City. This local program brought together philanthropists, architects, designers and builders to create playhouses that were featured at the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto in May 2015.

The Kickoff

South Bay Construction was honored to be a part of this project. We kicked off in December with our old playmates, The Hayes Group, readied with our hard hats, thinking caps, kids, crayons, and imaginations. South Bay Construction hosted the event where our families came together to put dreams to paper and launch the project. We had a banquet full of ideas ranging from slides, trap doors, game rooms, green roofs, swimming pools, trampolines, Hobbit holes, castles, and rocket ships. One child even stamped her design with “Kids Will Rule The World!”, just to let us know who was boss of the build.

The Playhouse

In the end, we landed on a space theme to honor our bundle of forward-leaners with the Lunar Explorer I playhouse. Our playhouse soared 11’ feet high and featured an 8’x10’ landing pad, a metal panel exterior, circular view windows, sun tunnel ceilings, and a glass enclosed command center equipped with a mission control deck. To assist in the building process, we worked with Wildcat Metals, Central Coast Welding & Fabrication, South Bay Interiors, Advanced Glass, Canterbury Paint, and Statewide Roofing – dedicated subcontractors with whom we also worked on the Dreams Happen “Safari Campout” playhouse in 2013.

The project, which was constructed at the warehouses of Central Coast Welding & Fabrication and Wildcat Metal, came to fruition through the passionate dedication of the SBC team, the subcontractors and the architect team. One Saturday morning, members of the SBC team and the Hayes Group even spent time adding important finishing touches.

 

 

 

 

The Gala

Our playhouse was created to be enjoyed at the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto in May, where it was viewed by an average of 1.2 million visitors and helped to increase foot traffic by 20 perfect. The playhouse, along with others, was then auctioned off at a fantastically fun gala event on June 6 to benefit the work of Rebuilding Together Peninsula. South Bay had the pleasure of attending the gala, where we met with the Hayes Group team, many of the subcontractors, and enjoyed being a part of the auction. Bidding, which typically begins at $5,000, ranged from $13,000 to $101,000.

“I just want to thank everyone again for all of your efforts and push for the playhouse”, says Rafael Delgadillo of the Hayes Group about the project. “We are very happy with the way it turned out. You guys did a fantastic job. It was really a pleasure working with everyone. Having a role in this project was a huge learning experience for me, having been out of school for so little time. Thank for your patience and support.”

This was a passion project for the team at South Bay Construction. We believe deeply in our community and the next generation of stewards who keep the Bay Area a home to world-turning possibility and imagination. We welcome you to be a part of the ride. Please let us know if you have any ideas, supporting comments, or interest in being a part of the South Bay team by responding here.

Thanks for your support with our community!

South Bay Construction