Occupied Multifamily Service Upgrade CoordinatedAcross Two Buildings - Menlo Park, CA

At a Glance

Replacing electrical service and unit panels across two existing occupied apartment buildings required distribution decisions to be documented against as-built conditions before construction could begin. A complete permit package — coordinated with the architect's unit layouts and garage configurations — gave the owner a clear path to construction without rework risk.

Project Specifications 

Category: Multi-Unit Residential

Location: 1150-1160 Pine Street, Menlo Park, CA

Services Provided: Electrical Engineering

Completion Date: 2026

Owner: Mary Pat Kelly

Architect: Ecobuild Architects

Project Description

Lead

At 1150–1160 Pine Street, aging electrical infrastructure across two apartment buildings required a full service upgrade — new meter centers, unit panels, and updated distribution — all designed against existing conditions with no new construction baseline to work from. Pragmatic PE developed the complete electrical permit package for both buildings, coordinating panel locations with occupied unit layouts and garage areas already in place. Resolving the interface between existing conditions and new service equipment early in the process reduced the risk of field conflicts during construction.

Scope of Work

Pragmatic PE provided electrical engineering services for the panel replacement and service upgrade at 1150–1160 Pine Street, Menlo Park, CA.

Electrical Service and Distribution

•   Developed new meter center layouts for both buildings, coordinating equipment locations with the existing site configuration

•   Updated single line diagrams to reflect the new service arrangement and documented grounding and bonding for the revised electrical service

Unit Panel Replacement

•   Prepared new and demolition power plans for unit panel replacement, resolving panel locations against existing unit footprints and garage areas

•   Developed updated branch circuit routing for all affected unit panels to reflect the new distribution configuration

Permit Documentation

•   Prepared load calculations, panel schedules, short circuit calculations, and Title 24 power distribution forms for the full permit submission

•   Coordinated electrical drawings against available building backgrounds to reflect actual field conditions across both buildings

Challenges and Solutions

Constraint: Electrical design had to be developed against existing as-built conditions with no new construction documentation, creating risk of panel location and routing conflicts in the field.

Response: Pragmatic PE coordinated panel and meter center locations directly with the architect's unit layouts and garage configurations before the permit set was finalized, reducing the likelihood of field-discovered conflicts.

Constraint: Two separate buildings required consistent service upgrade documentation while accommodating different existing conditions in each structure.

Response: Drawings were developed building by building, with single line diagrams and panel schedules maintained separately to reflect each building's actual configuration without cross-contamination of assumptions.

Results and Impact

•   Owner received a complete, coordinated permit package ready for submission, avoiding documentation gaps that typically cause AHJ re-review cycles.

•   Panel and meter center locations were resolved against occupied unit conditions before construction, reducing contractor exposure to field surprises.

•   Distribution documentation — including load calculations, panel schedules, and short circuit calculations — was consolidated into a single permit set, giving the contractor a clear construction reference.

•   Coordination with the architect's existing backgrounds produced drawings that reflected actual site conditions rather than assumed geometry.