Wally Naylor
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Wally Naylor worked as a laborer and a carpenter while he studied biology at the University of Colorado. After earning a B.S. degree in 1979, he decided that construction was more of a passion than was his undergraduate major. For several years, he worked for one of the top builders in Aspen, Colorado. Meanwhile, he considered studying architecture.
He and his wife decided to move to San Francisco, and, six months later, Naylor became part of the tenant improvement (TI) group at Swinerton & Walberg, a San Francisco-based contractor. His first project was the 101 California Building in the city’s financial district.
Soon after he relocated to San Francisco, Naylor decided not to pursue a career as an architect. He had been accepted into a number of programs, but after talking with Joseph Esherick (1914–1998), the chair of the Department of Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, he concluded that the formal study of architecture was not going to provide him with the training that he expected.
In nine years with Swinerton & Walberg, Naylor developed the expertise and reputation in TI work that would make him a valuable addition to the Pankow firm.
Richard M. Kunnath, who at the time was Northern California regional manager, recruited Naylor to head a new TI group within Charles Pankow Builders, Ltd. (CPBL). Naylor was preparing to leave Swinerton, having failed in his bid to become the head of the company’s TI group.
Naylor joined Pankow in November 1991. His first client was Marathon U.S. Realties, which wanted to build out the tenant spaces in both Marathon Plaza, a two-tower, 900,000-square-foot office complex in the South of Market district that CPBL had completed in 1988, and 595 Market, a 30-story office tower located in the financial district.
In his first year, Naylor landed $6 million in contracts. TI work formed the nucleus of a group that expanded to include health care facility upgrades, seismic renovations, adaptive reuse of historically and architecturally significant structures, and other specialized products.
In August 1995, “Special Projects” became a separate division within CPBL. The following year, Pankow Special Projects, Ltd. (PSPL) was established as a subsidiary of CPBL. By 2007, its annual volume of work had reached $130 million.
Naylor’s more notable projects have included the renovation of a number of historic structures: the Rotunda Building in Oakland (built in 1912); 222 Sutter Street, San Francisco (1908); the Adam Grant Building at 114 Sansome Street, San Francisco (1910); and the Hunter-Dulin Building at 111 Sutter Street, San Francisco (1926). He also performed preconstruction work for Stanford University’s Green Dormitory, a 60-unit, zero carbon structure.
As of 2011, Naylor was group manager responsible for the overall management, administration, and coordination of PSPL’s work. He is affiliated with the San Francisco Building Owners and Managers Association and sits on its building codes task force and environmental committee. He is a LEED Accredited Professional and a licensed general contractor in the State of California.
