McCarthy recently completed three new design/build projects at the St. Joseph Hospital campus in Orange. Built on a tight site adjacent to the Garden Grove (22) Freeway in Orange on La Veta Avenue, the projects include a new 87,000-square-foot cancer center, a 131,000-square-foot medical office building (MOB) and a 1,083-car parking structure.
Totaling over $73 million in construction costs, the new cancer center, MOB and parking structure officially opened in June 2008. Construction began on the new, state-of-the-art Center for Cancer Prevention and Treatment in December 2006 and the St. Joseph Medical Tower MOB in January 2007. The parking structure was the last project to start in May 2007. TAYLOR of Newport Beach is the executive architect and Stantec Architecture of San Francisco is the design architect for The Center for Cancer Prevention and Treatment and St. Joseph Medical Tower building projects.
“The experience the design/build team from McCarthy and TAYLOR has in constructing cancer centers served us quite well,” said Nancy Harris, administrator cancer services for St. Joseph Hospital. “The team’s expertise made a huge difference in completing the project with exceptional quality and had a positive effect on overall timing of the building completion.”
A St. Joseph Hospital project, the new three-level cancer center was built adjacent to and simultaneously with the new MOB and parking structure. The new facilities are within walking distance from the main hospital facility at St. Joseph Hospital and consolidate cancer patient services for the hospital into a single location.
The Center for Cancer Prevention and Treatment project features a structural-steel moment frame and an exterior 
skin composed primarily of glass curtain-wall. The Center, with two-levels above grade and one below, houses leading-edge Imaging Services; advanced Radiation Oncology Services, an Infusion Center; an Education Center and Resource Center/Library; a Science Gallery; a Multi-Disciplinary Center; an Infusion Pharmacy, a Clinical Laboratory; Administration; Clinical Trials; Cancer Genetics Consultation Services and amenities including a Reflection Room and assisted parking.
“Utilizing a design/build approach for our major projects has become more critical as we try to manage escalating project costs,” said Jim Bostic, Assistant Vice President of Construction for St. Joseph Health Systems. “We were faced with serious budget challenges on this project, and were able to mitigate them with the help of McCarthy, TAYLOR and the major subcontractors working together during the design phase to maximize our use of the budgeted dollars.”
Developed by Pacific Medical Buildings, LLC, the new seven-level St. Joseph Medical Tower MOB and 1,083-car parking structure provides support for the new Center for Cancer Prevention and Treatment. The projects included construction of a new MOB with a plaster and glass exterior, as well as a cast-in-place parking structure featuring an architectural concrete exterior skin. Designed by Innovative Design Group of Irvine, the parking structure will encompass 6 ½ levels with ½-level below-grade.
“Coordinating three projects at once with two owners and multiple subcontractors and suppliers was probably the biggest challenge on the cancer facilities and parking structure project,” said McCarthy Project Manager Ross Malik. “In order to deliver these state-of-the-art healthcare facilities on-time and within budget, the project team utilized design/build delivery and the latest innovations in Building Information Modeling (BIM) 3D coordination to plan for and coordinate the complex mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) design on the Cancer Center and the structural steel system on the MOB. BIM 3D coordination allowed the project team to exchange coordinated and consistent building information on the project through the creation of 3D images that helped to visualize and perfect specific aspects of the project’s design, construction and performance even before we broke ground.”
“Healthcare projects require extensive coordination for the complex MEP systems in the walls and above the ceilings,” said McCarthy Assistant Project Manager Allen Lynn. “Through BIM 3D coordination, we essentially transferred 2D images into 3D drawings to simulate the completed building systems. Reviewing the design in 3D gave us the ability to determine if we had ample interstitial space for MEP systems or if the design needed modification before construction even began. In just five weeks of using BIM 3D Coordination, the design and construction team coordinated approximately 85,000 square feet of MEP work nearly twice as fast as using traditional overlay/light table methods.”
About McCarthy
Founded in 1864, McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest privately held commercial construction companies and has been ranked among the top five national hospital construction companies by Modern Healthcare since the magazine began its annual ranking more than 30 years ago. The company provides general contracting, construction management, program management and design/build services for healthcare, education, parking, entertainment, retail, laboratory, biotechnical, microelectronic, and industrial facilities; green buildings; office buildings; tenant interiors; mixed-use; and bridges and highways. McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned. More information about the company is available online at www.mccarthy.com.
