Named “March LifeCare Campus” www.marchlifecare.com the 10-year, $3.3 billion construction project for March Healthcare Development will become a unique “city” encompassing 246 acres, housing some six million square feet of health related structures including: a hospital, medical office buildings, retail, a hotel, a continuing care retirement community, wellness centers and healing gardens as well as facilities for veterans, skilled nursing, spiritual healing and ambulatory care.

Governor Schwarzenegger summed up the significance of the massive project: “This is going to become known as the ‘Mayo Clinic ‘of the West… and during construction, 12,700 construction workers will be employed. After completion, 7,200 permanent healthcare related jobs will be created.”

The March LifeCare Campus project begins at a time when the Inland Empire area suffers some of the worst unemployment in the nation while experiencing a shortage in necessary healthcare. State, county and local support for the project is unprecedented.

“We’re seeing an ongoing state and local community commitment to redevelop an area that is in much need of economic growth and additional healthcare capacity,” said Michael Tuohy, McCarthy’s project director for March LifeCare. 

At the ceremony, two heavy duty Link Belt demolition machines were ordered by the Governor to start taking down the first of over 16 structures to make way for the 1.4 million-square-foot first phase of the three phase project.

McCarthy is the general contractor for the current $4.5 million demolition work and Master Builder for the program’s overall construction. U.S. Demolition Co. of Anaheim began the take-down of the first building at the ceremony.

March Healthcare Development (MHD) led by Managing Director and Project Leader Donald N. Ecker, has spent six years formulating the overall concept of the unique health and wellness venue. “We are pleased to have a firm with McCarthy’s reputation as part of our world-class team,” said Ecker. “At the Demolition Ceremony, the Governor recognized McCarthy as ‘the number one builder of hospitals in California.’”

Internationally renowned architectural firm HOK designed the Master Plan for the March LifeCare Campus.

About McCarthy
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest construction firms and has been ranked among the top five national healthcare builders by Modern Healthcare since the magazine began its annual ranking more than 30 years ago. In addition to Newport Beach, McCarthy has offices in San Diego, Sacramento and San Francisco, Calif.; Phoenix; Las Vegas; Dallas; St. Louis and Atlanta. McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned. More information about the company is available online at www.mccarthy.com.

The police station building is designed to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, and is on track to be the first LEED Platinum project for a higher education institution in San Diego County.

The $17.8 million project is part of the San Diego Community College District’s $1.555 billion Propositions S and N construction program, which is providing for new instructional and career training facilities, major renovations, campus-wide infrastructure projects, and parking and public safety enhancements at City, Mesa and Miramar colleges, and six Continuing Education campuses.  A virtual tour of the new Miramar College parking facility and police substation can be viewed at www.sdmiramar.edu/facilities/construction_updates.asp.

“The McCarthy team brought a cost-effective, aesthetically pleasing, efficient- operating parking structure concept to the table, together with some innovative approaches to our achieving LEED Platinum Certification on the police substation,” said David Umstot, vice chancellor of the San Diego Community College District. “We’re looking forward to again collaborating with them to complete this ambitious endeavor.”

Most recently, McCarthy built the new $28.9 million, 50,000-square-foot Allied Health Education and Training Facility at San Diego Mesa College in the Clairemont area of San Diego. Also funded by the Propositions S and N construction bond program, the Allied Health building is tracking LEED Gold certification.

The four-story, above-grade parking structure at Miramar College will be constructed with poured-in-place reinforced concrete. The scope of work for McCarthy includes related site work, including drought-tolerant landscaping and high-efficiency irrigation systems that use reclaimed water.

The adjacent single-story police substation will provide a central hub for campus safety and security, wayfinding and parking permitting. Key to its sustainable design is a green roof grid system, which will cover the majority of the roof deck. The grid system uses modular panels for ease of installation, roof access and maintenance. A green screen will cover the west elevation of the parking structure and achieve the look of a vertical garden. The vegetation to be used will contribute to a microclimate that is central to the facility’s passive thermal and natural ventilation design.

The xeriscape plants to be incorporated into the roof system will significantly reduce the need for stormwater infrastructure conveyance and retention systems. They also will help remove impurities from storm-water runoff, while reducing maintenance costs for filtration systems.

Additionally, the green roof and wall systems will reduce the heat island effect and complement the benefits of the pervious pavement to be used in the parking area. The green screen on the west elevation of the parking structure will further contribute to lower ambient heat gain, both within the police substation and the new parking structure.

An array of other sustainable design features factor into the building’s LEED Platinum level sustainable design, including terra cotta rain screens that create a vented facade and increase building envelope energy efficiency; curtain walls that have horizontal exterior siding on the south, vertical fins on the east, and a large glazed area facing north; operable windows that provide natural ventilation; Solatube skylights that capture natural light and enhance occupants’ work conditions; ceilings in the office and work areas that open to the concrete slab and optimize the radiant properties of the building’s thermal mass; and suspended ceiling “clouds” that enhance acoustical performance while serving as reflectors for daylight.

Still more green features include “cradle to cradle” certified finish materials, renewable and recycled flooring, and low-emitting casework materials.  The reception area of the police substation will showcase a recessed, interactive flat screen panel that informs visitors of the building’s sustainable features, and reinforces Miramar College’s sustainability goals.

“Construction execution will require conscientious tracking and monitoring to keep the project on the correct course toward LEED Certification,” said Bob Betz, project director of McCarthy Building Companies. “We’re looking forward to working with the San Diego Community College District to help realize its mission to build the first LEED Platinum community college facility in the region.”

Harley Ellis Devereaux is the design architect, with International Parking Design as the architect-of-record. Jessen Wright Structural Engineers is the structural engineer, Randall Lamb Associates is the electrical engineer, SC Engineers is the mechanical engineer, and Burkett & Wong Engineers is the civil engineer.  Schmidt Design Group is serving as the landscape architect.  Gafcon, Inc. serves as the program manager for the Propositions S and N construction bond program.

About McCarthy
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest commercial construction companies and has been one of the leading parking structure builders since the advent of the modern parking structure in the 1960s. The company has delivered nearly 400 parking facilities throughout the United States, with parking spaces for more than 70,000 cars in California alone. The firm offers general contracting, construction management, program management and design/build services for parking structures; healthcare, educational, mixed-use, laboratory, biotechnical, retail, entertainment, industrial, multifamily and microelectronics facilities; green buildings; office buildings; tenant interiors; and bridges and highways. McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned. More information about the company is available online at www.mccarthy.com.

Images provided courtesy of Alan Decker Photography.

Over the last six months, construction workers used a 196-foot tall Liebherr tower crane with a reach of 276 feet to install 5,805 pieces of structural steel creating the frame for the new tower. The project team celebrated the placement of the last structural steel beam with a barbecue lunch for the project’s construction workers. During the luncheon, project team members signed the I-beam which was adorned with an American flag and an evergreen tree before construction workers from Schuff Steel lifted it 160 feet and attached it to the top of the structure. The tradition of attaching a tree and flag to the final structural beam has been practiced by construction workers for over 1000 years. The tree represents growth, life and good luck for the construction workers and the building’s future occupants. The flag is displayed as a patriotic symbol that signifies the united effort by the project team to achieve a common goal.

Serving as the general contractor for the project, McCarthy’s contract entails construction of a new 425,524-square-foot patient tower with one basement level and seven upper levels as well as a penthouse chiller room and helistop. McCarthy will also conduct a 50,000-square-foot renovation of the existing facility and supporting central plant components in the basement of the existing CHOC North Tower. Prior to construction, an office building and two-level parking structure were removed to make way for the new tower.

“The project team is performing advanced building techniques to aid in the detailing and construction of the new tower,” said Max Burcham, McCarthy project director. “Our team is using computer graphics/BIM 3-D modeling to refine coordination and thereby reduce conflicts between systems during installation. We are also creating various mockups to mitigate any waterproofing issues as well as to work through the details of how multiple components interface.”

“The new patient care tower will enable CHOC to continue to expand and provide innovative tertiary and quaternary pediatric care. To promote a serene, healing environment, the tower will feature leading design and safety principles, private rooms and enhanced amenities. The state-of-the-art facility will also include advanced pediatric surgical suites and related services, as well as emergency, laboratory, pathology, imaging and radiology services,” explained CHOC’s Vice President, Facilities, Design and Construction, Waldo Romero.

The visually stimulating design is highlighted by a multi-colored glass skin, accented with colorful metal panels and a vertical beacon.  The exterior façade will transform at night, providing a playful change in appearance. All floors have shell space allocated for future department expansion. FKP Architects of Houston, Texas is the design architect and WBSA (Wood, Burghard & Swain Architects) of Irvine is the construction administration architect.

In response to the community and regional environment, the building will incorporate environmental health principles and sustainable building guidelines as recognized by the Green Guide for Healthcare, U.S. Green Building Council and state of California energy mandates. During construction, McCarthy will minimize unrecyclable construction waste, maintain proper indoor air quality, filter storm water/runoff and ensure that the subcontractors install the specified “green” materials. Sun/shadow studies and site lighting studies were utilized to provide an eco-efficient design. Some of the building’s sustainable design features include: recyclable materials; low-emitting insulating exterior glass panels; light colored skin materials; green roofing; insulation isolation of skin materials; ozone protection/refrigerant selection; abundant use and optimization of natural light; increasing green space with healing gardens; low-emitting interior materials such as floor, wall and ceiling finishes; energy management technology; water efficient landscaping; and irrigation management.

Jacobs of Cypress, Calif. is the project’s Construction Manager; Thomsen Engineering of Industry, Calif. is the Civil Engineer; TMAD Taylor & Gaines of Pasadena, Calif. is the Structural and MEP Engineer.

About CHOC Children’s
CHOC Children’s is exclusively committed to the health and well-being of children through clinical expertise, advocacy, outreach and research that brings advanced treatment to pediatric patients. Affiliated with the University of California, Irvine, CHOC’s regional healthcare network includes two state-of-the-art hospitals in Orange and Mission Viejo, several primary and specialty care clinics, a pediatric residency program, and four centers of excellence—The CHOC Children’s Heart, Cancer, Neuroscience, and Orthopaedic Institutes.

CHOC is one of only eight children’s hospitals in the nation named a “2009 Leapfrog Top Hospital,” and is the only children’s hospital in California to earn the Silver Level CAPE Award from the California Council of Excellence. CHOC was awarded Magnet designation, the highest honor bestowed to hospitals for nursing excellence, and is the first children’s hospital in the United States to earn the Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence.

About McCarthy
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest construction firms and has been ranked among the top five national healthcare builders by Modern Healthcare since the magazine began its annual ranking more than 30 years ago. In addition to Newport Beach, McCarthy has offices in San Diego, Sacramento and San Francisco, Calif.; Phoenix; Las Vegas; Dallas; St. Louis and Atlanta. McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned. More information about the company is available online at www.mccarthy.com.

McCarthy, who has self-performed the concrete work, celebrated the topping out of construction after completing the final pour of the 126 structural post-tensioned garage deck pours. Over the course of construction, an additional14 pours were completed for the structure’s circular concrete helix entry ramp. In all, McCarthy has logged more than 300,000 man-hours of self-performed concrete work and has poured enough concrete to create a 4’ wide x 4” thick sidewalk stretching from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. Construction of the $121.7 million parking structure began in December 2008 and the project team maintained an aggressive schedule by pouring one deck every other day.

“The key to achieving the aggressive project schedule was constant communication between all parties and innovative scheduling,” said Ryan Heeter, McCarthy project director. “Through the utilization of multiple sets of formwork, specialized crews were able to work in tandem on different elements of the project which ultimately sped up construction.”  

Located just north of the new Terminal 3 building, the eight-level, 6,000-car parking structure is one of the largest parking facilities in the United States, spanning approximately 270’ wide by 1024’ long. In addition to providing spaces for employee parking, valet parking, and both short and long term public parking, the project also includes construction of an 11,275-square-foot, single level office building, toll plaza and roadway for passenger pickup and drop off.

About McCarthy
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. has helped to define the Nevada landscape for more than 30 years. McCarthy is one of the nation’s oldest and largest commercial construction companies. The firm is 100 percent employee owned.  More information about the company is available online at www.mccarthy.com.

McCarthy recently topped off the structural steel on a new replacement hospital for Kaiser Permanente in Fontana. Located on the southern end of the existing Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center site, the hospital facility will replace the existing hospital tower at the campus which will later be converted for outpatient use. The approximately $700 million project, which will be one of the largest healthcare facilities in the Inland Empire, is currently ahead of schedule.

Members of the engineering and construction team at the beam signing ceremony for the approximately $700 million Kaiser Permanente Fontana replacement hospital project being built by McCarthy Building Companies.

Kaiser Permanente celebrated this major milestone at final beam signing ceremony and breakfast for staff, local elected officials and project team representatives on February 18, 2010. Later, McCarthy Building companies held a barbecue lunch for the construction workers and the final beam was lifted and secured in place by Herrick Corp. of Stockton, Calif. on March 10.

Two massive crawler cranes, each with a reach of about 360 feet, were used to simultaneously erect 4,700 tons of structural steel for the hospital and support building. Structural steel erection on both structures was completed in 11 weeks.

Serving as the general contractor for the project, McCarthy’s contract entails construction of the 314-bed, 482,078-square-foot hospital, a 50,000-square foot hospital support building and a 23,000-square-foot central utility plant. Prior to erecting the hospital, McCarthy conducted site preparation and built a new member and doctor parking lot. After completion of this project, McCarthy will demolish sections of the existing hospital and remodel remaining components of the existing building.

Designed by HMC Architects (www.hmcarchitects.com ), the new seven-level hospital boasts a sustainable and patient-centered design. Likewise, environmentally friendly building methods are being used throughout construction such as recycling building materials, minimizing unrecyclable construction waste and maintaining proper indoor air quality.  Being built to meet seismic standards adopted in California after the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the hospital will feature a plaster and curtain wall exterior with a structural braced-frame core. The project is scheduled to complete in December 2012 with the new facility slated to open in 2013.

Once completed, the new hospital will house a variety of specialty services including a cardiac surgery department, a 51-bed emergency department, pediatric and neonatal ICU, inpatient dialysis unit, pediatrics, ICU, labor and delivery, cardiac cath lab and surgery. The hospital support building will be attached to the hospital and includes medical offices, radiology, a pharmacy and a specialty clinic.

About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is America’s leading integrated health plan. Kaiser Permanente’s Southern California Region is a nonprofit, group practice prepayment program headquartered in Pasadena, California. Kaiser Permanente serves the health care needs of 3.3 million Southern California members from Bakersfield to San Diego. It encompasses the nonprofit Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries, and the for-profit Southern California Permanente Medical Group. Kaiser Permanente’s Southern California Region includes more than 47,000 technical, administrative and clerical employees and caregivers, and more than 5,200 physicians representing all specialties. More information about Kaiser Permanente can be found at www.kaiserpermanente.com.

About McCarthy Building Companies
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest construction firms and has been ranked among the top five national healthcare builders by Modern Healthcare since the magazine began its annual ranking more than 30 years ago.  In addition to Newport Beach, McCarthy has offices in San Diego, Sacramento and San Francisco, Calif.; Phoenix; Las Vegas; Dallas; St. Louis and Atlanta.  McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned. More information about the company is available online at www.mccarthy.com.

Former Mayor and current council member Frank G. Fry spoke during the ceremony along with McCarthy Project Manager Blaze Bartoli. The event was both a thank you to the contractors and a tribute to the progress made thus far. The Chief of Police Andy Hall, Captain Mitch Waller, Captain Ron Coopman and Sgt. Brian Carpenter were in attendance along with several other dignitaries from the city of Westminster, construction workers and project consultants.

During the topping out event, the final steel beam was signed by event guests and an American flag and evergreen tree were attached to the beam before it was lifted and secured to the top of the police headquarters structure. Marking the mid-way point in the life of a construction project, the topping out tradition of attaching a tree and flag to the final structural beam has been practiced by construction workers for over 1000 years. The tree represents growth, life and good luck during the project and for the building’s future occupants. The flag is displayed as a patriotic symbol that signifies the united effort by the project team to achieve a common goal.

Westminster City Mayor Margie L. Rice was unable to attend the event, but McCarthy arranged for the beam to be lowered and signed by her after the event. Mayor Rice said she was honored and excited to sign the beam and to be included in this project milestone for the Police Headquarters, which is part of the overall revitalization plan for the Westminster Civic Center.

The $65 million (development cost) police headquarters project includes construction of a 91,000-square-foot police building housing an upgraded 911 communications center, a new forensic lab, increased evidence storage capacity, an Emergency Operations Center, a Type I jail facility and administrative work space. The project also includes site work such as driveways, surface parking, a sallyport, landscape and fire access lane improvements.

On schedule for completion in May 2011, the police building was designed by AECOM of Orange, Calif. to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Requirements.

The Westminster Police Department Headquarters is one of three police facilities McCarthy is currently constructing in partnership with Griffin Structures. McCarthy is serving as construction manager and Griffin Structures in the program manager. The other projects include a 62,064-square-foot police station in Buena Park, Calif., and a 55,000-square-foot police station in Hesperia, Calif.

About McCarthy
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest commercial construction companies. McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned. More information about the company is available online at www.mccarthy.com.

Soka University has invited university officials, local dignitaries and the entire design and construction team to attend the event.  Special guests will have the opportunity to sign the truss before it is lifted by a 300-ton crawler crane and secured to the roof of the Performing Arts Center. Students and visitors on the campus will also be able to witness the project milestone from the campus greenbelt which overlooks the construction site.

“Typically, a building tops out when the last structural steel beam is placed,” said McCarthy project manager Nate Ray. “However, the Soka Performing Arts Center has four massive roof trusses which span the width of the performance hall, so it seemed appropriate to celebrate the placement of the final truss. At 16.5 feet tall and 114 feet wide, these trusses are so large that they will be delivered at night with a California Highway Patrol escort.”

Junior Steel of Gardena, Calif. is the specialty contractor who will be conducting the placement of the roof trusses.  The process will begin on September 28 and will culminate during the event on September 29 at 12:30 p.m.

“We’re delighted to share this historic moment with our students, staff, faculty and community,” noted president Daniel Y. Habuki of Soka University.  “This is our chance to thank the hundreds of construction workers who have done such a good job that construction is ahead of schedule for our new 1000-seat Performing Arts Center.  We look forward to dedicating it in May 2011 as part of our 10th anniversary celebration for our  Aliso Viejo campus.”

McCarthy is serving as general contractor for the $73 million project which began in December 2008. The project includes construction of a three-level, 47,836-square-foot Performing Arts Center housing a reception lobby, support spaces and a 1,000 seat auditorium as well as a 48,974-square-foot Academic Building located adjacent to and providing support for the Performing Arts Center. The new four-level academic building will house 11 classrooms, 29 faculty offices, a 150-seat black box theater, four dressing rooms, a rehearsal/dance studio, musician warm-up spaces and other support areas.

Designed by Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects LLP of Los Angeles, the new buildings will provide visual continuity with the existing buildings and the Mediterranean hill town design theme of the campus. Built on a sloping site, the first level of both buildings will be at the same finish grade as the perimeter road that circles the University exposing only the south side of the structure. The Performing Arts Center and Academic Facilities buildings share a loading dock and locker room area which will connect the two buildings. Both structures are being built with a combination of a structural concrete and structural steel frame. The buildings’ exteriors will feature smooth plaster walls, travertine stone bands, aluminum curtain walls, clear glass glazing and clay tile roofs.

The project’s design and construction team are pursuing United States Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Certification for the buildings. In order to
achieve a lofty LEED rating, McCarthy is using sustainable construction methods throughout the project such as minimizing unrecyclable construction waste, maintaining proper indoor air quality and ensuring that the subcontractors install the specified “green” materials. Likewise, the design of these structures incorporates numerous sustainable and energy efficiency solutions. The academic building will feature operable windows, ceiling fans, displacement ventilation and radiant panels. The Performing Arts Center’s “green roof” and sunshade structure surrounding the lobby will use photovoltaic (solar) panels, and a bioswale will help manage storm water runoff. McCarthy is using building materials made from recycled content and that are locally extracted, processed and regionally manufactured. Additionally, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood and low emitting adhesives, sealants, paints, carpets and composite wood products will be incorporated in both structures.

Once completed in fall 2010, the new Performing Arts Center will serve the campus and South Orange County as a venue for lectures, assemblies, concerts and theater productions furthering Soka University’s role as a cultural center and place of community gathering.

About McCarthy
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest commercial construction companies. The firm has been building in the education market for the last 50 years.  McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned. More information about the company is available online at www.mccarthy.com.

“This ceremony marks our progress toward the successful completion of a hospital expansion for a facility that has a rich tradition of continually working to find a cure for cancer,” said McCarthy’s Texas Division President, Mike McWay.  “We are excited to surpass this construction milestone as we top out the Alkek Hospital Expansion, which will have a lasting impact on the area.”

“As the demand for inpatient beds continues to rise, we are seeing occupancies in excess of 100%.  Achieving this milestone resonates with everyone at M. D. Anderson as we seek to meet the needs of our growing patient population,” said M. D. Anderson Cancer Center ‘s Project Director, Janet Sisolak.

The Topping-Out ceremony marked the completion of the highest point of construction on the job site.  Instead of the traditional Topping-Out ceremony of placing an evergreen at the highest point of the structure, M. D. Anderson faculty, staff and patients had the opportunity to sign their names and write messages on three steel beams to be used in the construction.

The 500,000-square-foot vertical expansion will be completed in multiple phases.  The first phase prepared the existing Alkek Hospital for the vertical expansion and included selective demolition, temporary waterproofing activities and the installation of a tower crane and a personnel/material hoist.  The second phase consists of the core and shell construction.  The third phase will include the construction of the first three inpatient floors and is expected to be complete in 2010.  Five additional patient floors will be built as shell space in addition to the construction of a mechanical floor and the renovation of several areas within the existing building, including level 12, which contains special air filtering systems dedicated to patients with compromised immune systems.

McCarthy is one of the most experienced builders of healthcare facilities in Texas.  In addition to the M. D. Anderson Alkek Hospital expansion, McCarthy’s roster of healthcare projects includes work for United Regional Healthcare Systems in Wichita Falls,  the Carillon Point Plaza in Lubbock, as well as numerous renovation and expansion projects at the Knapp Medical Center in Weslaco, including a $25 million hospital tower expansion, a $5.8 million addition of a 28,000-square-foot emergency department, a $5 million conference center and a $2.2 million renovation of 14,000 square feet of outpatient services.

The M. D. Anderson Alkek Hospital expansion began in January 2008 and is scheduled for completion in 2010.  The architect for this design-build project is HKS, Inc. of Dallas.

About The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Celebrating more than six decades of Making Cancer History^®, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center is located in Houston on the sprawling campus of the Texas Medical Center. It is one of the world’s most respected centers devoted exclusively to cancer patient care, research, education and prevention.   M. D. Anderson Cancer Center was created by the Texas Legislature in 1941 as a component of The University of Texas System. The institution is one of the nation’s original three Comprehensive Cancer Centers designated by the National Cancer Act of 1971, and is one of 39 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers today.  In 2009, U.S. News and World Report’s “America’s Best Hospitals” survey ranked M. D. Anderson as the top hospital in the nation for cancer care. M. D. Anderson has achieved the top ranking six times in the past ten years and has ranked as one of the top two hospitals for cancer care for 18 years, since the magazine began its annual survey in 1990.

About McCarthy
Celebrating nearly 30 years of building in Texas, McCarthy is one of the nation’s oldest privately held construction firms.  An employee-owned company, McCarthy offers general contracting, construction management and design/build services for the following project types: parking structures, healthcare, educational, office buildings, bridges and highways, laboratory, biotechnology, entertainment, retail, microelectronic, and industrial facilities, tenant interiors, mixed-use and multifamily residential.  In addition to Dallas, McCarthy has offices in Sacramento, San Francisco, San Diego and Newport Beach, Calif.; Phoenix; Las Vegas; St. Louis and Atlanta.

Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District is the developer of the $24.5 million construction project. Ken Emmons of Gafcon is serving as project manager and Jim Davies is leading the Gafcon effort on site as the program/senior project manager on behalf of the District. International Parking Design is the project architect.

A topping out luncheon, catered by the Barbecue Pit of El Cajon, was hosted by McCarthy March 6th for consultants, subcontractors, District representatives and McCarthy project team members to commemorate the construction milestone. Approximately 100 guests were in attendance, including Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Chancellor Dr. Cindy Miles, Vice Chancellor Sue Rearic, Vice President John Colson, and Director of Facilities Planning Development and Maintenance Tim Flood.  Also representing the District was Dale Switzer, senior director of facilities planning and development.

The parking structure, which will accommodate 1,431 vehicles, features sections of metal trellises, stucco, and brick veneer on the external façade. Two pedestrian bridges will connect Grossmont College’s main campus to the parking structure.

According to McCarthy Project Manager Lee Sudhoff, the project team has faced some obstacles, such as encountering unknown obstructions during the excavation work, which resulted in delays to the start of the foundation work.  The team also had to overcome weather delays because the rain impacted several critical deck pours.

“The delays due to the earthwork and weather have posed some challenges, but thanks to some dedicated crews and a little ingenuity on the part of the entire project team, we’re actually topping out ahead of schedule,” explained Sudhoff. “The project is on target for completion the end of July 2009.”

About McCarthy
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest commercial construction companies and has been one of the leading parking structure builders since the advent of the modern parking structure in the 1960s.  The company has delivered nearly 400 parking facilities throughout the United States, with parking spaces for more than 70,000 cars in California alone.   The firm offers general contracting, construction management, program management and design/build services for parking structures; healthcare, educational, mixed-use, laboratory, biotechnical, retail, entertainment, industrial, multifamily and microelectronics facilities; green buildings; office buildings; tenant interiors; and bridges and highways.  McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned.  More information about the company is available online at www.mccarthy.com.

Topping out of the 10-story, 350,000 square foot research facility comes following one-year of construction.  The project is on target for completion in April of 2010.

The facility, named for benefactor Parker H. Petit, will house teaching and research facilities for nearly 6,000 students pursuing various science and nursing degrees.  It will include state-of-the-art dry and wet laboratories, BSL-2 and BSL-3 labs and a BSL-4 suite.  The lab is part of the new University Science Park, located on a three-acre site at Piedmont Avenue and Decatur Street in downtown Atlanta.

“It’s both exciting and gratifying to reach this point in a major construction project,” said Kevin W. Kuntz, McCarthy southeast division president.  “McCarthy’s expertise in complex research facilities has been critical to keeping construction of the Petit Science Center on target.  At the same time, it is hugely rewarding to construct a facility that will significantly impact the learning experience for thousands of students in the years to come, and contribute to Atlanta’s downtown revitalization.”

“McCarthy was able to help overcome some surprises that had real potential to take our project off schedule,” said Robin Morris, GSU’s vice president for research & regents.  “After finding some existing subterranean structures and unsuitable soil beneath what would become the building’s footprint, the team was able to undercut the area and insert new material.  Solid experience helped guide the solution and keep the facility on schedule.”

CUH2A is the architect for the project.

About McCarthy
Founded in 1864, McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest privately held construction firms.  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; 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.