“This project represented a true collaborative effort, and the end result is an innovative campus, which incorporated cutting edge technology to emphasize the technical science and engineering curriculum offered by the school,” said Mark Radell, McCarthy’s project director.  “It is gratifying to be a part of a project that will foster an optimal learning environment for years to come.”

The School of Engineering and Sciences is one of the SCUSD’s small, innovative schools dedicated to providing choices for students and their parents. The school provides access to standards-based teaching and learning in a personalized project-based educational environment, with particular emphasis on the math, engineering and science subjects.

“We are extremely proud to be part of such a successful project,” said Duane Wray, executive director, capital projects of Regent Development.  “The quality of the school district-city partnership, coupled with an outstanding team comprised of Regent, McCarthy, WLC and various subcontractors, created a great synergy for making this an exceptional project.  Furthermore, by incorporating a number of sustainable elements, we were able to save the taxpayers and district money.”

Regent and McCarthy utilized a number of construction methods and products that resulted in cost efficiencies, less environmental impact and minimal disruption to the surrounding community.  For example, the School of Engineering and Sciences is among the first few schools in California to employ an innovative building technique using geopiers.  Approved for use by the California Division of Architecture, the process of installing geopiers includes digging 13-foot holes and packing them with recycled crushed concrete or local aggregate.  The geopiers anchor the foundation to the earth, as well as other conventional systems such as driven piles.  As a benefit to the community, geopiers are installed much more quickly than using traditional methods, minimizing the noise disruption. Additionally, geopiers are environmentally friendly and cost effective, saving taxpayer dollars.

The project team is also constructing the adjacent Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library, which is scheduled for completion in summer 2010. The library is the first built through a cooperative agreement between the city and school district. In addition, the project team is also constructing the campus’ athletic fields. Both the library and athletic fields will be open to the School of Engineering and Sciences students and area residents. The entire project is the product of a hybrid partnership between the city of Sacramento and the SCUSD.

About Regent Development
Regent provides first-class development services to public agencies including cities, counties, colleges, universities, K-12 school districts and state and joint-use agencies. It offers design/build/finance services to its public clients and was one of the first to employ the lease/leaseback delivery method in the state of California. The Regent team is comprised of experienced development professionals who have had leadership roles in federal, state and local governments and in private industry. To learn more, visit Regent online at www.regentdevelopment.com.

About McCarthy
Founded in 1864, McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest commercial construction companies.  The company provides general contracting, construction management, program management and design/build services for resort and entertainment, education, healthcare, 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.

Southwest Contractor

Entries were reviewed by an independent jury comprised of design and construction professionals in this year’s Nevada competition. After carefully scoring each project and engaging in intense discussion, the jury arrived at 19 winning projects in a variety of categories. McCarthy came away with two big awards in the Civil/Public Works and Engineering Design, and K-12 Education categories.

“The judges considered a variety of criteria for each project, from teamwork and safety to innovation and aesthetics,” says Scott Blair, senior editor of Southwest Contractor. “Several close contests were decided by which project provided the greatest social or economic benefit to the community.”

“What an incredible honor it is to receive not one, but two project awards,” said Randy Highland, president of McCarthy’s Nevada/Utah Division. “Collaboration and teamwork were the keys to success on both of these projects and the awards serve as further emphasis that when we focus on communication and collaboration our potential in this challenging market is unlimited.”

McCarran International Airport Terminal 3 Early Site Civil Package
Category: Civil/Public Works and Engineering Design

McCarran International Airport Terminal 3 Early Site Civil Package paves the way for the newest terminal at the nation’s sixth busiest airport. The project team displayed a great deal of teamwork and collaboration while working with the owner’s onsite construction manager and successfully met each construction milestones. In addition to delivering the project on time and under budget, McCarthy’s management, staff, and self-perform team logged approximately 190,000 man hours on the project with zero recordable incidents.

Veterans Tribute Career & Technical Academy
Category: K-12 Education

The Veterans Tribute Career & Technical Academy is a one-of-a-kind learning environment focusing on service career pathways. The high school features five different career and technical programs including: 911 dispatch training, law enforcement, crime scene analysis, EMT and computer forensics. As one of the first two schools to be completed using the construction manager at-risk delivery method, the 24-acre site includes a five building campus with separate buildings for the gymnasium, commons, administrative and resource facilities as well as sporting fields, courts and a public fitness trail throughout the campus.

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.

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.

The new $92 million instructional building is being funded by the $1.555 billion Propositions S and N construction bond program, which is providing for new teaching and learning facilities, major renovations and campus infrastructure projects at Mesa, City and Miramar colleges, and six continuing education campuses.  Construction is expected to begin in early September 2010, with completion slated for November 2012.

This is the second major project McCarthy has been awarded by the San Diego Community College District at San Diego Mesa College. The company also built the new three-story, 50,000-square-foot Allied Health Building, which was completed in August.

“McCarthy was well-positioned for this project based on its extensive experience with laboratories and higher education construction projects,” said David Umstot, vice chancellor of facilities management for the San Diego Community College District.  “The stellar performance of the McCarthy team on the adjacent Allied Health project at Mesa College factored heavily into their being selected for this technically complex project.”

Designed by Architects | Delawie Wilkes Rodrigues Barker, the new San Diego Mesa College Math and Science Building will house four floors of classrooms, laboratory space and offices for the departments of biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physical sciences.  Additionally, several faculty/student interaction areas will be incorporated into the building’s design. The new Math and Science Building will be constructed of structural steel with concrete shear walls and an exterior curtain wall.

The $92 million San Diego Mesa College Math and Science Building is designed to obtain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification under guidelines set forth by the U.S. Green Building Council. Many of the latest sustainable design features will be incorporated into the building’s design in an effort to achieve LEED Silver certification.

The new Math and Science Building will occupy the area immediately east of the existing Learning and Resource Building and south of the I-300 Building on the San Diego Mesa College campus. Two existing buildings will have to be demolished to make room for the new facility.

According to McCarthy Project Director Robert Betz, the biggest challenge facing the construction team is the project’s location on a compact 200,000-square-foot site right in the middle of the campus.

“Project access is a major issue that will pose ingress/egress as well as subcontractor scheduling challenges,” said Betz. “We are in the process of devising a plan that will allow us to work within the site constraints while minimizing disruption to ongoing traffic and activities at the campus during the construction period.”

Project team consultants for the new San Diego Mesa College Math and Science Building include Hope Engineering for structural engineering, and X-nth for mechanical and electrical engineering. The program manager for the Propositions S and N construction program for the San Diego Community College District is Gafcon.

About San Diego Mesa College
Among the largest community colleges in California and the nation, San Diego Mesa College is a fully accredited two-year college offering 160 Associate degree and certificate programs. Recognized in 2007 as one of the top 100 producers of associate degrees in the nation, Mesa College ranks as San Diego’s top transfer institution. The college also serves as an important economic catalyst for the region. Its career programs and industry alliances offer graduates almost immediate job placement in the fields of allied health, biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, business technology, consumer studies, and more. Other top specialized career programs include fashion, architecture, multimedia, animal health technology, American Sign Language, interior design, and hospitality and event management. More information is available online at www.sdmesa.edu.

About McCarthy
Founded in 1864, McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest commercial construction companies and is ranked among the top five education builders by Engineering News-Record. The company provides general contracting, construction management, program management and design/build services for education, healthcare, 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.

McCarthy was recently honored with the number three spot on the 2009 Top 100 Workplaces by The Dallas Morning News. McCarthy was also selected as the top winner in the category for Best Company Direction. McCarthy was named the emerging leader in this category based on its employees’ confidence in the leadership of the company and the belief that McCarthy operates ethically with strong values during difficult times while continuing to progress in the right direction.

Put on by The Dallas Morning News and its partner, Workplace Dynamics LLC, this is the inaugural year of the Top 100 Workplaces award. Companies eligible for participation included public or private companies, as well as for-profit and nonprofit organizations with more than 50 employees in the DFW metroplex. The award seeks to recognize big and small companies and organizations that excel at creating a dynamic, supportive and inclusive workplace.

Each entry was judged based on an employee opinion survey, rating employers in different categories such as business operations, values, policies and facilities. More than 33,000 employees in the DFW area were surveyed, and based on that 100 companies made the top 100 list.  McCarthy, along with Southwest Airlines and The Richards Group took home the top three coveted spots on this lengthy list of the Top 100 Workplaces.

“We are honored that McCarthy’s Texas Division was recognized as one of the top three workplaces in Dallas by The Dallas Morning News.  It is exciting to be a part of the inaugural award,” said McCarthy Texas Division President, Mike McWay.  “McCarthy is 100 percent employee-owned, so we strive to create the best working environment possible for our family of employees.  It is encouraging that our employees recognize our commitment to excellent business operations and company values.  I’m also proud that our employees agree with and support the direction McCarthy is taking as a company.”

One McCarthy employee surveyed stated McCarthy should be considered a top workplace, “because the company puts it employees first above all else.  Safety, quality and doing a job right.” Another McCarthy employee gave this response in the survey, further reiterating why McCarthy was chosen as the company with the Best Company Direction: “We are continually looking for new and exciting business opportunities to stay positioned to weather any economic storm.  We are employee-owned and personally reap the benefits of our performance.”

McCarthy adds this award to a growing list of other business and industry-based awards the firm has received recently in the region, including the 2009 Contractor of the Year award given by the Dallas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

The 2009 Top 100 Workplaces awards were featured in the Nov. 8 issue of the Dallas Morning News. For the complete list of this year’s winners, go to http://www.dallasnews.com/business/bestplacestowork/.

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: healthcare, educational, office buildings, parking structures, 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.

When the McCarthy learned of the need for repainting of the facility’s dormitories, employees jumped at the opportunity to provide the manpower required to paint the interior dorm area and secured donated paint and materials.

“The number of mentally challenged homeless continues to grow in Southern Nevada,” said McCarthy Heart Hats member Josh Brummels. “The Salvation Army’s Pathways program is one of the largest group facilities of its kind in this area and the services they provide are necessary and admirable. We are so excited to be able to help and support their efforts.”

In order to minimize disruption for the 42 program residents, the painting project was split up over two consecutive Saturdays. More than two dozen McCarthy volunteers were involved in painting the 14 room, co-ed facility.

A 100 percent employee-owned company, McCarthy employees are passionate about building better communities. The McCarthy Heart Hats program is the volunteer-based community outreach arm of McCarthy dedicated to encouraging, supporting and recognizing McCarthy volunteer efforts in a variety of causes to ensure real needs are being met in communities where employees work, live and play. In 2008, McCarthy donated more than $2 million nationwide to help make a difference.

The annual Keystone Awards program honors the achievements of St. Louis construction firms and their employees in building the facilities that support and enhance the quality of life in Greater St. Louis.  Keystone Award recipients are judged on their excellence in providing solutions to unique obstacles and challenges specific to their project.

“We’re honored to be recognized among our peers for this project,” said Scott Wittkop, president of McCarthy’s Central Division.  “The keys to success were McCarthy’s ability to self-perform the structural concrete and structural steel, two critical components, and the team’s ability to implement state-of-the-industry construction techniques that were both efficient and cost-effective. We were presented with a number of significant challenges, including the need to tie in to an existing 80-year-old, occupied structure and then aesthetically integrate the new tower exterior to look like a natural extension of the original building. The team successfully met all of these with creative determination.”

Designed by Cannon Design of St. Louis, The Federal Reserve Bank expansion project included:  demolition of an existing parking structure; construction of a new 6-story tower; re-cladding the existing skin; interior renovations; MEP system upgrades; and new bridge connections for the north and south buildings on the third and fourth floors.  McCarthy Project Manager Lloyd Flowers commented, “Cannon Design’s timeliness to provide cost-effective design direction on unforeseen field conditions uncovered during the re-cladding portion of the project was key to assuring the appearance of the new structure would resemble the existing structure.”

This project is a study in how to construct a project on a tight urban footprint amid a bustling downtown business district. Bounded by tall, occupied buildings and narrow streets through which vehicle and pedestrian traffic continually flowed, construction of the expansion and renovation continued as unobtrusively as possible despite significant limitations.

Lean methodologies were among the many construction techniques used to solve some of the project’s challenges.  Mock-ups built on the project site were key to saving dollars, which could have resulted from unidentified design, constructability and aesthetic issues.  Especially effective was the mock-up built of the exterior wall system that included a limestone skin.

Because lay-down area was at a premium, just-in-time material delivery kept construction moving according to schedule. A 24-hour-a-day, 6-day-a-week detailed work schedule for each building elevation informed each trade when they could gain access to the five-foot wide working platform.  The schedule also provided information about when certain construction materials had to be moved.

Overhead, a 300-ton mobile crane relied on radio communication as its sole source of “eyes and ears” to hoist bridge connectors through a vertical areaway between two existing buildings and over an existing 100-foot-tall building.  Safety for pedestrians, traffic, workers and Federal Reserve employees was at the forefront of daily priorities.

Today, the appearance of the “new” Federal Reserve building blends seamlessly with the structure built in 1925.  In addition to the preservation of the Federal Reserve’s historic past, the new tower enhances the Bank’s standing as a major employer in St. Louis City and contributes to the vibrancy of the downtown community.

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis was established in 1914, after the creation of the Federal Reserve System in 1913. The Bank building in downtown St. Louis was constructed in 1925. It is one of the 12 regional Reserve banks in the Federal Reserve System and serves most of eastern Missouri and southern Illinois.

About McCarthy
Founded in 1864, McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest commercial construction companies.  The company provides general contracting, construction management, program management and design/build services for office, education, healthcare, laboratory, biotechnical, resort and entertainment, parking and retail facilities; green 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

McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., recognized as one of the nation’s largest builders of healthcare facilities, recently completed construction of the $153 million Patient Care Tower at Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo. Built next to the existing Mission Hospital tower at the southeast corner of Crown Valley Parkway and Medical Center Road, the new four-level patient tower was completed ahead of schedule and opened on November 15, 2009.

The new tower features a patient-centered design along with next-generation advancements in healthcare technology and seismic building safety. The latest in advanced diagnostic and patient care services are housed within the 345-bed Mission Viejo campus including: 44 beds, advanced diagnostic imaging, nuclear medicine, the Zimmer Neuroscience Wing, the Swenson Family Linear Accelerator Suite and the Schumacher Healing Garden.  The expansion also includes a new chapel available to patients and visitors of all faiths 24 hours, seven days a week. The chapel was made possible by a $1 million commitment from the Auxiliary of Mission Hospital.

“After nine years of planning and two years of construction, Mission Hospital is now the diagnostically most advanced hospital in the country,” said Peter F. Bastone, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mission Hospital. “The tower was built to provide the future of healthcare to south Orange County, recognizing the diverse, growing needs of our community.”

Designed by RBB Architects Inc. of Los Angeles, the new Patient Care Tower’s award-winning architecture was created to promote healing for patients, a comfortable atmosphere for families and an enhanced state-of-the-art working environment for hospital staff.  Some of the tower’s patient and family friendly highlights will include: private rooms, an expanded family area, dedicated sleep chairs for guests and wireless connectivity throughout the hospital.

McCarthy served as general contractor for the new tower as well as an underground tunnel and a 175-foot-long pedestrian bridge that connects the new facility with the main hospital building on the third floor. Prior to erecting the tower, McCarthy conducted 11 months of significant site work including the installation of new utilities, re-configuring the entrance to the hospital and parking lot and demolishing an existing two-story conference center.

The new Patient Care Tower utilizes a braced-frame structural system to reduce the size of the columns and beams and to provide superior seismic performance in compliance with California Senate Bill 1953, which requires strict seismic regulations for all acute care facilities. The main vertical systems such as elevators, stairs, mechanical and electrical shafts are positioned outside the braced floor area. These features maximize the floor-space and provide flexibility to accommodate current and future space needs.

The project features a chapel in a half-cylinder structure with an inclined roof supported from the top by radial trusses. Additionally, the Schumacher Healing Garden alongside the chapel includes sitting areas and lush landscape to evoke serene space for relaxation, prayer and meditation. The chapel and healing garden are strategically located between the existing tower and the new tower to invite easy access for the entire community and to emphasize the spiritual and holistic healing mission of the hospital.

The Tower’s exterior is composed of metal panel cladding and an exposed steel braced-frame conveying a sense of the highly technological, state-of-the-art activities contained within. A cascading fountain in the entry drive immediately creates a relaxing setting for patients and visitors driving up to and entering the hospital. Extensive glazing provides an abundance of natural light, promoting an uplifting and healing environment for patients and an enhanced working atmosphere for the staff.

“Constructing a high-tech hospital with complex mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) systems requires advanced design and construction skills,” said McCarthy Project Manager Todd Foos. “A critical component used to deliver this complex healthcare facility on-time and within budget, was Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology in which the team created virtual 3-D mock-ups of the complex, above-ceiling utilities, in-wall coordination for high congestion areas and on the tower’s unique building exterior in which structural members were located outside the envelope of the exterior skin. The use of 3D modeling proved highly successful in helping us visualize and resolve system’s clashes before construction began. As a result, the design and construction team coordinated approximately 125,000 square feet of MEP work nearly twice as fast as using traditional 2D coordination and avoided costly change orders on construction of the building exterior that could have valued over $2.5 million if BIM had not been utilized.”

The use of BIM on the Mission Hospital Patient Care Tower was so successful that St. Joseph Health System was awarded the Gold Constructech Vision Award for the project’s use of a high level of BIM detail modeling for the exterior skin of the building. The award is based on the use of technology to promote innovation within the construction industry.  Vico Software of Boulder, Colorado worked with the facilities and design and construction team to implement BIM modeling for the building’s exterior.

“The St. Joseph Health System has been pioneering implementation of Building Information Management (BIM) on major projects over the last four years,” said Jim Bostic, AVP of Construction for SJHS.  “The Mission Hospital Acute Care Tower was the first project to use the highest level of definition for  modeling the exterior skin of the building. This required the modeling team to define every building element, which included structural members, metal stud framing, fireproofing, drywall and metal panels. As the reception of the 2009 Gold Constructech Vision Award attests, the team’s commitment to the modeling effort was successful in every regard, surpassing our expectations in both time and cost savings.”

About Mission Hospital
Mission Hospital provides south Orange County communities with access to advanced care and advanced caring through two convenient locations, Mission Viejo and Laguna Beach. Mission Hospital has been serving the greater needs of the community for nearly 40 years, improving the quality of life in the communities we serve.  Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo is an acute care, full-service facility providing the most advanced healthcare services and diagnostic care to south Orange County. One of only three designated trauma centers in the county, the hospital offers 24-hour emergency care and specialized services through its Mission Imaging Center, Mission Heart Center, Mission Stroke Center, Mission Maternity Center and Mission Women’s Wellness Center. The hospital also offers the highest level of care in orthopedics, rehabilitation, cancer, spine and vascular services. Mission Hospital Laguna Beach’s healthcare services include 24-hour emergency, intensive and medical-surgical care as well as behavioral health and chemical dependency and chronic pain medicine abuse treatment. CHOC Children’s at Mission Hospital, a separately licensed pediatric hospital on the Mission Viejo campus, serves as the only designated pediatric healthcare center in south Orange County.  A member of the St. Joseph Health System, the 552-bed hospital is one of 14 not-for-profit hospitals sponsored by the St. Joseph Health Ministry.  For more information, visit www.mission4health.com.

About McCarthy
Founded in 1864, McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest commercial construction companies 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. 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.

Located in the heart of the city at 3020 Children’s Way, the new $260 million Rady Children’s Hospital Patient Care Pavilion is on track to become one of California’s first LEED certified OSHPD (Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development) healthcare facilities under strict guidelines set forth by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Prominently visible from San Diego’s I-805, the Rady Children’s Hospital Patient Care Pavilion is situated on a 148,650-square-foot site at the southeast end of the hospital campus, adjacent to the existing Rady Children’s Hospital Rose Pavilion. A bridge will connect the existing facility to the new four-story building.

The Patient Care Pavilion will house a much-needed surgical center, 84 medical-surgical beds, a neo-natal intensive care center, and cancer center. The facility will have 16 operating rooms with associated support departments, a 28-bed hematology and oncology unit, 10-bed bone marrow transplant intensive care unit, 32-bed neo-natal intensive care unit, and 84 acuity adaptable medical surgery beds. Construction began in December 2007 and is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2010.

“Rady Children’s Hospital is committed to adopting green practices throughout its operations,” said Tim Jacoby, vice president of facilities for Rady Children’s Hospital – San Diego. “The McCarthy team is successfully moving us toward our goal of becoming the largest children’s hospital in the state with a world-class, LEED certified facility.”

Not only will the Rady Children’s Hospital Patient Care Pavilion be one of the first LEED certified OSHPD facilities in California, it also will be one of the first LEED certified healthcare facilities within San Diego County. So far, only a few healthcare organizations in the region have applied to meet LEED requirements.

Designed by San Francisco-based architectural firm Ashen + Allen, the new Children’s Hospital Patient Care Pavilion features a glass-fiber reinforced, precast concrete exterior; dimensional travertine stone; storefront and curtain wall glass systems with colored accents; and metal panels, railings and canopies.

“McCarthy has a huge responsibility placed on them to carry through with construction of the facility’s sustainable design in a thoughtful, practical manner,” said Ashen + Allen’s Eric Lum, Ph.D, AIA, LEED AP, LEED project administrator. “They’ve been extremely diligent with the construction coordination.”

Building one of the first LEED designed OSHPD healthcare facilities in California is a job McCarthy has taken as seriously as the cause:  fulfilling the increased demand for children’s critical care in the San Diego area. To knowledgeably address the LEED aspects of the project, McCarthy employed a dedicated LEED AP professional and, since the project began in early 2008, nine of the team’s members have become LEED APs.

The McCarthy team is targeting 20 percent below Title 24 requirements for energy efficiency. Other sustainable features include a reflective concrete “cool roof” that will minimize heat gain and control rainwater runoff; recycled and locally obtained steel, concrete and other building materials; low VOC-emitting paints, glues, carpet, and wood; water-efficient landscaping; natural light; high-efficiency air conditioning and mechanical systems; and a dedicated bicycle storage area.  Nearly 80 percent of construction waste materials at the job site is being recycled.

In addition to providing outstanding indoor air quality, the design will maximize natural light and utilize high-efficiency air conditioning and mechanical equipment to provide sustainable, lower-overall life cycle operating costs that positively impact the ongoing operation of the hospital. The building also will feature a green roof system that will help control the rainwater run-off from the roof.

As a pediatric institution, the new Rady Children’s Hospital Patient Care Pavilion will provide an environment focused on the needs and imaginations of children. Central to the theme of the hospital are “Carley’s Magical Gardens”, a series of mythical healing gardens designed through the collaboration of artists T.J. Dixon, Kim Emerson, Albert De Matteis, and James Nelson.

Located on the second floor off the hematology and oncology unit, the primary healing garden will hold hidden clues that lead children to 12 golden eggs belonging to “Marisa, the Magical Bird”.  When their search is complete, they can put their wishes into Marisa’s “golden locket”, where they later will be collected by staff to better understand the children’s thoughts and needs. “Carley’s Birthday Party”, featuring a life-size bronze figure of a young girl sitting at an eight-foot-long table holding her puppy, will be the centerpiece of the healing garden, and provide a place for organized activities as well as a gathering point for large families. Other whimsical objects include a mosaic tile and concrete tree house,  bronze statue of “Digger the Dog”, playhouse with mechanical toys, privacy bench, performance stage, and interactive garden screens and gates.

A second landscaped healing garden for parents and siblings will be located on the first floor, off the main entrance. Visitors can meander down a pathway and over a wooden bridge, where they will be taken to a magical place with “Turtles Taking Tea at the Tidelands Fountain”, the “Court of the Frog King”, and a 17-foot mahagony and brass row boat complete with a ships wheel and throttle. The mosaic tile “River of Life” within the healing garden ties into the “Fountain of Life” wall in the lobby. Outside the main entrance will be two groupings of life-size painted bronze seals – one a mother with two cubs, the other four seals gleefully frolicking.

A third landscaped garden, located on the third floor, will feature a bronze dog with its puppies, interactive garden screens, and various sound elements. A fourth outdoor landscaped area on the first floor, named the Leichtag Family Healing Garden in honor of its donor, is intended for use by staff.

“Our construction team is inspired by the passion and commitment of the Rady Children’s Hospital staff to bring this project to life,” said McCarthy Executive Vice President Ron Hall.  “We understand this is not just another construction project, but rather a life-saving mission on behalf of parents and their children.”

KPFF of San Francisco is the structural engineer; RBF, San Diego, civil engineer; Randall Lamb, San Diego, electrical engineer; Shadpour Consulting Engineers, San Diego, mechanical engineer; and Royston Hanamoto Alley & Abey of Mill Valley is serving as landscape architect.

McCarthy also performed design/build services for the adjacent 332,279-square-foot, 1,000-car parking structure including a podium deck to accommodate the new Ronald McDonald House.

About McCarthy
Founded in 1864, McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest commercial construction companies 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. 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.

The Contractor of the Year award is given to the general contractor that has advanced architecture through its achievement of the built environment.  Beginning with the W Dallas Victory Hotel & Residences and continuing to the completion of the AT&T Performing Arts Center, McCarthy was selected for this top honor as a direct result of its team of professionals who consistently deliver dedicated, quality work, constructing many buildings that have been a part of the redevelopment of downtown Dallas.

“We are delighted that AIA Dallas has chosen McCarthy as this year’s Contractor of the Year,” said Mike McWay, president of McCarthy’s Texas Division.  “It is an honor to win this award and to be recognized for all of our hard work that is helping spur the revitalization of downtown Dallas and its ongoing redevelopment initiatives.”

“AIA Dallas is proud to honor McCarthy Construction for the emphasis they place on the value of the architect in their projects,” said Todd Howard, president of AIA Dallas.  “McCarthy has been dedicated to the quality work they do, especially as a part of the urban renaissance of Downtown Dallas in the W Victory Hotel and the AT&T Performing Arts Center.”

McCarthy adds this prestigious award to a growing list of other business and industry-based awards it has received for its creative and value-oriented building solutions.  McCarthy will accept the award at the Celebrate Architecture 2009 Gala, sponsored by AIA Dallas, on Sept. 26 at Union Station in Dallas.  The proceeds from the gala will benefit public program development for the Dallas Center for Architecture.

The mission of AIA Dallas is to encourage, promote, advance and coordinate efforts to uphold the highest standards of the architectural profession in the community.  For more information about AIA Dallas visit www.aiadallas.org.

About AIA Dallas and the Dallas Center for Architecture
Established in 1924, the Dallas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects promotes activities that uphold the highest standards of the architectural profession in the Greater Dallas area.  Since 2008, the Dallas Center for Architecture (DCFA) has been home to the 2,200-member AIA Dallas. DCFA is one of the first such centers in the nation—devoted to uniting architects and allied professionals with citizens concerned about good design, community sustainability and other key living-environment issues for today and tomorrow.

Located at 1909 Woodall Rodgers Freeway, Suite 100—just north of downtown and the Dallas Arts District—the Center delivers public programming on architecture and urban design, art and architecture exhibits, an architectural film series, and other special events for the North Texas community.  For more information, visit DallasCFA.com.

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.