“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.

CCIP vs. OCIP: Which Comprehensive Insurance Program is Right for You?
by Bill Sharp, Vice President, Risk Management
With the size and scope of projects becoming larger every day, program sponsors (owners and contractors) are seeking alternative ways to address insurance needs, both from a coverage standpoint and a cost standpoint.

When the Hospital Board Says, “Build it Green!”
by John Kreidich AIA, LEED AP, Manager, Healthcare Services
Building green in the healthcare environment is here to stay. Well-chosen green building investments will yield benefits with either no additional cost or with a return on investment well within a hospital’s internal rate of return over the life of the improvements.

5 Questions to Ask Your Contractor About SAFETY
An Interview with Gary Amsinger, CSP, Corporate Vice President, Safety
In addition to simply keeping workers healthy and productive, strong safety execution reduces exposure for owners. Amsinger suggests that owners should ask, at the very least, these basic five questions of their prospective contractor.

See the National Edition now.

Readers can also view region-specific content by selecting from the drop down menu titled View Other Editions. These include Central, Nevada/Utah, Southern California, Northern Pacific, Southwest, Southeast, Texas and MC Industrial editions.

McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. has introduced its new ‘green’ client newsletter, Insights That Build^SM.  It’s all part of the company’s goal of Leaving Green Footprints^®, a 10-year old program aimed at reducing McCarthy’s carbon footprint.  The first electronic edition includes valuable thought-leading content including:

How to get the best final cost on your next project
by Mike Bolen, Chairman and CEO
‘Conventional wisdom’ says that owners can’t have it all. In fact-by taking the right approach-you can turn an old saying into a smarter strategy: ‘Good, fast and cheap: pick all three.’

Design management – why owners get a better result
by Jim Mynott, Director of Design Management
In this economic climate, execution time from proposal to start of construction can be a deciding factor for project funding. A design management approach can help—and it maximizes other owner advantages.

Five things you should ask your contractor about quality
by Chad Dorgan, Vice President, Quality
There are few words in construction that are more used – or more misused – than the word “quality.”  To understand what it means to YOUR construction project, you and your contractor need to talk.

See the National Edition now.

Readers can also view region-specific content by selecting from the drop down menu titled ‘Other Regional Editions’.  These include Southern California, Northern Pacific, Southwest, Nevada/Utah, Texas, Central, and Southeast editions.

The annual awards program recognizes the state’s construction projects that best epitomize the principles of partnering.  Honored in the hospitality and entertainment category, McCarthy was recognized for its teamwork and collaboration in completing the 605,000-square-foot expansion of the Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino in Coarsegold.

“We’re incredibly honored to receive this award,” said Rich Henry, president of McCarthy’s Northern Pacific Division.  “The key to this project’s success was the willingness and ability of all entities involved to collaborate and work together.  We were presented with some challenges, including building the expansion tower in the midst of existing resort activity, but all were resolved through communication and partnership.”

The Excellence in Partnering Awards are presented annually by AGC of California for the purpose of identifying excellence in partnering, celebrating success and honoring stakeholders.  The nominated projects are judged on adherence to the principles of partnering, team building and effective communication, goals evaluation, conflict resolution, and delivery of a safe and quality project.

The Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino expansion project included a new 13-story hotel tower, full-service spa, indoor/outdoor pool, restaurant, arcade, administrative offices and a five-story, 814-car parking structure.  The hotel tower adds an additional 214 luxury rooms and suites to the resort’s existing 192-unit room inventory, for a total of 406 rooms and suites.  It includes numerous room upgrades and amenities, including larger-sized rooms, granite countertops and plasma televisions.  Its suites feature fireplaces, separate seating areas and jetted tubs.

Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino is owned by the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians.  The expansion project’s architect was  Thalden • Boyd • Emery Architects Architects of St. Louis.

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.

McCarthy employees recently participated in the hit TV show, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” which presented a deserving Fresno, Calif., family with the home of their dreams. The ABC show is centered on the requirement that the demolition of the original house and construction of the new house be completed in just seven days.

The mother, Mary Ann Riojas, was born without legs and only one fully developed arm. Despite facing a lifetime of adversity, she is dedicated to giving back and is an inspiration to her community. Mary Ann has managed to live an independent and active life, including having four children. Unfortunately, her home was ill-equipped to serve her physical challenges and led to many serious physical injuries.

Along with the other participants, McCarthy partners worked 14-hour days for a week straight to provide the family with a home custom built for the mother’s special needs. Led by McCarthy Project Superintendent James Wickham, their contributions included working on door frames and trim work, as well as constructing a new bed for Mary Ann. At the end of the week, the family had more than a place to live, they had the security and peace of mind that comes with the knowledge their family will live in a safe and supportive home.

“We were so humbled to be invited to participate in this exciting whirlwind project for this incredible family and enjoyed meeting and working with the show’s designers,” said Wickham. “I was especially humbled to lead construction on Mary Ann’s bed – something that will truly make a difference in her life going forward.”

The show aired on Sunday, March 8.

About Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
The Emmy award winning reality program “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” now in its 6th season, is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. It’s executive-produced by Anthony Dominici. David Goldberg is Chairman, Endemol North America. The show airs Sundays from 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET on ABC.

About McCarthy Heart Hats
The McCarthy Heart Hats community involvement program is dedicated to encouraging, supporting and recognizing McCarthy employees’ volunteer efforts in a variety of causes to ensure real needs are being met in communities where employees work, live and play. A 100 percent employee-owned company, McCarthy employees are as passionate about building better communities as they are about construction. More information is available on line at www.mccarthy.com.

K-12 EDUCATION

“This project was designed with the highest educational mission in mind-to accelerate our students’ learning experience and improve academic achievement. McCarthy, Regent and HMR delivered a facility that exceeded our expectations.”

- Rick Jennings, school board member and chairman of the facilities committee, SCUSD

McCarthy recently completed America’s Choice High School, the newest addition to the Sacramento Unified School District (SCUSD). The 45,808-square-foot, 8-building charter school facility, funded in large part by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is situated on 13 acres and serves a maximum of 500 students.

America’s Choice breaks the traditional school “box” model and provides a supportive learning environment designed to resemble that of a college or university campus setting. The main focal point of the school is a central corridor featuring an exterior amphitheater. The unique complex is complete with exterior brick work, barrel roofs, intricate wood framing and decorative facades and canopies. The facility caters to the highest of academic amenities, such as laboratories equipped to handle complicated experiments and a specialty computer lab to foster a technology curriculum. Other features include: 20 classrooms, administrative and multipurpose buildings, a fully functioning cafeteria, and a library, as well as athletic fields. Architect: HMR Architects, Inc., Sacramento, Calif. Project Developer: Regent Development, Inc., Sacramento, Calif.

The holiday spirit was in full swing at the Acres of Hope near McCarthy’s Sacramento office. Twenty-two McCarthy Heart Hat volunteers participated and contributed financially to this event.

Acres of Hope is a long term housing program for homeless women with children. The purpose of this faith-based program is to provide the support and resources needed to end the cycle of homelessness in their lives. Families may stay at Acres of Hope for up to two years as they work through various phases of the program. The goal is that Acres of Hope will be the last program these families will ever need.

“Our time there was both efficient and generous,” said Aaron Alhady, McCarthy vice president and Sacramento area manager. “We provided and decorated a Christmas tree, covered the property with lights, dined on the best tasting pizza and last but not least watched as Santa made a surprise visit and gave the children and mothers holiday gifts. This sort of thing done the genuine McCarthy way touches the families and most importantly the children much more than any of the customary holiday ‘give to the community’ activities during the holidays.”

This is one McCarthy tradition that leaves an impression not only on the families touched at Acres of Hope, but on every volunteer who gives a little of themselves – either financially or of their time.

About Heart Hats
The McCarthy Heart Hats community involvement program is dedicated to encouraging, supporting and recognizing McCarthy employees’ volunteer efforts in a variety of causes to ensure real needs are being met in communities where employees work, live and play.  The company-wide volunteer program allows McCarthy employees across the country to take at least one (paid) full-day off from work annually to utilize their building skills and other talents to aid local organizations in need.

“Out of all the awards to receive, this one is incredibly rewarding and a tribute to our whole team’s focus and hard work in recent years,” said Rich Henry, President of McCarthy’s Northern Pacific Division. “In Northern California, we pride ourselves as one of the largest and most respected builders and community leaders; however, our employees’ satisfaction and love for the work is why we’re so successful. Our greatest assets at McCarthy walk through the door every day.”

The A+ Employers awards are a result of employee surveys. These survey questions cover categories such as work environment, work-life balance, job satisfaction, advancement opportunities, management, compensation and benefits. Companies needed substantial employee participation to be considered. The employee’s scores were averaged into an overall score, and McCarthy achieved the highest score in the large company category.

“I am extremely proud of our team in Sacramento, as the office is a true testament to the team-oriented, open-door and collaborative culture McCarthy promotes. This win is especially gratifying because we rose to the top slot among seven tough finalists,” McCarthy CEO Mike Bolen added. “Over the years, McCarthy’s offices across the country have been recognized with such awards, which are a tribute to our people – our employee owners.”

The Sacramento Business Journal presented McCarthy with its award at the annual A+ Employers event on Oct. 29, 2008. McCarthy is featured in the publication’s “A+ Employers” supplement.

About McCarthy
McCarthy Building Companies is the nation’s 10th largest domestic general contractor (Engineering News-Record, May 2008), and the 4th largest general contractor in California (California Construction, April 2008). With more than 140 years of experience, McCarthy is one of the nation’s oldest, privately held construction firms and one of California’s premier commercial builders. Committed to the construction of high performance buildings, the company provides general contracting, construction management, program management and design/build services for healthcare, educational, parking structure, entertainment, retail, laboratory, biotechnical, microelectronic, and industrial facilities; office buildings; tenant interiors; mixed-use; multifamily residential and bridges and highways. In addition to Sacramento and San Francisco, McCarthy has offices in Newport Beach and San Diego, Calif.; Phoenix; Las Vegas; Dallas; St. Louis and Atlanta. McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned.

The McCarthy Sacramento office chose to hold this year’s Heart Hats/Community Day at the Center for Fathers and Families.

The center is a not-for-profit agency with a strong history of responding to the needs of fathers and their families. The center offers programs and services that lead to family growth, enrichment, and empowerment. Their goals are to re-establish and reiterate the importance of fatherhood in both the home and the community, and to promote the theme to all men that fatherhood is forever and fun.

Our partners in Sacramento helped this organization prepare their new building for occupancy. They painted, buffed and cleaned the floors, cleaned the windows, helped clean up their flower beds, installed two new signs, replaced their carpet, and provided a security gate to their parking lot.

“I trust McCarthy with all my heart and soul,” said Rick Jennings, CEO at the Center for Fathers and Families. “ I know that they’re a company that’s not in it for any personal glory. They’re in it for the same reason that we’re in it. Because of that, they become a teammate.  And together, we will do great things!”

It was truly a team effort. There were 33 McCarthy Heart Hat volunteers the day of the event.

About Heart Hats
The McCarthy Heart Hats community involvement program is dedicated to encouraging, supporting and recognizing McCarthy employees’ volunteer efforts in a variety of causes to ensure real needs are being met in communities where employees work, live and play.  The company-wide volunteer program allows McCarthy employees across the country to take at least one (paid) full-day off from work annually to utilize their building skills and other talents to aid local organizations in need.

The three-story Health and Wellness Center will consist of medical offices, laboratories and exam rooms, a pharmacy, a physical therapy rehabilitation facility, an imaging room, and meeting rooms.  The facility will also feature a Wellness Garden that will be landscaped to promote recovery and peace in the natural outdoor setting.

The project is currently seeking LEED Silver certification and will incorporate several green features, including a green roof containing vegetation to absorb harmful UV rays and reduce reflectants; an environmentally friendly mechanical system consisting of chilled beams that reduce the need for costly air conditioning; and recycled and earth-friendly building materials.  Additionally, approximately 80 percent of the materials removed during the demolition will be recycled. WRNS Studio LLP is the primary architect.

This is McCarthy’s third project on the UCD campus, having completed the Activities and Recreation Center in 2004 and the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts in 2002.

About McCarthy
McCarthy Building Companies is the nation’s 10th largest domestic general contractor (Engineering News-Record, May 2008), and the 4th largest general contractor in California (California Construction, April 2008). With more than 140 years of experience, McCarthy is one of the nation’s oldest, privately held construction firms and one of California’s premier commercial builders.  Committed to the construction of high performance buildings, the company provides general contracting, construction management, program management and design/build services for healthcare, educational, parking structure, entertainment, retail, laboratory, biotechnical, microelectronic, and industrial facilities; office buildings; tenant interiors; mixed-use; multifamily residential and bridges and highways.  In addition to Sacramento and San Francisco, McCarthy has offices in Newport Beach and San Diego, 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.