Summer 2006 Newsletter
“The word ‘partner’ is much over-used these days. McCarthy actually worked and acted like one.”
— Michael Bishop, assistant superintendent
for business services, Paramount Unified
School District
Paramount Unified School District
Paramount, California
14 different school sites spread over a large geography. 17,000 students (many of them on non-conventional, year-round schedules). A bankrupt modular classroom contractor. Extensive abatement and modernization of structures, with one more than 100 years old. Just a few of the challenges McCarthy faced in Paramount’s ambitious modernization and new construction program. Completed over a 2½ year period, the program covered 16 sites including bringing nine campuses up to ADA requirements, rehabbing 270 classrooms and 27 bathrooms, installing 115 HVAC units and building 160 new classrooms and support structures. Despite processing 757 PCOs, there were zero claims filed by prime and subcontractor groups. All told, 860,000 man-hours were worked with zero recordable incidents and no lost-time injuries. McCarthy has been working with the Paramount district since 1998. Architects: LPA, Inc.and HMC, Inc., both of Irvine, Calif.
“McCarthy was our steady partner. They stepped outside the box.”
— Claude Rounds, vice president for administration, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, New York
Multiple days with temperatures below zero, two major winter storms (each measuring 20 inches of snow or more) and much less than optimal sub-grade ground material (which required the foundations to be twice the expected depth) were a few of the challenges McCarthy faced in completing the $56 million Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies Building for RPI, the nation’s oldest technological university. The 218,000-square-foot facility includes 67,000 square feet of lab and lab support space and 104,000 square feet of public and administrative space. The 4-story facility has opened to rave reviews from researchers, faculty and students. “McCarthy was our steady partner. They stepped outside the box to prepare the building for a signature opening event and a world class biotechnology symposium,” said RPI’s Claude Rounds. Architects: Burt Hill, Butler, Penn.; Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, Pittsburgh, Penn.
“McCarthy has done a great job of working with us, finding creative ways to solve problems, avoid disruption to the medical center and keep the job moving.”
— Robin Burr, project director, Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center
Vallejo, California
Upon completion in spring 2009, the new 458,000-square-foot, 188-bed tower for Kaiser Permanente in Vallejo, Calif., will meet all state-mandated seismic safety standards. Replacing an existing 265,000-square-foot structure originally built in 1973, the new facility will offer expanded emergency, radiology and surgical services, enhanced physical medicine and rehabilitation facilities, and enhanced parking. McCarthy is also constructing a new 2-story, 28,600-square-foot central utility plant and a new main utility trench (¼-mile long) between the new hospital and the new and existing utility plants. To keep traffic flowing during trench construction, McCarthy staff utilized a military style “Bailey Bridge,” placing three, 20-foot sections in different configurations across the trench cut to allow continuous campus access. Architect: Chong Partners Architecture, San Francisco.
“The relationship between the various teams on the project instilled a spirit of teamwork that resulted
in a high quality and reliable power plant.”
— Raymond Lorenzi, site project manager, Siemens Power Generation, Inc.
AmerenUE CTG # 3 and 4
Venice, Illinois
When MC Industrial, an independent McCarthy company, was awarded the installation of two,
180-megawatt combustion turbines, foundations and stacks for AmerenUE, the project duration was 14 months. Regulatory issues and other dynamics forced the schedule to be reduced to just eight months. Beating the clock was priority one. MC Industrial self-performed pile driving, concrete, millwright work, ironwork and boilermaker work. Teams worked two, 10-hour shifts a day, 6 days-a-week for three months. Avoiding Foreign Object and Debris (FOD) damage to the turbines, which are much like jet engine turbines, was a major challenge. The team instituted a FOD control program to keep loose tools, screws, metal shavings or dirt from entering the turbine or generator and causing damage to the equipment. Right on schedule and just in time for the blazing Midwest heat, the team fired up the first CTG, with the second following thirteen days later. Architect/Engineer: Black & Veatch, Overland Park, Kansas.
“This is one of the smoothest renovation projects that I have experienced. A construction project will only be as good as the on-site personnel, and in this case it was proven one more time.”
— T. Murray Sisson, AIA, vice president, PageSoutherlandPage
Knapp Medical Center Outpatient Services Renovation
Weslaco, Texas
McCarthy recently completed the $2.2 million, 14,000-square-foot renovation of outpatient services space at Knapp Medical Center in Weslaco, Texas, the building company’s fourth project for the medical center. This recent project included renovation of registration, outpatient testing, women’s imaging and clinical physiology areas and creating a new entrance with canopy. “McCarthy’s project staff did an outstanding job managing the construction activities within our existing building, having no impact on our ability to continue with our normal day-to-day operations,” said Knapp Medical Center Chief Operating Officer Terry Bergstrom. “The safety and quality of work on the jobsite was outstanding, and the project was completed almost one month early for our occupancy.” Architect: PageSoutherlandPage, Houston, Texas.
“McCarthy’s experience working on operating school campuses, together with their commitment to quality construction, and meeting schedules and budgets, made them our ideal contractor.”
— Jim Threadgill, assistant superintendent for operations, Glendale Union High School District
Glendale Union High School District
Glendale, Arizona
McCarthy recently completed construction on a 30,000-square-foot, two-story media center and gymnasium HVAC upgrades at Independence High School for the Glendale Union High School District in Arizona. In addition to this $5 million contract, another $51 million in work continues throughout the district including new media buildings and gymnasium HVAC upgrades at five high schools and miscellaneous renovations on all nine campuses. To minimize disruption, phased completions are scheduled through spring 2007. “The greatest challenge in school construction is matching the need with the dollars,” commented the district’s Jim Threadgill. “McCarthy has worked diligently to stretch the scope of work as much as possible within our finite budget and actually returned the project contingency early so these dollars could be absorbed into our project amount.” Architects: Architectural Resource Team, Phoenix; Gilleland Brubaker Architects, Glendale, Ariz.
“The renovation of our athletic field and track is the first step in our Master Plan. We’re extremely pleased with McCarthy’s performance and their willingness to stand by us while we raise funds for the plan’s remaining phases.”
— Keith Shahan, headmaster, John Burroughs School
John Burroughs School Track and Field
St. Louis, Missouri
Athletes at John Burroughs now play on the same artificial turf as many pros. Leland Field, home of the Bombers, underwent a total renovation and now sports a new Prestige XT field and a Mondo Super X track surface, a state-of-the-art material used on tracks at the past six Olympic Games. Managing storm water runoff was a major challenge, especially for Burroughs’ neighbors. McCarthy built a drainage system around the perimeter of the field and a retention basin to solve the problem. Today, runners at Burroughs are smiling. Not only has the old 6-lane track been expanded to eight, its new solid rubber surface and honeycomb structure provides millions of individual shock absorbers directly under the running surface, reducing the impact to athletes’ feet. Architect: Volz, Inc., St. Louis.
“Flexibility was key given the changing state of our design documents, and McCarthy was still able to keep us one step ahead.”
— Bob Masch, project director,
Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente
Medical Office Building
Downey, California
Described as a “hybrid” MOB because of the significant number of surgical procedures to be performed in the facility, Kaiser Permanente’s Downey MOB #1 is the first of several structures to be built on a 30-acre site formerly used by NASA. As construction proceeded, a large percentage of the design documents were changed. Despite that challenge, and others (including dealing with site abatement issues, severe noise restrictions due to adjacent film production facilities, and a water table that necessitated numerous pre-stressed concrete piles – each 60 feet in length – before normal footings/foundations could commence) Kaiser Permanente was able to maintain their original occupancy date. The four-story (braced frame) MOB includes 117,060 square feet of space for orthopedic, physical therapy services, as well as other outpatient procedures. A 657,000-square-foot hospital is currently being built by McCarthy on the same site. Architect: HMC Architects, Ontario, Calif.
“McCarthy has been a valuable member of the team in helping the project move along. They have done a great job in working with the architect and all the parties involved in maintaining our timeline.”
— Gerald Johnson, Lincoln City Manager
Lincoln Public Library at Twelve Bridges
Lincoln, California
Construction is getting ready to begin on the new $16.5 million Lincoln Public Library at Twelve Bridges, a joint effort among the city of Lincoln, Calif., Sierra Joint Community College District and Western Placer School District. The library will be the focal point of a new campus surrounded by the planned Lincoln Campus Sierra Community College and the new Twelve Bridges High School. The single story, 40,000-square-foot facility will accommodate the informational, technological and meeting space needs of both campuses, as well as the growing population of the greater Lincoln area. A recipient of a $10.4 million grant from the California Public Library Construction and Renovation Board, the joint-use library also will include community and group meeting space. The project is scheduled to complete in July 2007. Architect: NTD/Stichler Architects, Auburn, Calif.
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