Winter 2005 Newsletter

“I am extremely pleased with McCarthy’s quality of work and swift progress on this project.”

— Quincy Allen, P.E., East Harris County, area engineer, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)

The $11.5 million reconstruction of Interstate 610 east-bound and west-bound frontage roads between Kirby Drive and Braeswood Boulevard in Houston includes the reconstruction of existing Interstate 610 frontage roads and intersections. This project, located near the Astrodome, is scheduled to be completed in January 2006. “The construction of this project was designed to minimize the inconvenience to the traveling public, and most of the work is taking place at night and on weekends,” said Maureen Wakeland, P.E., TxDOT South Harris County, area engineer. McCarthy is also currently working on a $21.4 million pavement reconstruction project in Interstate 610’s East Loop in Harris County for TxDOT. In this project, McCarthy is reconstructing 44 lane miles of pavement. This project is scheduled to be completed in June 2006. McCarthy carefully orchestrated various portions of both projects to ensure minimal disruptions to area motorists. McCarthy also utilized a storm water pollution prevention project to avoid contamination of drainage systems located close to these projects.

“McCarthy’s performance to date has been excellent. The project staff is a pleasure to work with, and the quality of the work installed to date appears to be very high.”

— Ron Johnson, project manager, County of Santa Clara

Located on Santa Clara County’s Valley Medical Center (VMC) campus in San Jose, Calif., the new $85 million, 247,000-square-foot Valley Specialty Center (VSC) will include: a Cancer Center, Neurosciences Center, and Cardiovascular Center; surgical and medical specialties; pharmacy; laboratory space and diagnostic imaging. Renovation of 800 square feet in the basement of the new main hospital building will allow a new tunnel from the VSC to connect with the rest of the VMC campus. “Designed to optimize high performance, the exterior envelope will maximize thermal comfort, control glare, maximize daylight penetration into the building and control solar gain,” explained Peter Schlosser, principal with Anshen + Allen. With one level below grade and five above, the high-end facility is being constructed in accordance with the County of Santa Clara’s Quality Assurance Program. “As the largest project to utilize this program to date, we are carefully tracking this project’s success,” explained Ron Johnson, project manager for the county. A team comprised of three McCarthy employees and three county representatives are assigned full-time to this quality initiative. Architect: Anshen + Allen, San Francisco.

“There are many eyes watching this project, and McCarthy’s staff has personally stepped up to the plate to ensure success.”

— Randy Levin, senior project manager, SunCor Development Company

In construction immediately adjacent to owner SunCor and McCarthy’s main Phoenix offices (hence the many eyes), the $48 million Hayden Ferry Phase 2 project includes a 12-story, 300,000-square-foot Class A office building, a three-story retail/office building and a four-level addition to an existing parking structure. “We have been impressed by McCarthy senior management’s personal commitment to this project, and the staff’s willingness to apply lessons learned from our previous project,” commented SunCor’s Randy Levin. McCarthy completed the initial Lakeside project in 2002, and the company’s Residential Constructors LLC arm is currently building the nearby Edgewater at Hayden Ferry Lakeside Condominiums. The combined development is the largest private commercial project in the state of Arizona. Architect: DFD CornoyerHedrick, Phoenix.

“We beat our budget, finished ahead of schedule, and maintained a high level of quality, all while using precedent-setting seismic
technology.”

— Langston Trigg, vice president facilities design and construction, Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian

Construction is complete on the new Sue and Bill Gross Women’s Pavilion at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach, Calif. This $129 million construction project is McCarthy’s ninth for the hospital. The 320,000-square-foot Women’s Pavilion is the single largest construction project undertaken by Hoag Hospital since 1974. The new facility features the latest in healthcare technology, patient comfort and seismic building safety. Located in a Level 4 Seismic Zone, the project was the first Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) building to be constructed utilizing a steel moment frame on base isolators, and the first base isolation project to test the isolators for both tension and shear. The seven-level tower nearly doubles the clinical space on the hospital’s campus. Architect: Taylor & Associates Architects, Newport Beach, Calif. Structural Engineer: Taylor & Gaines Structural Engineers, Pasadena, Calif.

“The reason we hired McCarthy was because they are good listeners.”

— Jerry Fulks, president/chief executive officer, West Georgia Health System (WGHS)

West Georgia Medical Center recently selected McCarthy to build Phase 1 of its multi-phased expansion. Consisting of a new facility of approximately 120,000 square feet, the project will include program space for Cardiology, Emergency, ICU, and LDR suites, as well as improvements to infrastructure and site work. “The reason we hired McCarthy was because they are good listeners. They came in, assessed our challenges and came up with solutions to meet our needs,” commented WGHS’s Jerry Fulks. As a member of the Premier group purchasing network, WGHS was also very interested in McCarthy’s unique expertise in helping Premier member hospitals save construction dollars via group purchasing agreements. McCarthy is the only construction manager in the country who is a Premier contracted supplier. McCarthy is currently building at six Premier member hospitals.
Architect: Ellerbe Becket, Inc., Minneapolis.

“McCarthy was originally hired to oversee the construction of our new high school because of their excellent reputation and experience. After becoming better acquainted, we expanded their duties to include management of our capital improvement program.”

— Dimas Flores, construction coordinator, Lynwood Unified School District

Construction of a new $38 million, 15-building school complex was recently completed for Lynwood Unified School District (USD) in Southern California. The complex was constructed in 14 months and consists of Cesar Chavez Middle School and Thurgood Marshall Elementary School. The new schools are part of the $150 million modernization and expansion program McCarthy is managing for Lynwood USD. Cesar Chavez Middle School totals 120,890 square feet and includes three, two-story classroom buildings, as well as separate library, administration, kitchen and multi-purpose/gymnasium buildings and a two-level parking structure. Thurgood Marshall Elementary School includes five buildings totaling 48,500 square feet. The overall modernization program also consists of 10 expansion projects at existing schools as well as the construction of two new elementary schools, one new middle school and one new high school. Completion of all construction is tentatively scheduled for summer 2006. Program Architects: Westberg + White, Tustin, Calif.; LPA, Inc., Irvine, Calif.; Charles T. Bryant Associates, Pasadena, Calif.; and Ruhnau Ruhnau Clarke Associates, Riverside, Calif.

“Materials cost increases and labor shortage issues are having their impact, but McCarthy is effectively keeping ahead of the marketplace.”

— Bill Walker, project executive, Banner Health

Construction is underway on Banner Health’s new 360,000-square-foot greenfield Gateway Medical Center in Gilbert. Consisting of a five-story inpatient tower and a two-story above grade (with full basement) diagnostic and treatment building, the facility will include 162 beds. The most significant challenge is a daunting 19-month schedule. “McCarthy’s staff is a great mixture of battle-tested managers and go-getter engineers, and their team philosophy has meshed perfectly with ours,” commented Banner’s Bill Walker. “Given the accelerated timeframe, McCarthy’s preconstruction and field staff have been extremely influential in design development and value analysis.” Site and foundation work began in October 2005, and the project is scheduled for substantial completion in May 2007. Gateway Medical Center is the first Banner project for McCarthy.
Architect: NBBJ Architecture, Seattle.

“Well beyond the competition, the depth of knowledge McCarthy brought about our project and its challenges made it clear they spent a great deal of time ‘walking the streets’ to understand the structure’s significance to Sutter Health and the community.”

— Tom O’Leary, senior construction project manager, Sutter Health

Construction on a new parking garage in midtown Sacramento will begin in June 2006. The Sutter Community Garage, budgeted at $25 million will house space for about 1,100 cars on eight levels (one below grade). In addition, 9,000 square feet of retail will be available at street level in an attached one-story structure. “A significant amount of time and money was spent to enhance the exterior of this cast-in-place structure to meet the needs of the surrounding community,” commented Sutter Health’s Tom O’Leary. “McCarthy’s outreach efforts helped facilitate city council approval and keep the project moving.” To accommodate staff, patients and visitors to neighboring Sutter Medical Center, the garage also will serve local businesses, providing parking for the new Children’s Theatre of California, B Street Theatre and restaurants, as well as expanding parking for nearby churches. Construction is scheduled to be complete in 14 months. Architect: Choate Parking Consultants, Inc., Irvine, Calif.