Going Up in Downey

McCarthy Starts 1 Million-Sq.-Ft. Kaiser Facility

McCarthy Buildings Cos. Inc. began construction in February on a mammoth medical center in the southeast Los Angeles County city of Downey. The $300 million complex is scheduled to be completed in 2008.

By Paul Napolitano

The Newport Beach office of McCarthy Building Cos. Inc. has begun construction on one of the largest construction projects ever undertaken by Oakland-based Kaiser Permanente.

When it is completed in winter 2008, Kaiser's $300 million medical center in Downey—designed by HMC Architects—will include a new 657,047-sq.-ft. hospital, 117,060-sq.-ft. medical office building, second medical office building encompassing 178,431 sq. ft. and a 50,000-sq.-ft. central plant. McCarthy will also build a 650-space parking structure.

Located adjacent to the Kaiser Permanente Imperial Medical Office Building on a 30-acre site, the new facility will replace the hospital portion of the existing Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center and meet the health needs of a growing membership in the southeast section of the county.

Downey Medical Center is the first of three Kaiser Permanente facilities to begin construction in California this year, said Jerry McCall, senior vice president/service area manager for Kaiser Permanente. McCarthy built Kaiser's hefty Baldwin Park Medical Center 10 years ago, which at the time was the largest construction project ever undertaken by Kaiser Permanente, McCall added.

The 117,060-sq. ft. medical office building is scheduled for completion in fall 2005. The hospital, parking structure and second medical office building are all scheduled for completion in winter 2008.

The new facility is being built in accordance with SB 1953 seismic requirements and will be constructed with a structural steel braced-frame core with an exterior of plaster over metal studs that will be accented with metal panels and a curtain wall system.

"Some of the project's largest deliveries will include approximately 8,000 tons of structural steel and 30 mi. of concrete piles that are each about 60 ft. in length," said Jake Jones, McCarthy's project manager.

Once completed, the 352-bed, full-service hospital will include inpatient and outpatient services and will house 82 departments as well as an 85-room emergency department. Some of the hospital's specialty services to be offered include cardiology, gastroenterology, neurology, nuclear medicine, oncology, surgery and urgent care.

"Kaiser Permanente chose to build the new replacement hospital next to the Imperial Medical Office Building in Downey instead of rebuilding at the existing Bellflower site because the Downey location offers patients accessibility to the largest outpatient clinic facility within Kaiser Permanente," said Dr. Martin Gilbert, associate area medical director for Kaiser Permanente.

Kaiser Permanente also has plans for its existing Bellflower facility.

"Once the new Downey medical center is built, Kaiser Permanente will update the Bellflower facility and convert it to an outpatient surgical center with other outpatient services," McCall said.