More Than Just Football

Research Buildings, Sports Arena Top Current Construction Projects

The University of Southern California has four major projects and two parking garages underway or just completed at its main campus. A 10-story research facility under construction and a 225,000-sq.-ft. biomedical research center in the design phase highlight activity at the school's Health Sciences campus.

By Mary Forgey and Paul Napolitano

The University of Southern California's football team--a perennial powerhouse and ranked No. 1 in the nation this year--has always been a source of pride for students and alumni. But it's an ambitious capital improvement plan that is garnering plenty of attention off the field.

The Galen Center is a 255,000-sq.-ft. main arena and a companion, 45,000-sq.-ft. practice "pavilion," at Figueroa and Jefferson boulevards (rendering courtesy of HNTB Architetcure).

Cutting-edge complexes for new-age biological sciences and colorectal cancer research are nearing completion. Ground was recently broken on a $70 million multi-purpose arena. And this summer, the school begins a project that will double the number of units in a student-housing complex.

"About three years ago," said Curt Williams, USC's vice president of capital construction development, "the university realized that in order for it to compete effectively as a major research university, it was going to have to spend a fair amount of money, primarily to improve the research facilities on the two campuses."

USC's main campus, called University Park, is about 3 mi. south of downtown Los Angeles. The 155-acre campus has four major projects and two parking garages under way or just completed.

The Health Sciences campus, about 5 mi. from downtown, has a 10-story research facility under construction and a 225,000-sq.-ft. biomedical research center in the design phase.

University Park Projects

The costliest construction project at University Park is the $70 million Galen Center, an 255,000-sq.-ft. main arena and a companion, 45,000-sq.-ft. practice "pavilion," at Figueroa and Jefferson boulevards. Site work began in January. The general contractor is the Costa Mesa office of Clark Construction Group, California.

Joseph J. Diesko

Joseph J. Diesko, project director and vice president of sports architecture for the Los Angeles office of HNTB Architecture, said a giant window in the arena will give fans a dramatic view of the downtown L.A. skyline.

"The Galen Center will sit 100 ft. above grade and will be very visible from the 110 Freeway," Diesko said. "It will be the new front door to the campus."
In addition to being the permanent home to the Trojan men and women's basketball and volleyball teams, The 10,260-seat arena be used for other sporting events, concerts, lectures and graduation ceremonies.

"It's going to be a huge asset to the campus and the student body as well as to the athletic department," Diesko added.

The athletic pavilion will be a large, modern practice facility for the four teams playing in the Galen Center. Each team will have a locker room and its own designated practice court. The building will also house the offices for the coaches and staff.

"That's going to make a huge difference in efficiency and in the athlete's lifestyle," Diesko said. "They won't be shuffling all over campus."

The Galen Center, like other buildings on the USC campus, has been totally funded by gifts. But the research facilities will break new ground in this area because they will not be completely financed by donations.

"For the first time in any significant way, the school elected to use debt funding as one of the funding sources for projects," Williams said.

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Two major research buildings on the University Park campus began 18 months ago. Ronald Tutor Hall, a 103,000-sq.-ft. building for the school of engineering (primarily electrical engineering and nanotechnology), opened in January. The five-story building, designed by Los Angeles-based AC Martin Partners, is named after its lead donor-USC alumni and president and CEO of the project's general contractor, Sylmar-based Tutor-Saliba.

Another notable project on campus is the 130,000-sq.-ft. Molecular Biology and Computational Genomics Building, which is being constructed by Santa Monica-based Morley Builders for the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. The building-designed by the Los Angeles office of Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership-is scheduled for completion in May.

The Molecular Biology Building combines traditional molecular biology laboratories with modern computational facilities to facilitate the study of genomics (the branch of genetics that studies organisms in terms of their genomes or full DNA sequences).

Jeff Moe, Morley's project manager, said that the building includes an animal research facility (vivarium) that will be home to 41,000 mice and a plant growth chamber in the basement. Traditional wet labs will occupy the second floor, a hybrid of office, lab and wet labs will be on the third floor and offices, file-server rooms and study areas will be found on the fourth floor.

"The most challenging aspect of a building like this is the MEP (mechanical, electric and plumbing) system," Moe said. "It's the guts of this building and comprises the vast majority of the cost. On a building like this, the MEP drives the heights, ceiling spaces and shafts-nearly everything."

The MEP team consists of Glendale-based ACCO (HVAC), Rancho Dominguez-based Murray Co. (plumbing) and Los Angeles-based Bergelectric.

Two air handlers are stacked on top of each other in the basement.

"We actually had to bring them in before we cast the first floor," Moe said. "We bought them a year before we started construction, had them shipped here and protected them when the firstfloor slab was poured."

Moe said more than 300,000 bricks cover the building. The bricks were supplied by Pacific Clay and DBM Hatch was the installer.

"They're very familiar with the details," Moe said of Hatch's experience.

As a result of a growing demand for student housing at USC, Morley is scheduled to begin construction in August on a project that will double the number of beds at a undergraduate housing complex just south of Tutor Hall and the Molecular Biology and Computational Genomics Building. The Los Angeles office of Cannon Design is the architect for Parkside II, a five-story addition to the Parkside student-housing complex, slated for completion in June 2007.

A couple of new parking garages will absorb the increase in vehicular traffic at University Park.

Parking Structure I, a 1,100-space, design-build project is nearing completion. The general contractor is Lake Forest-based ARB Inc. and Irvine-based Parkitects is the architecture firm.

Construction of another garage is scheduled to begin in July. The 1,200-space structure--designed by the team of AC Martin Partners and Parkitects--will provide parking for visitors to the Galen Center. The general contractor, the Newport Beach office of McCarthy Building Co. Inc., negotiated a guaranteed-minimum-price contract. The garage is due to open with the Galen Center in September 2006.

Health Sciences Projects

The 130,000-sq.-ft. Molecular Biology and Computational Genomics Building is scheduled to be completed in May (photo by Paul Napolitano).

The Harlyne Norris Research Tower at Biggy Street and Eastlake Avenue is a 10-story high-rise scheduled for completion in April 2007.

The original completion date for the project was January 2007, but a six-month delay in obtaining initial permits stalled the project, USC's Williams said. Foster City-based Rudolph & Sletten, the project's general contractor, rescheduled subcontractor schedules, so the project will only be delayed three months, said Williams, who declined to state the project's construction cost.

The Harlyne Norris Research Tower will accommodate scientists and physicians and consolidate research programs into a facility that will be dedicated to colorectal cancer research for the Keck School of Medicine.

"The biggest problem we've had on this project is the extreme escalation of material costs over the last several months," said Dean St. Clair of Lee Burkhart Liu Inc., the Marina del Rey-based project architect. St. Clair declined to discuss specific costs.

The building will have five typical lab floors and three floors that are half lab-half offices. St. Clair said. Another floor will contain a 200-seat auditorium and a conference center. The building includes a basement.

Design work is underway on another 225,000-sq.-ft. biomedical research building, tentatively named Research Building 3. Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership has been selected as project architect; a general contractor has not yet been chosen. Construction should begin in 2006 with completion planned for 2008.