McCarthy begins Carlsbad High School renovation

McCarthy Building Cos. has started construction on the $86 million renovation of Carlsbad High School in Carlsbad.

Carlsbad High School is among eight schools within the Carlsbad Unified School District being constructed or modernized with funding from Proposition P, a $198 million bond measure passed by voters last fall.

The overall scope of work for the modernization and reconstruction of Carlsbad High School includes construction of a new stadium as well as construction of eleven new permanent education structures. The project has been divided into multiple phases to allow the school to continue operating during the projected three-year-long construction period. Final completion is slated for fall 2011.

The present stadium phase, valued at $13.6 million, includes demolition of the existing stadium, installation of underground utility infrastructure, and construction of a new 3,900-seat athletic stadium with aluminum bleachers, a synthetic track and field area, and a 10,000-sq-ft building to house locker rooms, restrooms and concessions. Completion of the new stadium is slated for spring of 2010.

A previous phase in June 2008 required McCarthy to set up temporary classroom facilities for students, along with the utilities to support these facilities.

McCarthy currently is working on preconstruction services for the new buildings construction phase, which encompasses one- and two-story education buildings comprising 99,000 sq ft of classroom, performing arts, vocational education lab, and food service space. Completion of this phase is slated for fall 2011. Perkins+Will is the project architect. John A. Martin & Associates is the structural engineer; Leighton Engineering is the geotechnical engineer; Cornerstone Engineering, Inc. is the civil engineer; Johnson Consulting Engineers, Inc., is the electrical engineer; Donn C. Gilmore & Associates is the mechanical engineer; and Lightfoot Planning Group is serving as landscape architect. The Planning Center provided the Environmental Impact Report.  Gafcon is the program manager.

Barnhart completes parking facility at Mesa College

San Diego-based Barnhart, Inc. has completed a $25-million parking facility at Mesa College East Campus in San Diego.

San Diego-based Architects Delawie Wilkes Rodrigues Barker provided architectural services for the project.

The San Diego Mesa College Parking Structure is five tiers high and offers 1,052 parking spaces. The parking structure incorporates a number of green building design features, including photovoltaic panels on the roof that will provide energy for the new police station and Allied Health Building, both set to open later this year, and a landscape plan that utilizes a water-efficient irrigation system and low-water-use plants. Construction on the structure began in December 2007 and was completed in 15 months.

This facility was funded through Proposition S, a $685-million construction bond passed by San Diego voters in 2002.

The parking structure is the principal component of a three-project contract Barnhart is working on as a general contractor on the campus. Other projects include an East Campus road realignment and a 6,700-sq-ft police station for the campus police.

Hathaway Dinwiddie finishes work on Urban Design Group project at USC

Dallas-based Urban Design Group served as the architect for two recently-completed buildings at the School of Cinematic Arts complex at the University of Southern California.

The construction budget for the project was $72.5 million and the general contractor was San Francisco-based Hathaway Dinwiddie.

The first two buildings -- named after filmmakers George Lucas and Steven Spielberg -- opened for classes in January. Featuring a total gross area of 137,000 sq ft, these components of the complex have a mix of high-performance capabilities (designed to attain LEED silver status), as well as thematic aesthetics to recall the school’s 80-year history. The buildings’ California Style was in vogue in the southern part of the state when the university offered its first film courses in 1929.

Surrounding a central courtyard, the Lucas and Spielberg structures contain classrooms, administrative offices, an indoor/outdoor café, exhibition/installation halls, eight screening rooms/theaters that seat between 42 and 200 people, and audio/visual editing labs.

Construction is currently under way for the four other buildings, which will have a gross area of more than 63,000 sq ft. Located immediately adjacent to the Lucas and Spielberg buildings, the new facilities will be completed in August 2010 and will include animation and digital arts production spaces, four soundstages, a production equipment center and a new headquarters for the school’s admissions/student services operations.

Austin Commercial named CM-at-risk for LAX project

Austin Commercial was recently named as the construction manager-at-risk for the new, $425 million, 1.5 million-sq-ft Bradley West Terminal project at Los Angeles International Airport.

The new terminal will include 10 gates with concourse area and passenger boarding areas. Preconstruction will end in early 2010 with construction starting soon afterward.

The project team for the Bradley West Terminal includes joint venture partner Walsh Construction and Fentress Architects as the designer.
In 2005 Austin Commercial completed the 2.1 million-sq-ft International Terminal D at D/FW International Airport. In California, Austin is currently serving as construction manager at Sacramento International Airport and Ontario International Airport.

Starrett Construction completes KMA-designed bank branch

El Cajon-based Starrett Construction has completed construction on a new San Diego County Credit Union branch in Laguna Niguel.

San Diego-based KMA Architecture & Engineering was the architect.

The 4,300 sq-ft SDCCU commercial tenant improvement project began in October 2008. The building space was originally occupied by medical offices, which required an extensive demolition and renovation process.

The exterior of the building was altered to suit the change from medical offices to retail use and includes new windows, an exterior ATM and depository area. The redesigned interior of the building features floor-to-ceiling frameless glass to separate offices and function as partitions.

The branch also includes a specially designed kiosk with booth self-service banking and an in-lobby ATM, 10 teller stations, a safe deposit vault, three private offices, a computer server room with uninterrupted power supply units, an employee break room and storage room.

KMA also provided electrical and mechanical engineering, architecture and plumbing services for the building.

W.E. O’Neil awarded contract for Women’s Center project

W.E. O’Neil Construction Co. of California was named the general contractor for the construction of the Downtown Women’s Center project in Los Angeles.

Pica + Sullivan Architects and Gafcon Construction Management teamed up to develop a plan to transform an existing building into the new home for the Women’s Center, which provides services for homeless women.

The new home is a six-story, concrete frame building originally built in 1926. The new building is designed to earn a LEED silver rating and will contain 72 units on the top four floors. The first two floors will contain a support services, including counseling, medical and dining facilities.

W.E. O’Neil will begin construction on the building with seismic bracing of the existing building to bring it up to current building code standards. W.E. O’Neil will also need to preserve the existing building’s historical façade. Construction on the new Downtown Women’s Center is expected to be completed by summer 2010 when the Women’s Center will move from its present location to the new site.