UCSD to complete $568 million in construction projects by mid-2011

01/14/2010 The Daily Transcript

More than 300 construction workers, University of California, San Diego faculty, staff and students celebrated the "topping off" of a $67 million Health Services Graduate Housing complex Wednesday.
The nine-story, 230,000-square-foot building consists of 225 two-, three- and four-bedroom apartment units. Once completed, the facility will house 450 graduate students.
General contractor, Webcor Builders anticipates completing the project ahead of schedule in September 2010. The builder has already successfully completed the building's substructure four months ahead of the original schedule.

"Cost control, schedules, environmental sensitivity and work quality are top priorities on all of our projects," John Beccaira, project director for Webcor Builders, said in a statement. "Webcor's crews, working closely with UCSD, have gone that extra mile to get the 'bones' of the complex completed faster and to a higher standard than originally specified. Less time means lower costs and reduced environmental impacts."
The Health Services Graduate Housing Complex is expected to achieve the Silver standard through the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy Efficiency Design rating system for sustainable buildings.
The highly efficient building incorporates low-emitting renewable and recyclable materials. It will use little water and capture 90 percent of stormwater runoff. The facility also features a green roof that doubles as a social area and low water landscaping.

The project was designed by Valerio Dewalt Train Associates. It includes 869 tons of reinforcing steel, provided by CMC Fontana Steel and 12,350 cubic yards of concrete delivered by Vulcan Materials Company.
The next construction phase of the Health Services Graduate Student Housing project will involve subcontractors who will install interior walls, electrical lines and fixtures, plumbing, heating and other systems.
The project is one of six major construction projects under way at UCSD, worth a combined $568 million. Five of the projects are financed exclusively by UCSD, using no taxpayer funds.

The only project to include public funding, the Medical Education and Telemedicine Center is a 60,000-square-foot facility that will be used by medical students and to host continuing education courses for physicians on using new technology, such as surgical robotics. The $65 million project is funded with $35 million in Prop 1D funding and the remaining $30 million will be financed through fundraising and debt financing.
Other ongoing construction projects include UCSD Medical Center's Sulpizio Family Cardiovascular Center. Located near Thornton Hospital in La Jolla, the four-story facility will unify UCSD's ambulatory, clinical and inpatient heart and stroke care in a single location. The $227 million project is funded with nearly $130 million in external financing, $38 million in gifts, $21.7 million in hospital reserves and $37.7 million from capitalized leases. The Cardiovascular Center is expected to be completed in April of 2011.

When completed in spring 2011, the 13-story Village at Torrey Pines East will accommodate 807 transfer students in 146 four-, five- and six-bedroom units. The $97.7 million project includes a marketplace and bistro/café, reception area, administrative offices, conference and meeting rooms, laundry and maintenance spaces.
Revelle College Apartments is a $69.4 million project that will house 510 second-year students. The C-shaped building will vary in height from five to 10 stories. The facility is expected to be completed in summer 2011.

Also planned for completion in summer 2011 is the $42.5 million Muir College Apartments housing project.
UCSD aims to achieve LEED certification with all of the buildings.
"On-campus housing furthers UC San Diego's and greater San Diego's sustainability goals," said Boone Hellmann, associate vice chancellor of design and construction and campus architect for UCSD. "All of our new construction incorporates the latest energy- and water-conservation technologies. As a result, energy usage is increasing much slower than our overall growth and the per-square-foot consumption of water has decreased over the past four years throughout the entire campus, from 56 gallons per square foot to 53 gallons per square foot. We plan to reduce that rate of consumption further in the coming years."
UCSD's construction initiative will help the university achieve its goal of increasing the availability of student housing. The present has proven an ideal time to complete the initiative. Due to reduced construction activity, UCSD received low bids from reputable contractors in the region who were able to keep the projects ahead of schedule.
UCSD's building boom is also a boon to contractors experiencing reduced project volumes in a down economy.
"An investment of $568 million would support roughly 16,200 jobs, including 5,500 onsite construction jobs," said Kenneth Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America in a statement. "The San Diego metro area has lost more than 26,000 construction jobs in the past three years and these projects will bring much needed work to a suffering industry while creating structures that will deliver value for decades."


By MONICA UNHOLD, The Daily Transcript
Thursday, January 14, 2010

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