In April, McCarthy Building Companies Inc. began construction of the East Natomas Educational Complex (ENEC) in Sacramento. In a partnership with LPA Inc., the two corporations are building the largest design-build public school project in the state so far as a result of a new California law.
The law in question is Assembly Bill 1402, which “authorizes school districts to utilize a design-build procurement process to deliver school projects greater than $10 million,” according to press information provided by McCarthy Building Companies Inc.
The project is a 293,450 square-foot, grade 7-12 facility, which includes a 1,900-student high school, junior high and facilities for sports and recreation and art programs. The school should open in 2010.
Green Initiatives
Crucial to the design and construction are “green” techniques to help keep costs low and the project environmentally responsible. Construction is primarily from concrete and steel that builders anticipate will allow for a life of 50 to 100 years.
Other green initiatives include an “east-west building orientation to maximize energy efficiency, solar tubes, skylights and high-efficiency HVAC units to reduce daytime energy demand, waterless urinals and occupant sensors will reduce potable water use, two story buildings reduce the overall building footprint on the land and a construction retention basin for storm water runoff.”
Landscape techniques further incorporate green initiatives by connecting this campus to its riparian surrounding and by using reflective pavement, recycled content on the synthetic track and field, high-efficiency irrigation, drought tolerant plants, and bio-swales. Cool or white roofs also contribute to energy savings. In addition, public “joint-use” facilities such as the pool and sports fields are located along the main road for ease of access to the community.
Cost
The overall project cost is nearly $153 million. It is the first school in the Division of State Architect’s 100-year history to receive foundation approval and start construction before final project approval.
“By working closely with the design team and [specialty contractors] early in design, we were able to secure pricing and procure critical elements such as structural steel prior to approval of the design documents from the Division of the State Architect (DSA),” according to a spokesperson for McCarthy Building Companies. “This helped us avoid significant escalation costs associated with a volatile market place.”
The close work with DSA, allowed the design-build team to intimately understand DSA’s expectations and conditions of approval.
The early collaboration enabled the entire team to prioritize and focus on important project aspects and helped maximize the opportunity to improve the overall project timeline.
Challenges
Some challenges greeted the project however. During the planning phase, work was a challenge at the undeveloped neighborhood surrounding the site. With no construction schedule for surrounding roads and utilities, the team had to collaborate and determine alternative approaches.
With the project outside the city limits and scheduled to be annexed by the city, pro-active communication and collaboration among the design-build team, Grant Joint Union High School District, McCarthy Building Companies, LPA Inc., Warren Engineering, Rex Moore & Airco Mechanical (school district, contractor, architect, engineers & subcontractors), developers, the county and city provided a solution that was in sync with the overall project schedule.
The green aspects of the educational project allowed the team to explore alternatives with actual — not estimated — costs.