Congratulations to the project team on The County of San Diego Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility in Santee, California for receiving the highly-regarded 2016 Marvin M. Black Partnering Excellence Award! The award is a category in the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America 2016 Alliant Build America Awards and was recently announced during the association’s annual convention in San Antonio, Texas.
Built by Balfour Beatty Construction, the new $221.5 million correctional facility project entailed construction of 25 buildings spanning 45 acres and 464,000 square feet of building space. Constructed in two phases, the new facility replaces the former 1960s era complex and serves as the point of intake for women inmates in San Diego County.
Based on a non-traditional design that is setting new standards for future detention facilities, the progressive space promotes rehabilitation, not just incarceration of inmates by housing areas for education, pre-employment training, recreation services, religious and library services and inmate industries.
The facility also incorporates space to house 1,216 minimum, medium and maximum security beds, 32 mental health beds as well as 22 medical patient beds. Space for inmate health services consist of four distinct components: a women’s clinic, medical infirmary, psychiatric outpatient clinic and psychiatric security unit. An area for food services, a central utility plant and maintenance shops were also built.
Through a strategically executed partnering process, the design-build team met the owner’s goals for the project, and even exceeded owner expectations by developing innovations in construction to boost quality while reducing materials as well as operational costs. The effort can also be credited with playing a significant role in garnering a dozen local, regional and national awards, to date.
“Having participated in the partnering sessions, I can attest to the collective team’s true commitment to the partnering process on this unique and innovative project,” said Brian Cahill, president of Balfour Beatty Construction’s California Division. “Despite the group’s large size, we formed a powerful team that was aligned with the owner’s objectives and remained mindful of the county’s rehabilitative goals for inmates. We met every challenge head on and the results speak for themselves – an award-winning design that was built safely, on schedule, on original budget, and with a zero punch list. We are all proud to have been a part of this project and its success is a testament the team’s commitment to each other, the design-build process and partnering at its best.”
We applaud the efforts of every individual who made this project a resounding success. Lead project team members include: County of San Diego Department of General Services, San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, Balfour Beatty Construction, Vanir Construction Management, KMD Architects, HMC Architects, Bureau Veritas, DCI Engineers, Glumac and CGL Companies.
“I am pleased to have facilitated this multiple award-winning project in which all team members were committed to partnering to overcome obstacles and work towards mutual success by meeting the project’s ‘big, hairy, audacious goals,’” said VCG President Jim Eisenhart. The team should be commended for developing innovative solutions to various challenges, setting new standards in partnering excellence, and exceeding the owner’s vision for creating a facility that other counties will emulate and will positively impact society for years to come.”
More information about the Alliant Build America Award winners can be found here.
