McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. Completes College of San Mateo's Health and Wellness Building

Online, April 7, 2010 (Newswire.com) - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Melinda Hepp / Jen Klein
Blattel Communications
415.397.4811
[email protected] / [email protected]

Susan Garritano
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc.
314.968.3300
[email protected]

MCCARTHY BUILDING COMPANIES, INC. COMPLETES COLLEGE OF SAN MATEO'S HEALTH AND WELLNESS BUILDING

Construction Concludes Two Months Ahead of Schedule; New Student Services and Faculty Administration Building on Track for Early 2011 Completion

SAN MATEO, CALIF., Apr. 7, 2010 - The design-build team of McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. (www.mccarthy.com) and architectural firm Kwan Henmi Architecture/Planning, Inc. completed construction on College of San Mateo's (CSM) new Health and Wellness Building with an adjacent Aquatics Center. Having started construction just fifteen months ago, McCarthy completed the 88,000-square-foot facility - which is seeking LEED-Silver Certification - two months ahead of schedule.

"McCarthy has impressed us with the delivery of the Health and Wellness Building. Through the use of design-build and a successful partnership between the design and construction teams, College of San Mateo was able to open its doors ahead of schedule and present our students, faculty, staff and greater community with a state-of-the-art health and wellness facility," said Jose Nuñez, vice chancellor, facilities planning, maintenance and operations, San Mateo County Community College District.

The Health and Wellness Building is part of an overall $162 million initiative that utilizes funding from San Mateo County voter-approved Measure A general obligation bonds. Also under Measure A, McCarthy is completing extensive site work improvements at CSM, including various infrastructure, landscaping and hardscaping upgrades. Still under construction is the 140,000-square-foot College Center slated for completion in early 2011. Seeking LEED Silver-Certification, this facility will contain administrative offices, a dining area, kitchen, campus bookstore, and a number of student services programs.

"Our projects at CSM have been unique and rewarding. On the heels of constructing the college's cornerstone building a few years back - the Science Building and Planetarium - we are able to continue utilizing innovative, cutting-edge building designs and techniques that pave the way for a new wave of high performing, environmentally conscious buildings," said Bill Niemann, project executive for McCarthy. "We are extraordinarily proud to present the students, faculty and the greater community with an extraordinary health and wellness facility that reflects our shared commitment to building healthier, stronger and more sustainable communities."

The three-story Health and Wellness Building, located prominently at the main entrance of the College of San Mateo campus, will house the San Mateo Athletic Club and Aquatic Center, as well as the cosmetology, nursing and dental assisting programs. The San Mateo Athletic Club, set to open in late Spring 2010, will include 14,000 square feet dedicated to cardiovascular and strength training areas, as well as open workout areas, with an additional 5,500 square feet of space dedicated to group fitness, including spinning, group exercise classes, yoga and Pilates. In addition to student usage, the facility will be available to the community through membership options.

The college's adaptive physical education program will be based out of the adjacent gymnasium and will benefit from the new San Mateo Aquatic Center, which is comprised of an Olympic-sized competition pool and a therapy pool. The competition pool, which will be among the best and largest in the area, will host major swimming competitions and be used by various clubs and groups throughout the San Mateo County area.

The Health and Wellness Building is on track to meet technically rigorous performance and sustainability standards to achieve LEED Silver-Certification. Environmentally conscious measures implemented by McCarthy include the utilization of reused concrete, use of structural steel framing, installation of linoleum flooring with a high recyclable content, integration of sun shading devices to defuse direct sunlight, the use of 100 percent outside air in the air handling units, and the conservation of water by 35 percent.

About Kwan Henmi Architecture/Planning, Inc.

Kwan Henmi is an architecture and planning firm with a vision for high quality design that serves clients and the community. With a focus on education, residential, commercial, transportation and civic work, the firm has a talented group of professionals that are passionate about design, community and service. The firm was founded in 1980 by Sylvia Kwan, FAIA, and Denis Henmi, AIA, and has experience ranging from complex, large-scale projects to small renovation projects. Kwan Henmi understands and is familiar with the design and construction process on all levels, and strongly believes that working closely with clients is imperative to completing the project successfully. Kwan Henmi is located in San Francisco.

About McCarthy Building Companies, Inc.

McCarthy Building Companies is the nation's 10th largest domestic general contractor (Engineering News-Record, May 2009), and the fourth largest general contractor in California (California Construction, April 2009). With more than 145 years of experience, McCarthy is one of the nation's oldest, privately held construction firms and one of California's premier commercial builders. Committed to the construction of high performance buildings, the company provides general contracting, construction management, program management and design-build services for educational, healthcare, parking structures, entertainment, retail, laboratory, biotechnical, microelectronic, and industrial facilities; office buildings; tenant interiors; mixed-use; multifamily residential; bridges; and highways. In addition to Sacramento and San Francisco, McCarthy has offices in Newport Beach and San Diego, Calif.; Phoenix; Las Vegas; Dallas; St. Louis and Atlanta. McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned.

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