McCarthy Completes Miramar College Parking Structure and LEED Platinum-Designed Police Substation

San Diego Community College District (SDCCD) officials, Miramar College faculty, and project team members celebrated the completion of the project today with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony, followed by guided tours of the new facilities. Program speakers included Charlie Hogquist, police chief, San Diego Community College District; Patricia Hsieh, Ed.D., president, San Diego Miramar College; Rich Grosch, president, SDCCD Board of Trustees; and Michael Bulander, LEED AP.

The police substation portion of the project is on track to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. It will be the first higher education institution in San Diego County to achieve such LEED status. The police substation is one of 10 LEED certified projects built or planned at Miramar College and among 30 across the SDCCD.

The $17.9 million project is part of the Districts $1.555 billion Propositions S and N construction program, which is providing for new instructional and career training facilities, major renovations, campus-wide infrastructure projects, and parking and public safety enhancements at City, Mesa and Miramar colleges, plus six Continuing Education campuses.

The McCarthy team succeeded in completing this cost-effective, aesthetically pleasing, highly efficient parking structure ahead of schedule, while incorporating innovative design elements to pursue LEED Platinum Certification of the adjacent police substation, said David Umstot, vice chancellor of facilities management for the District. Both serve to set new standards for performance and sustainability of educational facilities in southern California.

The San Diego Community College District had previously tapped McCarthy to build its new $28.9 million, 50,000-square-foot Allied Health Education and Training Facility at San Diego Mesa College in the Clairemont area of San Diego. Also funded by the Propositions S and N construction bond program, the Allied Health building successfully achieved LEED Gold Certification last year.

The four-story, above-grade Miramar College parking structure is constructed with poured-in-place, reinforced concrete. The scope of work for McCarthy included all related site work, including installation of drought-tolerant landscaping and high-efficiency irrigation systems that use reclaimed water.

The adjacent single-story police substation will provide a central hub for campus safety and security, wayfinding and parking permitting. The facility encompasses a reception area, conference room, office areas, and a secure suspect processing area. These spaces are organized along the buildings perimeter to provide a welcoming, well-lit area that maximizes natural daylight. The terra cotta façade helps tie the new facility to the look and feel of the existing buildings on campus.

Key to its sustainable design is a green roof grid system, which covers the majority of the roof deck. The grid system uses modular panels for ease of installation, roof access and maintenance. A green screen, designed to achieve the look of a vertical garden, covers the west elevation of the parking structure. The vegetation used will contribute to a microclimate that is central to the facilitys passive thermal and natural ventilation design.

The xeriscape plants incorporated into the roof system significantly reduced the need for stormwater infrastructure conveyance and retention systems. They also will help remove impurities from storm-water runoff, while reducing maintenance costs for filtration systems.

Additionally, the green roof and wall systems will help reduce the heat island effect and complement the benefits of the pervious pavement used in the parking area. The green screen on the west elevation of the parking structure will further contribute to lower ambient heat gain, both within the police substation and the new parking structure.

The tower element serves as a solar chimney a passive solar strategy used to create a flow of natural ventilation. The top of the tower will heat up, and louvers will provide for air exhaust at the high point. Inside the building, exposed concrete walls and ceiling will create a thermal mass that can store heat during the day, and release it during the night to keep the building comfortable during operating hours.

An array of other sustainable design features factor into the buildings LEED Platinum level of sustainable design, including the terra cotta rain screens that create a vented facade and increase building envelope energy efficiency; curtain walls that have horizontal exterior siding on the south, vertical fins on the east, and a large glazed area facing north; operable windows that provide natural ventilation; Solatube skylights that capture natural light and enhance occupants work conditions; use of reclaimed water for flushing toilets; and suspended ceiling clouds that enhance acoustical performance while serving as reflectors for daylight.

Still more green features include cradle to cradle certified finish materials, renewable and recycled flooring, and low-emitting casework materials.  The reception area of the police substation showcases a recessed, interactive flat screen panel that informs visitors of the buildings sustainable features, and reinforces Miramar Colleges sustainability goals.

Working collaboratively with the District and the Campus Police Department was paramount to the success of the project, explained McCarthy Project Director Bob Betz.

Numerous coordination meetings were held throughout the design phase of the project to ensure that the requirements of the District and the users were integrated into the design, all while retaining the sustainable features needed to achieve LEED Platinum Certification, said Betz. The McCarthy team is very proud to have completed the parking structure and the police station ahead of schedule, and to have played a role in the design and construction of one of the most sustainable projects on any of SDCCDs campuses.

One of the Districts early design-build projects, Harley Ellis Devereaux, served as the architect for the police substation, and International Parking Design provided architectural services on the parking structure component. Jessen Wright Structural Engineers was the structural engineer; Randall Lamb Associates, electrical engineer; SC Engineers, mechanical engineer; and Burkett & Wong Engineers, civil engineer.  Schmidt Design Group served as the landscape architect.

Gafcon, Inc. serves as the program manager for the Propositions S and N construction bond program.

About McCarthy

McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is one of the nations oldest and largest commercial construction companies and the largest educational facilities builder in California. The firm has been building in the education market for the last 50 years. In addition to San Diego, McCarthy has offices in Newport Beach, Sacramento and San Francisco, Calif.; Phoenix; Las Vegas; St. Louis; Dallas; Houston; and Atlanta. McCarthy is 100 percent employee-owned.