LOS ANGELES-The design/build team of McCarthy Building Cos. and TAYLOR has completed a new $20 million Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Public Health that replaces a 1950s-era building at the Martin Luther King Jr. Medical Center Campus. The project includes a two-level, 31,000-square-foot medical office building and an adjacent 76-car parking lot. A glass enclosed entry lobby, pharmacy, laboratory and clinical nursing station are located on the first floor. The second level includes space for public health nurses, public health investigators and administrative offices.

The new facility was funded with US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development grants through its Economic Development Initiative and Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program. "In order to meet the financing requirements, the construction had to be weather-tight by January 2011, be substantially complete by May 2011 and tenant move-in completed by August 2011," said Andrew Moey, supervising project manager at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. "The design-build delivery method created a greater level of coordination and collaboration between the design and construction phases enabling the project team to meet all of the EDI/Loan deadlines." The project is expected to qualify for LEED Gold certification.

"The design and construction team's decision to use tilt-up construction for the building frame was key to meeting the aggressive construction schedule," said McCarthy project director Michael Wiggins. "We also utilized a fast-track incremental permit process to allow concurrent design and construction resulting in an 11-month overall project duration including design." As a result of this effort, the construction duration was reduced by 69 days and was delivered 20 days ahead of schedule, Wiggins said.