Work began in July on the $320-million Sutter Medical Center, a 230,000-sq-ft facility replacing Castro Valley’s Eden Medical Center – yet another casualty of the state’s rigorous earthquake codes.
Financed entirely without public dollars, the project is one of the first healthcare developments in California to utilize both a phased permitting process by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development and an integrated project delivery team system.
An IPD system differs from standard design/bid/build or design-build systems in that the major players – owner, general contractor, architect and other major contractors – are all under the same contract to coordinate design of the project early in the process. The process enables the team to identify potential problems early and react rapidly to project changes.
DPR Construction of Redwood City is the general contractor on the project and Phoenix-headquartered Devenney Group Architects is the project architect.
Sutter Medical Center will have 130-acute-care beds, a Level 2 trauma emergency department, a 34-unit universal-care center and diagnostic imaging, intensive care and women’s services.
The project is being built adjacent to Eden Medical Center, which will be demolished after Sutter Medical’s estimated completion in January 2013.
“This is the first OSHPD project I’ve done where we’re able to have phased permitting,” says DPR project manager John Bloomfield. “Usually, we get the complete drawings and then fight the battles from there. The project is being totally 3D modeled, from which 2D drawings are developed.
“By doing this, we eliminate a lot of the typical obstacles that we could run into, such as pipes that run into duct work.”
The Project Team
Owner: Sutter Health, Sacramento
General Contractor: DPR Construction, Redwood City
Project Architect: Devenney Group, Phoenix
Mechanical and Plumbing Design Contractor: Capital Engineering Consultants, Rancho Cordova
Electrical Design Contractor: The Engineering Enterprise, Alameda
