Owner of the Year

ENR West 2025 California Owner of the Year: The County of San Diego

The County of San Diego's Public Health Lab slated for completion later this year, features highly technical spaces and equipment along with quality public art and a high level of sustainability.
*Photo courtesy the County of San Diego*

ENR West has chosen the County of San Diego as the 2025 California Owner of the Year.

The county has robust capital and major maintenance programs with about $600 million in active capital projects ranging from libraries to historic renovation, and $400 million in active major maintenance projects focusing on public safety and health and human services repairs and modernizations.

Of the recent projects, none is more notable than the $63.5-million, 5,000-sq-ft Southeast Live Well Center that was named ENR’s Best of the Best Project of the Year. The net-zero-energy social services center impressed judges with its emphasis on stakeholder representation.

Currently, San Diego County is also finishing work on the $93-million, 52,000-sq-ft public health laboratory and garage. The two-story facility will greatly expand the county’s ability to test for infectious diseases, monitor food and water safety, and test for dangerous pathogens. That project dovetails with a consolidation of the county’s operations campus which involves moving 20 departments and shrinking footprints to match new teleworking practices.

Sustainability and stakeholder commitment is reflected in numerous of the county’s ongoing and planned projects. The county’s clear direction to the contractors and cooperation across the project team helped make the efforts a success.

You can read more about the County of San Diego in the April issue of ENR West.

KEYWORDS: Owner of the Year

C.J. Schexnayder is the Editor of ENR West. He has contributed to ENR's coverage of the construction industry for more than a decade. His work has focused on major projects, industry trends and emerging technology. He previously was the South America correspondent for the magazine based in Lima, Peru. During that time, he covered numerous large-scale infrastructure projects across the region including the Third Lane Expansion of the Panama Canal. In addition, CJ has been an award-winning newspaper reporter in Southern California, Texas and Louisiana.