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Skanska Nears End of $105M Behavioral Health Project By Irwin Rapoport
CEG CORRESPONDENT
Skanska USA Building has completed the major construction phases of the $105 million Cordilleras Behavioral Health Facility replacement project in Redwood City, Calif., with only a handful of subcontractors remaining on-site to complete final punch-list work. The project, delivered using a construction manager-at-risk approach, began construction in November 2020 for San Mateo County. Skanska joined the effort in 2018 after the county spent nearly a decade planning the replacement of its aging behavioral health campus. The new 100,000-sq.-ft. campus occupies 7 acres in a valley surrounded by open space and trails. Designed by CannonDesign, it features four single-story mental health recovery centers with capacity for 16 clients each and a three-story co-housing building accommodating 57 residents. Outdoor amenities include recreation areas, open-air gathering spaces and a community garden. The campus was designed as what is expected to be the nation’s first and largest net-zero energy behavioral health facility. RHAA Landscape Architects served as landscape architect, while KPFF provided civil and structural engineering, including retaining walls as high as 20 ft. and foundations for a 300,000-gal. hillside water tank. The project replaces a 77,000-sq.-ft. facility built in 1952 as a tuberculosis hospital before being converted into a behavioral health center in 1978. Major site improvements included extensive grading, utility relocations, stormwater infrastructure, roadway upgrades and enhanced fire access. Crews also buried a north tributary, realigned the existing 30-in. Cordilleras Creek storm drain culvert, relocated domestic and fire water mains and extended water and sewer service throughout the campus. Sustainability features include rooftop photovoltaic arrays, solar-covered parking, natural ventilation in common areas and an air-to-water heat recovery system. The project is targeting LEED Gold certification after originally being designed to achieve LEED Silver. According to Lindsay Corotis, vice president and account manager of Skanska California, the heat recovery system preheats domestic hot water while allowing residents to independently control temperatures in their living spaces. The four recovery centers are wood-frame buildings supported on mat foundations, while the co-housing building consists of two stories of wood framing over a concrete podium supported by drilled piers. Dusty Robotics layout technology was used to automate building layout and improve construction efficiency.
The new 100,000-sq.-ft. campus features four single-story mental health recovery centers with capacity for 16 clients each and a three-story co-housing building accommodating 57 residents.
The project required the construction of a 300,000gal. water storage tank because the municipal water system could not provide sufficient fire protection pressure.
Challenging Site Earthwork proved to be one of the project’s greatest challenges because the campus sits within a narrow V-shaped valley bordered by steep hillsides. “The owner added a trench drain to solve some water issues,” Brian Stevenson, senior project manager of Skanska California, told Construction Equipment Guide. “We also had to modify standard drain inlets to work in ADA parking stalls.” Crews constructed soil nail retaining walls reaching 60 ft. in height while reshaping the site to create building pads. “The existing building was placed in a small flat spot at the bottom of converging ravines,” he said. “We carved out the hills surrounding the old hospital to make space for the four smaller buildings and realigned Edmonds Road to make space for the new main co-housing building. see SKANSKA page 6