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Navy Awards $394 Million Hospital Contract

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CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — The U.S. Navy awarded a $394 million contract for construction of a 500,000-square-foot, 67-bed hospital at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton near Oceanside to a joint venture of Clark Construction Group of Bethesda, Md. and McCarthy Building Co. of San Diego.
 
With planned modifications and options, the value of the construction contract could reach $351 million, according to reports.
 
Scheduled for completion in 2014, the multilevel facility will replace an existing naval hospital at the base’s O’Neill Lake. The new building will reportedly have five fewer beds but be 40,000 square feet larger than Camp Pendleton’s existing hospital, which was completed in 1974. Designed by HDR, Inc. of Pasadena, Calif., the new complex will be built with an emphasis on outpatient services.
 
A favorable bidding climate allowed the Navy to option in upwards of $57 million for hospital furnishings and equipment on the project, according to reports. Also included in the price tag was an unspecified amount to cover mitigation for environmental impact. The Navy will buy conservation banking credits for a program that is overseen by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
 
The project is expected to employ between 700 and 1,000 workers daily during peak construction. The new hospital is being funded by the Pentagon’s portion of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Navy officials expect the old hospital to be converted to offices.
 
The hospital project will include construction of a central energy plant; a 1,500-space parking garage; and inpatient facilities, emergency and primary care departments, specialty clinics, and support spaces. Built on a 70-acre site, the new hospital will be constructed to California’s seismic safety standards. 
 
Camp Pendleton’s hospital project is part of a $3 billion construction boom targeting the repairing or replacement of outdated facilities at military bases. The Pentagon says it received eight proposals for the project, according to reports.