What You Need to Know
- UC Davis Health marked a topping-out milestone Feb. 6 for the 14-story California Tower in Sacramento, signaling structural completion.
- The project is scheduled to open to patients in 2030 and will add about 1 million square feet to the campus.
- Plans include new operating rooms, an imaging center, expanded pharmacy and burn care space, and roughly 334 additional inpatient beds.
- UC Davis Health leaders also noted zero safety incidents since the project broke ground in 2024.
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SACRAMENTO — UC Davis Health celebrated a major construction milestone Feb. 6 as the California Tower officially topped out at the Sacramento medical campus, marking the structural completion of the building’s frame.
During the ceremony, project partners hoisted the final steel beam into place, continuing a long-standing construction tradition meant to bring good fortune to a project.
Interim UC Davis Health CEO Mike Condrin said the moment offered an opportunity to reflect on progress and the work still ahead. “A topping out is a chance for us to pause and recognize how far we’ve come,” according to an article from UC Davis Health.
Once completed in 2030, the California Tower is expected to expand the Sacramento campus by about 1 million square feet. The 14-story hospital and five-story pavilion are planned to include new operating rooms, an imaging center and new facilities for existing pharmacy and burn care units. The tower is also slated to add roughly 334 inpatient beds, a change UC Davis Health said will help ease pressure on the emergency department and support growing community needs.
As part of the ceremony, UC Davis Health leaders, project partners and community representatives signed the final beam before it was hoisted into place, creating a permanent memento inside the structure. UC Davis Health also highlighted another milestone: zero safety incidents since the project broke ground in 2024.
Jill Tomczyk, executive director of capital projects, credited preparation and teamwork for the project’s progress. “This reminds us of what is possible when preparation meets purpose, and when teams come together to perform at the highest level,” according to an article from UC Davis Health.
The California Tower is described as the final piece of UC Davis Health’s Vision 2030 campus plan. UC Davis Health said the Sacramento campus is projected to grow from 3.6 million square feet of building space to more than 7 million square feet by 2030, a pace of growth the health system characterized as the largest health system capital expansion in the United States today.
UC Davis Chancellor Gary May tied the milestone to broader development across Sacramento. “Whether it’s cutting the ribbon at Aggie Square or celebrating the opening of the 48X complex, UC Davis is shaping the skyline in Sacramento and building the future of health care in our region,” according to an article from UC Davis Health.
UC Davis Health listed collaborators on the project as its Facilities Planning and Development team and partners including Cambridge CM, McCarthy Building Companies Inc., SmithGroup, Degenkolb Engineers, Schuff Steel, Pacific Erectors, Inc., Conco Concrete Reinforcement, Olson & Co. Steel, Inc. and Maxim Crane Works.
Project Details:
Contractor: McCarthy Building Companies, Inc.
Design Firm: SmithGroup
CM: Cambridge
Delivery Method: Progressive Design Build
Square Footage: 909,000
Project Cost: $3.75 billion
Construction Start: 2024
Estimated Completion: 2030
This article is based on reporting originally published by UC Davis Health on Feb. 9, 2026.