Balfour Beatty/Barnhart Awarded $221.5 Million Contract; Architects Busy on Chargers Stadium Design

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor San Diego County has awarded a $221.5 million contract to Balfour Beatty/Barnhart to design and build a modern women’s jail. The new facility will be constructed on the site of the existing Las Colinas Detention Facility [...]

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

San Diego County has awarded a $221.5 million contract to Balfour Beatty/Barnhart to design and build a modern women’s jail. The new facility will be constructed on the site of the existing Las Colinas Detention Facility in Santee. The complex started off as a juvenile facility in 1967 and was converted to an adult women’s institution in 1979. The project envisions 34 buildings spread across 45 acres that will incorporate numerous design innovations.

The design team will include local architecture company HMC and executive architect Kaplan McLaughlin Diaz (KMD) of San Francisco. According to a press release the 1,216-bed facility will be targeting LEED Gold certification. KMD’s Steve Wagner said: “Significant energy cost savings will be achieved with on-site renewable energy from various design and construction techniques.”

The architects working on the new Chargers stadium have something to think about as well. Signon San Diego reports the Chargers have requested an $800 million stadium plan that will include convention space. This plan would eliminate the need for the $550 million expansion of the San Diego Convention Center which is currently being prepared.

Following initial discussions, a follow-up meeting is scheduled in October and a proposal is expected by year’s end, according to the team’s counsel on the stadium, Mark Fabiani. Raised eyebrows are expected from local hoteliers who are chipping in for the proposed expansion through a surcharge on hotel room bills.

Mike McDowell, chief executive of the San Diego Lodging Industry Association, said that any expansion that is not contiguous to the existing center is expected to find little support from the hotel community.

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