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McCarthy Building Companies Ramping Up Construction on Triton Center Project for the University of California, San Diego
By Brian Hoover, Senior Editor / Photos contributed by: McCarthy Building Companies / All renderings courtesy of LMN Architects
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego), as we know it today, officially began in 1958 when the University of California decided to establish a new campus in the burgeoning San Diego area. The campus opened its doors to students in 1964, with an initial focus on science and technology. Over the years, UC San Diego has grown into a world-renowned research institution, earning a reputation for its contributions to various academic fields, including science, engineering, medicine, and the arts.
UC San Diego has been enjoying tremendous growth with student enrollment increasing nearly 56,000 students for a total of 294,309 over the past decade. To keep up with this soaring pace, the University of California Board of Regents approved several building projects over the years and recently gave its San Diego campus permission to construct a massive new student center and a 2,400-bed housing complex that together will cost around $1.1 billion.
UC San Diego awarded the $428-million Triton Center project to McCarthy Building Companies (McCarthy), who began construction in June 2023. Designed by LMN Architects, the 419,000 GSF Triton Center project calls for the construction of four separate buildings along with a new 151-car cast-in-place parking structure. The Triton Center has been referred to as the grand entrance or gateway to the university, offering a blend of arts, culture, entertainment, and student academic resources.
Steven Homan is a senior project manager for McCarthy and responsible for overseeing the Triton Center project. “This is a ground-up project, and we are currently in the earthmoving phase and preparing for pads and foundations. Two of the five structures we are constructing are steel, and the other three are cast-in-place concrete, including the parking structure,” says Homan. “This is really five projects in one, all located within a nine-acre common central location. The Triton Center project represents our 17th project for the University, one of our long-standing clients.”
According to Homan, each individual structure is unique. Building A will serve as the academic student center or “Student Success Building,” while also housing the university chancellor’s new office. The six-story structural steel building is one of the tallest buildings within the center, and includes a teaching and learning commons, dining, global education, campus support, and an outdoor area. Upon completion, it will encompass a 134,671 square foot area with 126,00 GSF with 76,000 of assignable square feet (ASF).
Building B is a cast-in-place concrete structure that is four stories tall and designated as the Student Health and Well-Being Building. This structure includes facilities designed to support the student’s physical and mental health, complete with a pharmacy and urgent care center. Building B will measure 88,700 GSF with 55,700 ASF.
Building C’s circular shape will make it stand out from the other structures. To add to its uniqueness, Building C will also boast an exterior LED media mesh screen for displaying movies and other media for students, faculty, and visitors to view from the central courtyard plaza. Building C is designated as the Alumni and Welcome Center that will include meeting and celebration spaces along with other amenities for graduates. This six-level concrete structure will encompass a 34,000 GSF area with 17,200 ASF.
Finally, Building D will be a multi-level four-story max, steel structure that will serve as a 500 person celebration and gallery space. The north half of the building is structural steel while the south half is an all-concrete parking structure. Its several unique rooms will offer displays, art exhibits, and what has been called an “immersive gallery.” This building will encompass 70,000 GSF with 76,000 ASF for the Meta Gallery and Celebration spaces, with an additional 100,600 GSF dedicated for parking and loading.
Homan says McCarthy is self-performing the concrete work on the Triton Center project with all five structures consuming approximately 22,000 cubic yards of concrete and 1,600 tons of structural steel by job completion in April 2026. “Before any of the mass and rough grading could commence, we had to demolish five existing structures. Once this was complete, our subcontractor, Sierra Pacific West, began moving what will be around 30,000 cubic yards of dirt,” says Homan. “This is where we are currently with crews set to pour footings and pads soon.”
McCarthy has subcontracted the underground wet and dry utility scope of work to West-Tech
Contracting, Inc. Additionally, Dynalectric San Diego is handling the electrical infrastructure, while A.O. Reed is installing the underground mechanical hydronic piping. “We have a long list of subcontractors scheduled to work on the Triton Center project with the workforce at peak expected to be at 400 plus or minus between McCarthy and the various trades. The structures are being built simultaneously, and to avoid logistical issues, the team members and building elements need to be maintained for continuity,” says Homan. “The laborers and craftworkers are required to park at the Torrey Pines Gliderport, which is around two and a half miles from the job site. McCarthy has contracted with a charter bus service to bring the craft personnel back and forth each day. We monitor this closely as we need everyone on-site working on time to remain on schedule. This is just one of the many challenges we have and will face on this high-profile project.”
Homan explains that the first priority of everyone on-site is the safety of the students, faculty, and other pedestrians making their way in and out of the UC San Diego campus each day. “We have taken great precautions to not disturb the overall college experience. We are essentially taking over a large piece of real estate in the heart of campus, and it was a monumental task to get students and faculty comfortable going around the work area. There are bus stops nearby and people all over the place, and our dedicated safety manager and flag personnel from our craft labor subcontractors have done an excellent job managing the traffic. We also have our four project engineers who put on their ‘safety hat’ daily to make sure everything remains safe and secure.”
A project of this magnitude requires the best people, equipment, and technology to get it all done safely and on schedule. “We are utilizing a couple of new software platforms on this project to streamline the process and ensure that things go smoothly. PLOT is one of the software programs we are using to help manage jobsite deliveries, material procurement, gate shutdowns, crane picks, and anything and everything that comes on or off the jobsite. We are piloting this program right now and, so far, it is working out well. It essentially replaced the old school whiteboard with subcontractors, timing, and schedules,” continues Homan. “We are also using a program called Inertia, which is an online inspection request platform that makes navigating inspections easier. Our IOR (inspector of record) is using the program to streamline inspection requests to ensure that he has the right inspectors dialed in each workday. This program has also been working out well so far on this project. Everything matters on a job of this magnitude, and we are interested in using any sort of technology that will benefit our client.”
Below: Set to open in 2026, the four-building Triton Center complex will centralize essential services and programs while also providing space for relaxation and enrichment.
The four state-of-the-art buildings that make up Triton Center are designed to create an integrated central hub for student support. “The McCarthy team is honored to partner with LMN Architects to create the UC San Diego Triton Center as the new heart of the UC San Diego campus. I am proud to work alongside every McCarthy team member, including our project manager, Turner Rogers,” concludes Homan. “I also want to give a big shout out to Nate Long, McCarthy project director, for his dedication to UC San Diego as a client and for his leadership on previous UC San Diego projects that have provided the opportunity to build the iconic Triton Center.”
For more information on the new UC San Diego Triton Center located in La Jolla at 9500 Gilman Drive, please visit UC San Diego Triton Center.
For more information on McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. and their ongoing and upcoming projects in California and other states, please visit McCarthy.com or call their San Diego office at (858) 784-0347. Cc
