MCCARTHY BUILDING COMPANIES, INC

By Brian Hoover, Senior Editor

Completes Phase 1 of Aperture Del Mar Office Complex

McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. continues to build upon its impeccable reputation for constructing and developing high-profile and well-designed commercial projects throughout Southern and Central California. Their portfolio includes a long list of award-winning projects, including completing the Aperture Del Mar technology and life sciences campus in Pacific Highlands Ranch. Dan Browne has been a senior project manager working at McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. for the past 10 years. Browne oversaw all construction operations on the Aperture Del Mar project. “We started with preconstruction, moved on to building permits, and eventually broke ground on Phase 1 of the Aperture Del Mar Project in December 2019,” says Browne. “The first phase of this high profile 21-month lab and office space real estate project was completed in September 2021.”

Grading and excavating prior to constructing buildings on Aperture Del Mar project.

Browne points out that when all phases of the campus are complete, there will be a mix of four and five-story buildings that will include unprecedented amenities. The 630,000 square foot project is located on Carmel Valley Road and Edgewood Bend Court adjacent to State Route 56 in Del Mar Heights. The campus will feature an onsite café, fitness center, and amphitheater, along with a garden lounge, basketball, sand volleyball, and bocce court, dog park and a jogging trail.

Above: Concrete pumping & placement on Phase 1.

The grading portion of the job began in December 2019 and was subcontracted by McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. (McCarthy) to Trinity Grading, Inc., headquartered in Temecula. “15 or so years ago, a well-known homebuilder was developing the Pacific Highlands Ranch area and brought much of the export and spoils from their projects to the 15-plus acre site where Aperture Del Mar is currently being constructed,” Browne explains. “This is essentially an undeveloped greenfield site with canyons that went as deep as 60 feet throughout the property. The developer began backfilling these trenches with export material from other jobsites. So, half the site was on fill, and the other consisted of native soil.” Browne explains that the Aperture Del Mar project was designed as a balanced site with no haul-off or export. “Trinity made cuts up to 14 feet deep on the north side of the project with a fill of up to 10 feet on the south side,” continues Browne. “We also executed a combined earthwork and site utilities contract with Trinity Grading on this project.” Browne explains that this contract included the installation of approximately 620 linear feet of sewer line to a depth of around 30 feet. “The existing sewer system in this area had been bored under the 56 Freeway, some 36 feet below the surface. Trinity created massive trenches with their scrapers, cutting grade back to where they could excavate to a depth that did not require engineered shoring. We then tied into the existing steel encased concrete sewer pipe located at the base of State Route 56.”

Aerial view of Aperture Del Mar Project.

According to Browne, Phase 1 originally consisted of building a one-story podium structure for temporary parking on campus. “As we began breaking ground, we worked with the developer to construct a five-story parking structure as part of the full campus plan,” says Browne. “So, we credited the one-story podium structure and went with a new design-build for the parking structure project. This was under a separate contract with the client but still part of the Phase 1 plan.” Browne explains that the design called for the installation of temporary soil nail shotcrete walls, which were subcontracted to Condon Johnson & Associates, Inc., headquartered in Oak-land. “These soil nail shotcrete walls were excavated down to around 24 feet deep from street grade. Partial levels of the parking structure were below grade. The site was on a slope, so on one side, it was a story and a half below grade and then two full stories below grade at the street level. We also installed permanent soil nail shotcrete walls onsite to a depth of around 24 feet,” continues Browne. “We did get a couple of easement and special approvals for our tiebacks that went below the adjacent fire department building. It was an active firehouse, and it was fun coordinating and even having barbeques with the staff at the fire department.”

Trinity Grading simultaneously completing the installation of numerous different site utilities to maintain schedule.

Parking Structure mass excavation and soil nail retaining wall initial start; neighboring fire house seen in the background.

Browne goes on to say that McCarthy utilized structural and architectural concrete on every building structure. “McCarthy selfperformed the architectural and structural concrete, pouring more than 40,000 cubic yards on Phase 1 of this project for the first three structures,” says Browne. “The two four-story poured-in-place concrete buildings utilized Calportland Type 1L cement from Cemex.” The architectural concrete on the Aperture Del Mar project expanded the reputation that McCarthy has long-established for providing top grade on so many of their building projects. “The expectation from the architect and all of the stakeholders was very clear from the get-go that the exposed concrete had to be of the very finest grade and construction. From slab on grade to all the elevated decks, it had to be perfect,” continues Browne. “We use a seam pattern on the plywood and falsework that forms these decks to make it all uniform and consistent on all levels. From the bottom of the ceiling to the beam side, to the bottom of the beam onto the deck above, it was a perfect, straight-through pattern.” Browne points out that the architectural finish was so exceptional and exact that numerous general contractors and architects put in requests to tour the facility in hopes of replicating the process.”

Above and Right: Completed Phase 1 of the 630,000 square foot Aperture Del Mar Project located on Carmel Valley Road and Edgewood Bend Court in Del Mar Heights.

The landscape and hardscape portion for Phase 1 of the Aperture Del Mar project was also significant to the overall project’s success. “We subcontracted Brightview for all of the landscaping and hardscaping on this project, and they stepped up and did an outstanding job,” says Browne. “They had over 40 workers onsite at the height of the contract, and there are just not many who can mobilize that kind of manpower and meet a strict schedule like the folk at Brightview, and we appreciate their efforts.”

McCarthy is signatory to the Carpenters and Laborers Union, and they had around 83 members onsite at the peak of construction. “We are all very proud of both our team members and every subcontractor and supplier that worked so hard to make Phase 1 such a resounding success,” continues Browne. “We are also proud of the fact that McCarthy worked more than 300,000 manhours without a single injury or reported incident. Safety is always above everything here at McCarthy, and I want to thank everyone for their continued focus on keeping each other safe.” Phase 1 of the Aperture Del Mar project even gained the attention of San Diego’s esteemed Mayor Faulconer, who was afforded an up-close look at McCarthy’s safety practices. McCarthy was formerly recognized as one of the top projects in the City of San Diego for adhering to COVID-19 guidelines. “Mayor Faulconer took note of the fact that workers consistently remained 6-feet from one another whenever possible, wore face coverings, protective gloves, and eyewear while on the jobsite,” continues Browne. “Our teams rallied and maintained their focus of working safely and responsibly throughout the pandemic. There was never a work stoppage due to the virus. We had multi-purpose hand sanitizing stations and crews with backpack sprayers that could spray up to 30 feet to disinfect portable toilets, trucks, equipment, tools, and other items daily. From top to bottom, this job was another example of McCarthy’s commitment to excellence from preconstruction to completion.”