Construction complete on $1 billion San Diego hospital

Posted by IronPlanet on Apr 30, 2012 6:36:00 AM

Construction of a $1 billion "hospital of the future" has been completed in northern San Diego County.

The new Palomar Medical Center is a high-tech facility that encompasses 11 floors and more than 740,000 square feet. Doctors and hospital staff will be moving into the new facility in the coming weeks. The massive facility was built to serve the largest public health district in the state of California. The new hospital will have the capacity for nearly 300 beds, though the design of the building allows that to be doubled if need be.

"The building is complete. We are able to start the next phase of transformation and that is moving from building to training our staff to deliver the highest quality of health care today," said Michael Covert, president and CEO of Palomar Health. "There is much work ahead but I am proud of our efforts on behalf of the citizens of the communities we serve."

More than eight years in the making, the project has come quite a long way. Nearly half of the hospital was financed by a 2004 bond issue that California voters overwhelmingly approved. At the time construction began, the hospital was the largest being constructed in California.

DPR Construction served as general contractors for the multi-year project. More than 6,000 construction jobs were created thanks to the hospital, which was a boost during economically tough times in the San Diego area. Construction workers used more than 25 million pounds of structural steel and laid more than 5 million feet of electrical cable for the new building.

Construction companies that want to work on major projects such as the Palomar Medical Center need the equipment to do so. The online auction site IronPlanet offers a wide variety of cranes, excavators and much more that can help contractors looking to expand their business.

Topics: Construction, Industry Headlines