The entire project team, from the owner to the architectural firm to DPR, was very passionate about this project. We worked closely together to deliver a product that we could truly be proud of - a very unique facility that can now be enjoyed by its members,” said Joseph Beeson, superintendent of DPR, regarding the new 87,000-sq.-ft. Pacific Athletic Club that recently opened to the public in mid-July.

Located on 10 terraced acres in San Diego’s North County community of Carmel Valley, the exclusive “sports resort” is the first club in Southern California developed by Western Athletic Clubs, Inc., a major developer/operator of full-service athletic clubs on the West Coast. The club includes a wide range of sports and fitness facilities, such as:

• two swimming pools
• eight tennis courts
• special purpose exercise studios
• squash courts
• regulation basketball gymnasium
• 11,000-sq.-ft. fitness center
• sports medicine clinic
• indoor/outdoor café
• pro shop and
• Sanctuary day spa.

To house all of the amenities and services throughout the facility, the club features a distinctive footprint, with radius walls and a recessed second floor made of tile and stone.

“The high-end design, combined with the tight schedule, presented numerous challenges, but by remaining flexible, working closely together and proactively addressing issues, the project team handed over an immaculately finished product,” said DPR Project Manager Jody Watkins. “From the structure to the finish, which included numerous different structural components as well as unique finish materials, the new Pacific Athletic Club reflects the level of quality and standards embodied by the owner.”

“Our mission is to enhance the quality of our members’ lives and, by doing so, become a valuable new addition to the greater San Diego community,” said Peter Jones, general manager of the Pacific Athletic Club. “To achieve our mission, we seek to offer the community a ‘third place’ away from home and office, where all members of the family can spend quality time in a healthy, caring environment.”

Designed by architect, Form4 of San Francisco, with the entire family in mind, the club provides separate programs and facilities for children, from infants, toddlers and preschoolers to teens, including summer camps, a computer entertainment center and a special studio for martial arts classes.

Along with its mission, Western Athletic Club has value statements, such as “We do what we say we will do” and “We deliver the best,” that align closely with DPR.

“Our culture and what we stand for as a company seemed to be in sync with the owner, which really helped us look at and understand everything from the customer’s perspective,” said Beeson. “Western Athletic Clubs is an exceptionally service-oriented company to its clients and people in the community.”

As a partial requirement of its conditional use permit, Western Athletic Clubs created and deeded to the city a more than two-acre parcel of land that was improved with landscaping, benches and walkways. In addition to providing preconstruction and general contracting services for the facility, DPR’s responsibilities consisted of the site work, including the parking lot, light fixtures and hardscape.

“Site logistics required a tremendous amount of planning,” said Beeson. “Ten acres seems like plenty of space to store materials and accommodate the individual crafts on the job. However, in reality, there was not a lot of room once the swimming pools and tennis courts were completed. Also, after reaching a certain point in the construction of the facility, accessibility to the rest of the site was cut off.”

DPR developed a detailed schedule to ensure that the equipment and materials needed were able to enter the site. The design called for planters with 30-ft.-high palm trees surrounding the swimming pools. Traditionally, landscaping takes place at the end of the project. However, the palm trees required a crane for installation that logistically would not have been possible once the facility was complete. Therefore, DPR re-sequenced the schedule to set the palms early on in the project.

“In the end, it was the team of people we had in place, the ongoing participation of the owner, and an excessive attention to detail that led to the successful completion of this one-of-a-kind resort,” said Beeson.