With more than a decade of building great things in Sacramento, DPR Construction, Inc., is beginning construction of a three-building expansion to the Butte Community College in Oroville, Calif. The more than 76,000-sq.-ft project will provide the college with new Allied Health/Public Services and Public Safety instructional facilities. With a detailed mock up of a hospital ward, computer facilities, and law library, the community college project will rely on DPR's expertise in healthcare, mission critical and corporate office construction.

"We have been building healthcare facilities, corporate campuses and high-tech telecom properties in this area for many years," said DPR's Brad Des Jardin. "While set within an educational institution, this project incorporates aspects of all three types of construction. Our demonstrated knowledge of these areas will be key to our success at Butte College."

The Allied Health/Public Services facility on Butte's main campus will include two steel and cast-in-place concrete structures with metal panel and glass exteriors - a 59,050-sq.-ft., two-story north building and a 13,330-sq.-ft., one-story plus basement south building. When completed, the north building will provide a mock hospital ward, respiratory lab, courtroom and law library, plus a building-inspection laboratory and classrooms for the college's nursing, emergency medical technician, and police training programs. The south building will house computer labs, driving simulator labs and a simulated shooting range, and will incorporate cutting edge fire protection systems that are typically used in telecom facilities. The project's third building, the 4,280-sq.-ft., single story Public Safety building, will include equipment maintenance areas for firefighter and police training, as well as men and women's locker rooms for students participating in those programs.

"We're very excited about this project. Butte College began providing courses in fire science, law enforcement, and vocational nursing in 1967," states Les Jauron, Butte Director of Facilities Planning and Management. "Since then we have provided these important high demand programs out of inadequate, temporary buildings. This project gives the North State what it truly deserves - world-class fire, health, and police programs delivered from state-of-the-art facilities."

Working on a steep hillside slope, DPR crews have just begun demolition of a small building on the site and will use cast-in-place concrete retaining walls to help level the construction surface. Once the site is prepped, the first challenge will be to finish enclosing buildings before winter rains begin. DPR is taking precautions to keep construction disturbances to a minimum by building a temporary road to the construction site to avoid any disruption to the flow of campus traffic.

"We are used to working under tight schedules and in the midst of ongoing operations," said DPR project manager Troy Clark. "Regardless of the type of project, we maintain our focus on the needs of each individual customer while paying special attention to the safety of those around the construction site, ourselves and our subcontractors."

With a 14-month schedule, the three buildings are scheduled to be turned over to Butte College in September 2002. In addition to DPR, the construction project team includes: Sacramento-based firms LPA Sacramento, Inc. (building and landscape architects), Psomas & Associates (civil engineer), Turley & Associates (mechanical engineer), Ken Rubitsky & Associates (electrical engineer) and Navigant (telecommunications consultant), as well as Rancho Cordova-based William D. Bevier Structural Engineer, Inc., and Los Angeles-based construction manager, C.W. Driver.

About DPR Construction, Inc.:
A local builder with global capabilities, DPR Construction, Inc., has been "building great things" in San Diego since 1992, including such notable projects as the Kaiser Permanente Medical Office Building, West Coast campus for Novartis Institute for Functional Genomics, Mission Trails Industrial Park, Pfizer Inc / Agouron's Buildings 26 & 27, and the San Marcos Town Center - Lot Six. DPR specializes in technically demanding projects in biotechnology/pharmaceutical, mission critical (data/telecom facilities), corporate/speculative office, healthcare, entertainment, and warehouse and distribution industries, DPR has been recognized for its unique collaborative approach in both local and national markets and is a recipient of Arthur Andersen's 2001 Global Best Practices Award for its customer management. DPR's office is located at 6333 Greenwich Drive, Suite 170, in San Diego, Calif., and can be reached by phone at (858) 597-7070 or on the Web at http://www.dprinc.com.

In addition to San Diego, DPR has offices in Austin, Dallas and Houston, Texas; Denver, Colo.; Newport Beach, Pleasanton, Redwood City, Sacramento, San Francisco, and San Jose, Calif.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Portland, Ore.; Fairfax and Richmond, Va.; Seattle, Wash.; and Singapore.

About the San Diego Chapter of the American Subcontractors Association:
Founded in 1991, the San Diego County Chapter of the American Subcontractors Association (ASA) has approximately 120 member companies and serves the industry in San Diego County. The ASA's mission is to improve the profitability of construction subcontractors and suppliers through communication, education and government/industry advocacy.