Turner Construction Building Women’s Health Center 

Turner Construction Co. has begun work on the $80-million Sarah & Taylor Nederlander Breast Center for the MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, Calif. The 40,000-sq-ft, three-story women’s health pavilion is expected to open in 2023 and is being designed and built to streamline a range of services under one roof dedicated to women’s health through all stages of their lives. The new center will allow MemorialCare to nearly double the number of patients served each year.

Contract Awarded for Design of California High-Speed Rail Stations

The California High-Speed Rail Authority awarded Foster + Partners and Arup (F+P Arup) a $35-million contract for design and support services involving the Merced, Fresno, Kings/Tulare and Bakersfield stations. The contract, approved by the board of supervisors in their October meeting, is for the first of two separately funded phases: the first to advance the design work at the four station sites, including identifying right-of-way and utility relocation requirements necessary for construction, and the second to progress to final design and construction ready documents, construction support and commissioning. The duration for the first phase of work is estimated to be 30 months.

Low-Income Housing For Veterans

LA Metro and A Community of Friends, broke ground in November on the Lorena Plaza affordable housing development in Boyle Heights. The joint development project, scheduled for completion in 2024, will prioritize low-income veterans and will provide supportive services to its tenants.

The four-story apartment building will include 49 housing units and feature 7,500 sq ft of commercial space. Thirty-two of the 49 apartments will go to unhoused individuals and families, another 16 to low-income families and the remaining unit will go to a resident manager.

Timber Construction Research Grants

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration awarded a total of $41.4 million in grants to the University of Oregon and Oregon State University’s Oregon Mass Timber Coalition as part of the Build Back Better Regional Challenge. The coalition’s goal is to advance mass timber construction and other wood product building approaches.