We are excited to announce ENR California’s 2019 Regional Best Projects winners! So far in ENR’s annual regional contest, ENR California’s judges have awarded 54 honors for the region.

Thanks to the large number of entries, we divided the region into two: Northern California and Southern California, which includes Hawaii. 

Each year, ENR California assembles a group of judges, with varying specialties and expertise in the construction industry, to review, score and form a panel to determine Best Projects winners for the region. Judges independently review entries, score each on pre-specified criteria, and convene with fellow judges to compare impressions and scores. Together, the judges’ panels select honorees for Best Project and Merit awards. (Judges recuse themselves in cases of conflict of interest.)

This year's judges are, in alphabetical order by first name: 

Brian Ross, Owner, InfraShares, Inc.

David Mori, Engineering Manager, Public Works Department, City of Anaheim

Donald Kahn, Project Executive, Largo Concrete, Inc.

Doug Conrath, Principal, CRB

Greg Nelson, Principal, Altitude Design Office

Joe DeMel, Engineer, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

Sean Olcott, Technical Director, Gafcon, Inc.

Surur Sheikh, Senior Engineer, Bridge and Civil Structures, ARUP

Next Up

Judges will choose a Project of the Year from the Best Project-level winners listed below – which ENR will announce at the ENR California Regional Best Projects Awards breakfasts. In addition, ENR will also announce our annual Excellence in Safety award winners soon as well.

All winning project teams — as well as our honorees for Design Firm of the Year, Contractor of the Year, Specialty Contractor of the Year and the Legacy Award — will be celebrated at two events. The first, for Northern California winners, will take place on Oct. 8, 2019 in San Francisco at the Julia Morgan Ballroom. The second, for Southern California, will be on Oct. 10, 2019 in downtown Los Angeles at the Omni Hotel. You can register here for the Northern California breakfast and here for the Southern California event.

Congratulations to this year’s winners!

ENR California's 2019 Best Projects

Airport/Transit

  • Best Project North:  SFO Long Term Parking Garage 2, submitted by Nibbi Brothers General Contractors
  • Best Project South: United Airlines Terminals 7 & 8 Redevelopment Program at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) submitted by Hensel Phelps
  • Award of Merit South: Southwest Airlines Terminal 1 Redevelopment Program at Los Angeles International Airport, submitted by Hensel Phelps

Culture/Worship

  • Best Project North: Bechtel Family Center for Ocean Education and Leadership, submitted by Blach Construction
  • Best Project South: La Jolla Music Society | The Conrad, submitted by DPR Construction

Energy/Industrial

  • Best Project North:  Humboldt Bay Power Plant Decommissioning Project, submitted by APTIM
  • Best Project South:  Sycamore to Peñasquitos 230kV Transmission Line, submitted by NV5
  • Award of Merit South:  Carlsbad Energy Center, submitted by ARB Inc. and Burns & McDonnell, a joint venture

Government/Public Building:

  • Best Project South:  P-1132 Communication Information Systems Operations Complex at Camp Pendleton submitted by Bethel-Webcor JV
  • Award of Merit South:  City of San Diego - Mission Hills - Hillcrest Public Library, submitted by C.W. Driver

Green Project:

  • Best Project South: California State University Long Beach, College for Professional and International Education, submitted by ZGF
  • Award of Merit South: San Diego County Sheriff's Department Crime Laboratory, submitted by DPR Construction

Health Care

  • Best Project North:  Sutter Health California Pacific Medical Center Van Ness Campus Hospital Project, submitted by HerreroBoldt
  • Best Project South:  Spectrum IV / Vertex Pharmaceuticals Research & Development Site, submitted by BNBuilders
  • Award of Merit North:  Morris Hyman Critical Care Pavilion, submitted by Rudolph and Sletten

Higher Education/Research

  • Best Project North:  Sacramento State University Union Expansion, submitted by Dreyfuss + Blackford Architecture
  • Best Project South: California Institute of Technology, Bechtel Residence, submitted by ZGF
  • Award of Merit South: Cal Poly Pomona - Student Services Building, submitted by C.W. Driver
  • Award of Merit South:  UCSD Tata Hall, submitted by McCarthy Building Companies
  • Award of Merit South:  UCSD/Biomed Realty's Center for Novel Therapeutics, submitted by McCarthy Building Companies

Highway/Bridge

  • Best Project North:  Marsh Creek Road Bridge Replacement Project, submitted by Hill International, Inc.
  • Best Project South: I-10/Jefferson Street Interchange, submitted by Michael Baker International
  • Award of Merit South:  Century Boulevard Extension from Grape Street to Alameda Street, submitted by the City of Los Angeles, Bureau of Engineering

Interior/Tenant Improvement

  • Best Project North:  Agri-Industrial Tech Campus Renovation, submitted by XL Construction
  • Best Project South:  Paradigm Talent Agency, submitted by Clune Construction

K-12 Education

  • Best Project North:  Lick-Wilmerding High School Campus Expansion and Renovation, submitted by Truebeck Construction
  • Award of Merit South:  Culver City Unified School District - Robert Frost Auditorium, submitted by Harris & Associates

Landscape/Urban Development

  • Best Project South:  Albion Riverside Park, submitted by the City of Los Angeles, Bureau of Engineering

Manufacturing

  • Best Project South:  BioLegend | Campus Expansion, submitted by DPR Construction
  • Award of Merit South:  Direct Relief, submitted by ARCO Design/Build, Inc.

Office/Retail/Mixed-Use

  • Best Project North:  240 Lorton, submitted by MBH Architects
  • Best Project South:  888 South Hope, submitted by Suffolk

Renovation/Restoration

  • Best Project South:  MVUT (The Casey Brown Co.) - AMP&RSAND, submitted by C.W. Driver
  • Award of Merit North:  Savage and Cooke Distillery: Building 45, submitted by ZFA Structural Engineers
  • Award of Merit South:  The Repair and Alternation Tenant Improvement Project at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building, submitted by Stronghold Engineering, Inc.

Residential/Hospitality

  • Best Project North: 288 Pacific, submitted by Swinerton Builders
  • Best Project South: A Bridge Home Shelter at Schrader, submitted by the City of Los Angeles, Bureau of Engineering
  • Award of Merit North: House of Light, submitted by ZFA Structural Engineers
  • Award of Merit South: The Oasis at Death Valley – Renovation and Modernization, submitted by GE Johnson Construction Company/Kitchell Corporation, a joint venture

Small Project

  • Best Project North:  Berkeley Hills Tunnels Lining Surface Treatment, submitted by DMZ Builders
  • Best Project South: City of El Cajon - El Cajon Animal Shelter submitted by C.W. Driver
  • Award of Merit North:  Webcor Headquarters Renovation, submitted by Webcor
  • Award of Merit South:  Slauson/Overhill Facade Improvement Project, submitted by Berg & Associates, Inc.

Specialty Construction:

  • Best Project North:  Google Bay View Campus, submitted by Schuff Steel Company
  • Best Project South:  Water Quality Laboratory, submitted by the Inland Empire Utilities Agency
  • Award of Merit North: New Construction Ferry Terminal, submitted by Manson Construction Co.

Sports/Entertainment

  • Best Project North:  San Jose State University Student Recreation and Aquatic Center, submitted by Gensler
  • Best Project South:  SeaWorld San Diego - Electric Eel Roller Coaster, submitted by Rudolph and Sletten, Inc.
  • Award of Merit South:  Confidential Entertainment Project, submitted by Giroux Glass, Inc.

Water/Environment

  • Best Project North: Spillways, Oroville Emergency Recovery, submitted by Kiewit Infrastructure West Co.
  • Best Project South:  Haiwee Power Plant Penstock Replacement Project, submitted by Barnard Construction Company, Inc.
  • Award of Merit North: Calaveras Dam Replacement Project, submitted by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
  • Award of Merit North:  North Valley Regional Recycled Water Program, submitted by Myers-Rados, a joint venture
  • Award of Merit South: Digester Gas Utilization Project, submitted by the City of Los Angeles, Bureau of Engineering