ENR California is pleased to announce the winners of its 2022 Best Projects competition.

In addition to the main categories, there are two special awards to regional projects that made significant achievements in safety and sustainability.

Winners of the Excellence in Sustainability award, is in its second year, were chosen from a field of nine candidates. Judges considered how well project teams went above and beyond baseline industry requirements, a project's overall sustainability strategy, choice of materials, energy savings and environmental impacts within its own footprint and on the community it serves.

Judges for the 2022 Excellence in Sustainability contest were Eric Huff, vice president/environmental manager at VRX and Angie Kung, associate, environmental at HDR.

This year's Excellence in Sustainability winners are:

Excellence in Sustainability Award – Northern California
Southern Heights Blvd Bridge Replacement
San Rafael, Calif.
Submitted by Substrate Inc.

Excellence in Sustainability- Northern California, Award of Merit
1 De Haro
San Francisco
Submitted by DCI Engineers

Excellence in Sustainability Award – Southern California
Department of General Services California Air Resources Board – Mary D. Nichols Campus
Riverside, Calif.
Submitted by Hensel Phelps

ENR California's Excellence in Safety, award, which has now been a part of the competition for a decade, selected this year's winners from a field of ten candidates. Judges considered a project’s overall safety program, OSHA recordable incident rate, lost time accident rate as well as total work hours on the job.

The judges for the 2022 Excellence in Safety contest were Ted Boyce, director of safety quality and organizational development at Hathaway Dinwiddie and Alan Hayes, safety director, California at JTM Construction Group.

This year’s Excellence in Safety winners are:

Excellence in Safety Award – Northern California
Bel Marin Levee Construction
Novato, Calif.
Submitted by Forgen

Excellence in Safety Award - Northern California, Award of Merit
Southern Heights Blvd Bridge Replacement
San Rafael, Calif.
Submitted by Substrate Inc.

Excellence in Safety Award - Southern California
Regional Connector Transit Project
Los Angeles
Submitted by Skanska USA Civil

Excellence in Safety Award - Southern California, Award of Merit
Department of General Services California Air Resources Board – Mary D. Nichols Campus
Riverside, Calif.
Submitted by Hensel Phelps

After a several weeks of hard work, an independent panel of AEC experts reviewed almost 100 projects from across California and Hawaii and selected 28 Best Projects and 27 Awards of Merit across 18 categories. As always, to avoid conflicts of interest, our judges did not score any categories in which their firms submitted entries, and abstained from scoring projects on which they had any involvement.

The judges for the 2022 California Best Projects contest were:

  • Priscilla Chavez, manager, business development, PCL
  • Doug Conrath, principal, CRB
  • Jonathan Holloway, West Coast regional director, JTM Construction Group
  • Eric Huff, vice president/environmental manager, VRX
  • Donald Kahn, project executive, Largo Concrete
  • Beatriz Kim, engineering team lead, Rosendin
  • Angie Kung, associate, environmental, HDR
  • Caleigh Raymer, director of operations, Lendlease
  • David Mori, engineering manager, City of Anaheim Public Works, 
  • Victor Nuñez, business development manager, Turner Construction

All winning project teams — as well as the Owner of the Year, Design Firm of the Year, Contractor of the Year, Specialty Contractor of the Year and Legacy Award winner – will be recognized in a pair of awards events in October. In addition to selecting category winners, judges have also chosen three finalists each for Northern California and Southern California for consideration as ENR California’s 2022 Projects of the Year, which also will be announced at the October Best Projects events.

Northern California awards will be presented on Oct. 18 in San Francisco at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in the Merchants Exchange Building (click here for more information).

Southern California awards will be presented on Oct. 21 in Los Angeles at the Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza (click here for more information).

Congratulations to this year’s winners!

ENR California's 2022 Regional Best Project Winners

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Best Airport/Transit
SFO Terminal 1 BAB
San Francisco
Submitted by Austin Commercial

Award of Merit – Airport/Transit 
San Jose Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Facility
San Jose
Submitted by Overaa Construction

Best Government/Public Building 
New Natural Resources Headquarters
Sacramento
Submitted by Turner Construction

Award of Merit – Government/Public Building
Clifford L. Allenby Building
Sacramento
Submitted by Rudolph and Sletten

Best Health Care
Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital Expansion
Santa Rosa, Calif.
Submitted by HerreroBoldt

Award of Merit - Health Care
Gilead Sciences WellBeing Center
Foster City, Calif.
Submitted by Gilead Sciences

Award of Merit - Health Care
Kaiser Permanente Riverside Medical Office Building
Roseville, Calif.
Submitted by Rudolph and Sletten

Best Higher Education/Research
The WELL Expansion and Renovation at Sacramento State University
Sacramento
Submitted by Swinerton Builders

Award of Merit - Higher Education/Research
The Green at West Village
Davis, Calif.
Submitted by CBG Building Co.

Best Highway/Bridge Project
Southern Heights Blvd Bridge Replacement
San Rafael, Calif.
Submitted by Substrate Inc.

Best Interior/Tenant Improvement Project
BART Headquarters
Oakland, Calif.
Submitted by Turner Construction

Award of Merit – Interior/Tenant Improvement
SmartLabs, North Tower Lab & Office TI at 2 Tower Place
San Francisco
Submitted by Truebeck Construction

Best K-12 Education
San Francisco Day School
San Francisco
Submitted by Herrero Builders

Award of Merit – K-12 Education
Fremont High School Transformation
Oakland
Submitted by Quattrocchi Kwok Architects

Best Landscape/Urban Development
Francisco Park
San Francisco
Submitted by Sherwood Design Engineers

Best Manufacturing 
Biotech Manufacturing
South San Francisco
Submitted by XL Construction

Award of Merit – Manufacturing
RiCloud Data Center
San Jose
Submitted by Corgan

Best Office/Retail/Mixed-Use
415 Natoma
San Francisco
Submitted by Swinerton Builders

Award of Merit – Office/Retail/Mixed-Use
1 De Haro
San Francisco
Submitted by DCI Engineers

Best Renovation/Restoration
SMUD Museum of Science and Curiosity
Sacramento
Submitted by Otto Construction

Award of Merit – Renovation/Restoration
Pier 70 Building 12
San Francisco
Submitted by Plant Construction Co. LP

Best Residential/Hospitality
One Steuart Lane
San Francisco
Submitted by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

Award of Merit – Residential/Hospitality
Trinity Place – 1177 Market Street
San Francisco
Submitted by Swinerton Builders

Best Small Project (under $10 million)
Frame House
Glen Ellen
Submitted by ZFA Structural Engineers

Best Water/Environment 
Manteca TCP Project
Manteca, Calif.
Submitted by Overaa Construction

Award of Merit – Water/Environment
2020 Northern Branch Fire Debris and Hazardous Tree Removal
Butte, Lassen, Nevada, Plumas, Shasta, Del Norte, Siskiyou, Trinity, and Yuba Counties
Submitted by Sukut Construction


SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Best Airport/ Transit
Regional Connector Transit Project
Los Angeles
Submitted by Skanska USA Civil 

Award of Merit – Airport/Transit 
Mid-Coast Extension of the UC San Diego Blue Line Trolley
San Diego
Submitted by MCTC - Stacy and Witbeck, Herzog, Skanska Joint Venture

Best Cultural/Worship
Audrey Irmas Pavilion at Wilshire Boulevard Temple
Los Angeles
Submitted by MATT Construction

Award of Merit – Cultural/Worship
MCASD La Jolla Expansion
La Jolla, Calif.
Submitted by Level 10 Construction

Best Energy/Industrial Project
Lockheed Martin’s Palmdale 24MW Solar PV Farm Expansion
Palmdale, Calif.
Submitted by Burns & McDonnell

Best Government/Public Building 
Dept. of General Services California Air Resources Board – Mary D. Nichols Campus
Riverside, Calif.
Submitted by Hensel Phelps

Award of Merit – Government/Public Building 
Riverside Main Library
Riverside, Calif.
Submitted by Icon West Inc.

Best Health Care 
Loma Linda University Medical Center Campus Transformation Project
Loma Linda, Calif.
Submitted by McCarthy Building Cos. Inc.

Award of Merit - Health Care 
Scripps Mercy MD Anderson Prebys Cancer Center
San Diego
Submitted by Kitchell Contractors

Best Higher Education/Research
CSU Long Beach Anna W. Ngai Alumni Center
Long Beach
Submitted by The PENTA Building Group

Award of Merit - Higher Education/Research
UC Riverside, Student Success Center
Riverside, Calif.
Submitted by P2S Inc.

Best Interior/Tenant Improvement
Confidential Client
Los Angeles
Submitted by Clune Construction

Award of Merit – Interior/Tenant Improvement
The Tennis Channel
Santa Monica
Submitted by Clune Construction

Best K-12 Education
Santa Monica High School (Samohi) Discovery Building
Santa Monica
Submitted by McCarthy Building Cos. Inc.

Award of Merit – Landscape/Urban Development
Confluence Park
Valencia, Calif.
Submitted by Consolidated Contracting

Award of Merit – Landscape/Urban Development
Taylor Yard Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge
Los Angeles
Submitted by Zoltan E. Pali, FAIA | SPF:architects

Best Manufacturing 
Theragent CDMO Facility
Arcadia, Calif.
Submitted by DPR Construction

Best Office/Retail/Mixed-Use 
One Westside
Los Angeles
Submitted by MATT Construction

Award of Merit – Office/Retail/Mixed-Use
Lilia Waikiki
Honolulu
Submitted by PCL Construction

Best Renovation/Restoration
Herald Examiner Building Restoration & ASU Build-Out
Los Angeles
Submitted by MATT Construction

Award of Merit – Renovation/Restoration
Tower Theater
Los Angeles
Submitted by Shawmut Design and Construction

Best Residential/Hospitality 
Landmark Los Angeles
Los Angeles
Submitted by MATT Construction

Award of Merit – Residential/Hospitality
Catherine Santa Monica - Phase II
Santa Monica
Submitted by Milender White Inc.

Award of Merit – Residential/Hospitality 
Angeles House
Los Angeles
Submitted by PNG Builders

Best Small Project (under $10 million)
Wilcox Medical Center Emergency Generator Replacement
Lihue, Hawaii
Submitted by Layton Construction Co.

Best Specialty Construction 
Port of Long Beach Fireboat Station No. 15 at Pier F
Long Beach
Submitted by Pinner Construction Co. Inc.

Best Sports/Entertainment 
Rady Shell at Jacobs Park
San Diego
Submitted by Rudolph and Sletten

Best Water/Environment 
Moosa Creek Riparian Restoration Project
San Diego
Submitted by Burns & McDonnell

Award of Merit – Water/Environment
Los Angeles Reservoir Ultraviolet Disinfection Plant (LARUV)
Los Angeles
Submitted by Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power (LADWP)