McCarthy Building Companies Awarded West-MEC Southwest Campus Project

BUCKEYE, Ariz. - Jan. 27, 2015 - PRLog -- McCarthy Building Companies recently began a $50 million new construction project, including site plan and infrastructure layout, for Western Maricopa Education Center (West-MEC) in conjunction with architect DLR Group. The West-MEC Southwest Campus project, which will be located at I-10 and Verrado Way in Buckeye, Ariz., will eventually serve 650 students in 12 to 14 different programs (including secondary education, post-secondary education and industry training).

The first phase of construction begins this month and will be completed in December 2015. Phase I includes a 32,000-square-foot, two-story Sustainable Energy building. Programs taught in this building may include energy programs that have a curriculum focused on electrical, mechanical, instrumentation and flow loop applications. Phase I also includes a 12,500-square-foot, two-story Student Services Building. This building will feature a presentation and demonstration space with a capacity of up to 400 people.

The second phase of construction, estimated for completion in August 2016, will include an Industrial Technology building with 23,000-square-feet of space and 10,000 square feet of outdoor work space. Programs taught in this building may include carpentry, electrical and plumbing trades. Phase II will also include a Health Occupations building with 16,000 square feet of space for medical assisting and medical records programs.

Future phases will include buildings for STEM, veterinary assisting, auto/transportation programs and cosmetology/personal services. The entire campus at build out will feature 167,000 square feet of building space and is situated on a 20-acre campus.

The West-MEC Southwest Campus is one of four projects for the career and technical public school district funded by a $74.9 million voter-approved bond in 2012.

“With the addition of our Southwest Campus, West-MEC will have specialized career and technical facilities to improve the educational experience for our students. Each program offered at this campus will be aligned to industry standards and equip students will technical skills and career certifications that will lead to jobs,” said West-MEC Superintendent Gregory Donovan. “We have a strong partnership with McCarthy Building Companies and the DLR Group. They see the value in developing a skilled, sustainable workforce that is well prepared for high-demand jobs.”

“As a general contractor, we’re especially proud to be working on this project. It’s clear there is a demand for skilled workers in various industries, including the construction industry, that are served by the Career and Technical Education programs West-MEC offers,” said Justin Kelton, executive vice president of McCarthy Building Companies Southwest Division. “This new campus will provide a wealth of opportunities for skilled learning in the southwest Valley.”

About West-MEC

West-MEC is a public school district that focuses solely on innovative Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs that prepare students to enter the workforce and pursue continuing education. More than 21,000 students from 46 high schools across 3,685 square miles in the northern and western cities and towns of the Phoenix Metropolitan area currently enrolled in West-MEC CTE programs. Visit west-mec.org (http://www.west-mec.org) for more information about West-MEC’s career-driven educational opportunities.

About McCarthy Building Companies

McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is the second largest general contractor in the Southwest, and nation’s 9th largest domestic general contractor (Engineering News-Record, May 2014). With 150 years of experience, McCarthy is one of the nation’s oldest, privately held construction firms and one of Arizona’s premier commercial builders. Committed to the construction of high-performance buildings, the company provides general contracting, construction management, program management and design/build services for healthcare, education, renewable energy and water/wastewater facilities, in addition to office buildings, mixed-use projects, entertainment/retail venues, government buildings and parking structures.  The McCarthy Southwest Division is based in Phoenix. McCarthy also has offices in Newport Beach, San Diego, Sacramento and San Francisco, Calif.; Las Vegas; Albuquerque; Dallas and Houston; St. Louis and Atlanta.  McCarthy is 100 percent employee-owned.  More information about the company is available at www.mccarthy.com.