NEWPORT BEACH, CA—As GlobeSt.com reported earlier this week, the Associated General Contractors of America has given the Bill Holmes Tower at CHOC Children's Hospital here an Alliant Build America Award for best new building project. Representatives from McCarthy Building Cos., which served as general contractor for the project, accepted the award earlier this month during the AGC of America's annual convention in Las Vegas. GlobeSt.com caught up with Jeff Lovejoy, director of business development, Southern California, for McCarthy, to discuss the award, the project and what it means for healthcare real estate.

GlobeSt.com: What does the project and winning this award mean to McCarthy?

Jeff Lovejoy: The AGC Alliant Build America Awards highlight the nation's most significant construction projects and are considered by many to be the most prestigious recognition of construction accomplishments in the US. They evaluate projects based on complexity, use of innovative construction techniques and client satisfaction, as well as other criteria. The judges are our peers, representing all areas of construction. The fact that they selected CHOC is a huge honor for us.

GlobeSt.com: How is the project unique from other projects McCarthy has built?

Lovejoy: We were challenged to build the new Bill Holmes Tower immediately adjacent to the existing CHOC hospital. We also had to connect the buildings on multiple levels. Extra care and coordination had to be taken in order to make sure CHOC's patients were unaffected by noise, vibration, etc. As a constant reminder of why we were building this great project, we hung photo banners of CHOC patients where the construction workers entered the project. We also positioned these photo banners right outside the NICU windows to make sure the workers were aware of how delicate the patients were and that they were only inches away from our construction.

GlobeSt.com: What sets this project apart from others in a way that may be indicative of a healthcare trend?

Lovejoy: Numerically, more adult hospitals are built every year, so it is special when we get the opportunity to build a children's hospital. More importantly, building something that you know will help thousands of children is a real motivator. Knowing the long-term benefit this project will have on the community gave all of us that little extra bit of motivation to turn over the best possible project. Getting to build such a beautiful, landmark building was an added bonus.