Beyond Risk: Motivators for Turnkey Delivery - Complexity

By
Geoffrey Stricker
Edgemoor's turnkey solution for UCSF's Sandler Neurosciences Center allowed for an integrated turnkey design-build team that was contractually aligned and accountable for delivering the facility on schedule and budget as well as meeting the building performance requirements necessary to support world-class neurological research studies.

University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Sander Neurosciences Center

Edgemoor/McCarthy Cook Partners LLC entered into a public-private partnership agreement with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) to turnkey develop, design, construct, operate, and maintain (TDBOM) the Sandler Neuro­sciences Center on UCSF’s Mission Bay Campus. Edgemoor was responsible for coordinating all of the development activities, including entitlements, permitting, design management, asset management and oversight of final delivery and occupancy. McCarthy Cook is providing property management services to the building for the term of the lease. Clark was responsible for all design and construction activities, schedule management, as well as cost and schedule guarantees.

Designed to house the UCSF Department of Neurology, the Institute for Neuro­degenerative Diseases, and the Center for Integrative Neuroscience, the UCSF Sandler Neurosciences Center is one of the largest neuroscience complexes in the world. Enveloped in curtain wall, metal panels, and precast concrete, the five-story building houses approximately 100 principal investigators, including a Nobel Prize Laureate, and more than 500 additional researchers and staff.

Edgemoor arranged pre-development financing with a commercial bank based in California to fund initial expenditures for architecture and engineering. Permanent funding was provided through a lease-leaseback structure involving UCSF, Edgemoor/McCarthy Cook, and a newly formed 501(c)(3) corporation. Edgemoor/McCarthy Cook will own the building for the 38-year term of the lease. The project costs were funded by Build America Bonds issued by the non-profit. The credit for the bond repayment is a lease between UCSF and Edgemoor/McCarthy Cook. The lease payments cover capital (building delivery costs) repayment along with guaranteed operations and routine maintenance throughout the lease term.

Project complexities included interconnected and interdependent mechanical and electrical systems, complex program and code requirements, new computer modeling tools enabling enhanced design coordination, pursuit of energy and resource efficiency through the green building movement, adaptability of space for future needs, and employee attraction/retention.