Clark & Edgemoor Mark the Early Completion of the First Social Performance-Based Infrastructure Project in the United States

Long Beach, CA – Construction of the first social performance-based infrastructure (PBI) project in the United States — the George Deukmejian Courthouse — finished ahead of schedule. To mark the early delivery, members of Long Beach Judicial Partners, the project's development, design, construction, operation and maintenance team - including Clark Construction Group and Edgemoor Infrastructure and Real Estate - held a celebration event at the building last month. Originally scheduled for completion on August 31, the project finished 11 days ahead of schedule. The courthouse opened for business on Monday, September 9.

The five-story building features 31 courtrooms, as well as court administration offices, Los Angeles County lease space, and commercial and retail leasable space. Below-grade are secure inmate transfer facilities, detention facilities, and separate secure parking areas for judges. A five-level great room atrium enclosed on two ends by a cable-supported glass wall system serves as the single entry point for the public and provides access to a secured central courtyard. Clad in deeply-articulated curtain wall and elements of stone, the building spans two city blocks in downtown Long Beach and replaces the functionally obsolete courthouse building one block away.  The project team also renovated and expanded an existing 399,000 square-foot parking structure.

Executing the project under the PBI model required an unwavering commitment to the schedule and an ability to balance the demands of the date and price certain contract while responding to stakeholder input. By integrating the expertise of the team members in the development and design-build process and understanding the contract objectives of the PBI structure, the team was able to meet the goals of the client and the project.

"We've succeeded in everything that we said we were going to do. We're going to build a great building. We're going to build it on budget. We're going to keep the risks associated with the contract where they belong. And we're going to do it faster than we can with our normal process," said Clifford Ham, Principal Architect for the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Completion of construction, which was accomplished without any public funding, marks the commencement of operations, maintenance, and upkeep for the next 35 years. During this time, the Long Beach Judicial Partners consortium guarantees not only the availability of the courthouse facilities, but also that those facilities will be kept in good condition through the entire term until the building conveys, at no cost to the state.

The Long Beach Judicial Partners team is sponsored by Meridiam Infrastructure North America, a long-term equity fund based in the United States and focused on infrastructure development. The team also includes facilities manager Johnson Controls of Milwaukee, as well as the design team of AECOM Services, Los Angeles, architect; Syska Hennessy Group, Los Angeles, MEP engineer; and Nabih Youssef Associates, Los Angeles, structural engineer.