Latitude 33 Planning & Engineering Celebrates National and Regional DBIA Awards for County of San Diego Youth Transition Campus, Phase 1

Campus Offers Therapeutic Approach to Rehabilitation

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Latitude 33 Planning & Engineering is celebrating two recent award wins from the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) for the County of San Diego Youth Transition Campus (YTC), Phase 1.  The DBIA honored the project with a National Award of Merit in the Federal, State, County, Municipal category at its annual Awards Dinner on November 3, 2022 in Las Vegas, NV.  The DBIA-Western Pacific Region (WPR) also recognized the YTC project at its annual conference in Napa, CA on Thursday, August 24, 2022 with an Award of Merit in the Outstanding Urban or Land Development Project category.  Lauded at both a national and regional level, the success of the County of San Diego YTC demonstrates Latitude 33's collaborative approach and excellent outcomes as part of a design-build team. 

To view images of the development, click here.

The DBIA National and DBIA-WPR Awards
As two separately-judged awards programs, the DBIA National and the DBIA-WPR awards programs recognize developments that effectively apply design-build best practices, including early integration of key team members during the proposal process, and close coordination between design and construction team members from the design through construction.  To be eligible, projects must be completed on time, on budget, and without litigation.  Submissions are judged by a panel of industry experts who review each project for its design-build process, design excellence, and teaming performance.

Justin Peters, Sr. Construction Manager at Vanir Construction Management, says, "I cannot imagine a more award-worthy example of design-build delivery than what was accomplished during this very important project. The DBE was a team of highly qualified professionals who provided excellent service in stakeholder design implementation, lean planning, and execution of challenging construction design features."

The County of San Diego Youth Transition Campus
Part of a multi-phase project, the 140,000-square-foot County of San Diego Youth Transition Campus replaces the 1950's-era Juvenile Detention Facility.  The YTC design emulates a residential campus with a secure environment and aims to be a place where youth can grow and flourish.  Phase 1 of the project, completed in 22 months, entailed adding new buildings, over 300 parking stalls, and new campus amenities, including a recreation field, ball courts, indoor gymnasium, educational facilities, vocational spaces, and new housing facilities to accommodate 96 youth residents.  The campus' new Support Building recently achieved LEED Gold certification.

The YTC has adopted a therapeutic approach, focusing on providing supportive, trauma-informed services to help rehabilitate youth and prepare them to reintegrate back into the community. Along with medical, mental health, dental and vision services, it offers academic and career technical education, where residents learn trades, such as plumbing, culinary arts, media arts, and information technology. The environment emphasizes staff and youth interaction, family connections, positive program participation, and a sense of wellness.

Matt Semic, PE, President & Principal at Latitude 33, states, "The YTC offers a new paradigm for youth treatment to achieve better outcomes for youth, their families and the community.  It focuses on holistic wellness, personal growth, and positive youth development to achieve rehabilitation.  We're excited to see such a deserving project recognized by the DBIA."

In addition to the civil engineering services provided by Latitude 33, partners for this project included the County of San Diego, Department of General Services (owner); Balfour Beatty (GC); DLR Group (architect); MA Engineers (mechanical engineer); Syska Hennessy Group (electrical engineer); Miyamoto (structural engineer); Schmidt Design Group (landscape architect); Vanir Construction Management, Inc. (owner advisor); and The Children's Initiative (non-profit partner).

Sandra L. McBrayer, CEO of The Children's Initiative, states, "The new campus represents a significant milestone for our county - building a rehabilitative, therapeutic juvenile justice campus that provides a safe, supportive and trauma-informed environment for at-risk youth."  The Children's Initiative aims to help San Diego County's low-income children, youth and families thrive and prosper.  The organization serves as an advocate and custodian for policies, programs, and services that support the education, health, safety, and well-being of children and families in San Diego County.

About Latitude 33
Founded in 1993, Latitude 33 Planning and Engineering offers a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach to design.  The firm provides public sector planning, land use planning, public outreach, entitlement services, civil engineering design, and surveying/mapping to public agencies, developers and property owners. The firm's breadth of expertise includes life sciences, residential, education, healthcare, military, commercial/retail, civic, hospitality, and design-build projects.  For more information, visit latitude33.com.  

Contact: Beth Binger
BCIpr
619-987-6658
[email protected]

SOURCE Latitude 33 Planning & Engineering