Expanding Care through Design-Build Excellence
Sharp Rees-Stealy Otay Ranch Medical Office Building | Chula Vista, CA
DPR and HGW Architecture partnered to deliver a 60,000-sq.-ft. medical office building expansion for Sharp HealthCare. This design-build project includes a two-story addition with a state-of-the-art urgent care center, advanced radiology, a new laboratory, and dedicated spaces for oncology, dermatology, audiology, and physical therapy for adults and children. DPR also self-performed the construction of a 610-space parking garage, which can accommodate future electric vehicle (EV) charging.
About the Project
DPR and HGW Architecture worked closely with Sharp to ensure the project aligned with their goals, particularly around distinguishing features of work and energy efficiency. The project draws inspiration from nearby Otay Lake, featuring a curved façade that seamlessly connects to the existing facility. Inside, patient and lobby areas are crafted to reflect the surrounding landscape, with a cascading stairway as the building’s central focal point.
Now complete, the new facility provides staff with a high-performing building with spacious, technologically advanced workspaces and brings best-in-class healthcare, or “The Sharp Experience,” closer to the Otay Ranch community. Before the expansion, patients often traveled outside their neighborhood for critical services like MRIs.
DPR+HGW Architecture—this amazing design-build team has done it for us once again. This expansion brings a host of new and enhanced services, including an urgent care, a much-needed larger lab, and advanced imaging services. With this project, we are expanding to meet the community’s evolving needs. Thank you, DPR+HGW, for your tremendous effort and work.
Melissa Major
CEO, Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Centers
Challenges and Solutions
Building on an Active Campus
The site is surrounded by an assisted-living facility, a daycare, residential neighborhoods, and a high school, requiring precise logistics and coordination. DPR installed high-performance insulation between the expansion's connecting corridors and strategically timed construction activities around clinical hours to protect patient care and facility operations.
Sustainable Features
DPR conducted in-house operational energy and ROI studies that led to the adoption of R30 roof insulation, high-efficiency condensing boilers, and a 250kV solar PV system across both new and existing facilities. These upgrades will pay for themselves in less than four years, saving over $30,000 in annual utilities and delivering performance at 20% below California’s energy baseline—all without LEED certification.
Resilient Planning
Delays in permitting caused a four-month setback, pushing garage construction into the rainy season. To stay on track, DPR accelerated at-risk areas and avoided costly regrading by proactively stabilizing the site. Following a historic flood event, the team pumped out standing water, scarified saturated soil, and blended a custom soil mix to speed up drying. These measures helped avoid months of potential delays.
Streamlined BIM Modeling
DPR implemented a BIM approach focused on clash detection and steady project progress. The model served as a single source of truth, driving MEPF trade coordination, fabrication, and field verification. This effort minimized design revisions, reduced delays and supported real-time decision-making. Sharp can now leverage the BIM model for facility management to proactively maintain building systems.
Challenges and
Solutions
Building on an Active Campus
The site is surrounded by an assisted-living facility, a daycare, residential neighborhoods, and a high school, requiring precise logistics and coordination. DPR installed high-performance insulation between the expansion's connecting corridors and strategically timed construction activities around clinical hours to protect patient care and facility operations.
Sustainable Features
DPR conducted in-house operational energy and ROI studies that led to the adoption of R30 roof insulation, high-efficiency condensing boilers, and a 250kV solar PV system across both new and existing facilities. These upgrades will pay for themselves in less than four years, saving over $30,000 in annual utilities and delivering performance at 20% below California’s energy baseline—all without LEED certification.
Resilient Planning
Delays in permitting caused a four-month setback, pushing garage construction into the rainy season. To stay on track, DPR accelerated at-risk areas and avoided costly regrading by proactively stabilizing the site. Following a historic flood event, the team pumped out standing water, scarified saturated soil, and blended a custom soil mix to speed up drying. These measures helped avoid months of potential delays.
Streamlined BIM Modeling
DPR implemented a BIM approach focused on clash detection and steady project progress. The model served as a single source of truth, driving MEPF trade coordination, fabrication, and field verification. This effort minimized design revisions, reduced delays and supported real-time decision-making. Sharp can now leverage the BIM model for facility management to proactively maintain building systems.
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