From Ashes to Gold…

The new housing project built at San Pasqual Academy in the wake of the 2007 Witch Creek fire won a Gold Nugget Award of Merit from the Pacific Coast Builders Conference recently.

The project won in the Green Sustainable Community category and also garnered a Judges Special Award of Excellence. The project is now eligible for a Grand Award. The winner will be announced during an award ceremony June 28 in San Francisco.

San Pasqual Academy is a one-of-a-kind foster youth residential campus located in Escondido and falls under the Health and Human Services (HHSA) umbrella. The Witch Creek fire destroyed 20 residences, which housed staff and ‘grandparent’ mentors to students, and two administrative buildings. They had been fairly isolated and some distance from fire hydrants.

The reconstruction allowed General Services, HHSA and the organization  that runs San Pasqual Academy, New Alternatives, to replace the structures with new, improved buildings which better met San Pasqual Academy’s needs. They worked with Legacy Building Services, a design-build contractor, which means the general contractor will work with an architect to deliver a complete package at a guaranteed maximum price.

In all, 33 housing units and a new administration center were built. They replace the old buildings and more. Now there is space to house transitional students or graduates, those who are visiting or need short term housing as they transition into independent young adults. The units are better protected from wildfires and boast green environmental features such as cool metal roofs, high efficiency heating and air conditioning system, low flow faucets and fixtures, energy star lighting, drought-tolerant landscaping and rain harvest barrels.

The Gold Nugget Award of Merit is the latest in a long string of awards for the rebuilding of the San Pasqual Academy campus. The housing units won LEED for Homes Platinum Certification and the project was also recognized by the California Center for Sustainable Energy with an Energy All star award for outstanding innovation.