If it hasn’t happened already, it may soon be your turn. Many employees are now working in new buildings or newly remodeled offices and the County is always working to provide modern, efficient, and environmentally friendly workplaces. Truthfully, not just for us, but it is also for our customers and to provide better customer service.

2022 was a busy one for General Services with ribbon cuttings, groundbreakings and capital expansion projects so you might wonder what’s ahead for 2023 and beyond? Here are some highlights.

OPENINGS

Lakeside Library

Scheduled completion: early 2023

The long-awaited Lakeside Library could open its doors in March or April. The new branch will replace one that was built in 1962. The groundbreaking took place in November 2020 at a location just a few blocks away. At 16,400 square feet, the new solar-powered facility will be three times larger than the current building. The facility will include a 2,000-square-foot community room, a bookstore and large spaces for children and teens.

The Southeastern Live Well Center

Scheduled completion: this summer

The grand opening celebration for the new Southeastern Live Well Center is just months away. The project broke ground in fall, 2021 at the intersection of Market Street and Euclid Avenue. The community played a large role in planning the sixth of the County’s Live Well Centers. The new facility measures about 65,000 square feet and will include a 4,000-square-foot conference center available for community meetings. The one-stop shop will offer medical insurance coverage, food and nutrition assistance, family strengthening services, financial and employment assistance, public health, behavioral health, child support, restorative justice, services for older adults and people with disabilities, and services for the military and veterans. The facility will also feature culturally relevant public art, both inside and outside the building.

East Otay Mesa Fire Station 38

Scheduled completion: September

A little over one year after the groundbreaking, East Otay Mesa Fire Station 38 is scheduled to open its doors. The facility is located on Alta Road south of Otay Mesa Road near the growing border region and the future addition of the East Otay Mesa Port of Entry. The 14,000-square- foot facility will house a ladder truck, a fire engine, ambulances and other apparatus. The station will include four double-depth apparatus bays, 12 bedrooms, a kitchen, a day room, a fitness room and a conference room.

NEW BEGINNINGS

Phase 2 of construction underway at the Youth transition campus

Youth Transition Campus Phase 2: Phase two of construction is officially underway at the Youth Transition Campus in Kearny Mesa. The first phase was completed in January and replaced your “typical” detention facility with one more in line with what you would expect from a school campus. Currently, it features eight housing units with a total of 96 beds, a dining building, a school complex, an open courtyard, a gymnasium, basketball and handball courts, an amphitheater and a stage. The new phase includes a six-housing unit, 72-bed Temporary Residential Placement Facility, its own education complex, and a Youth Development Center office building. Scheduled completion date is in December.

Tri-City Psychiatric Health Facility: Builders are working on a new 13,560-square-foot, 16-bed facility for psychiatric inpatient care in Oceanside. The groundbreaking took place in October on vacant land at the Tri-City Medical Center campus. The County and the medical center worked together to plan, design and build the new facility. The two will jointly fund services. The addition is expected to bolster behavioral health care needs in the region. The opening is scheduled for early 2024.

Edgemoor Skilled Nursing Facility Psychiatric Unit: A new 12-bed acute psychiatric unit will support residents at the Edgemoor Skilled Nursing Facility in Santee and other adults in need of services in East County. A current unit at the facility is being converted to create the new one. Services are expected to prevent unnecessary hospitalizations. The unit could open in early 2025.

MAJOR RENOVATIONS/REMODELING (underway or future)

County Administration Center: Scaffolding still surrounds the building but exterior painting is underway and new terracotta tiles will soon replace the old ones. This multiple phase renovation project involved replacing or updating mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. The Board Chamber was completely remodeled, and the Board offices were refreshed with new carpeting and paint. Other departments took the opportunity to update their spaces as well. The CAC should be back up to speed in spring 2024.

Libraries: Construction crews will soon begin remodeling two County libraries. The Julian library branch is adding a 2,500-square-foot community room. The Rancho San Diego branch is expanding its Friends of the Library area by 400 square feet. Both projects are scheduled for completion this summer.

PLANNING STAGES

Casa de Oro Library: A new library is in the works for the Casa de Oro neighborhood. The branch will replace the current one located at a strip mall. The new building will measure about 12,000 square feet and will include for the first time a community room as well as a bookstore and large spaces designed for children and teenagers.

HHSA Ramona Community Resource Center: The new resource center is in the design stage and involves building a new 8,000-square-foot zero net energy facility on the Ramona Intergenerational Community Campus. In addition to self-sufficiency programs, the center will include a Public Health Center, and Behavioral Health and Child Welfare services. The scheduled completion date is in late 2024.

East County Crisis Stabilization Unit and Sobering Center: The County’s seventh crisis stabilization unit will be built in El Cajon at the former site of the Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk’s office. The facility will measure about 16 thousand square feet and offer services to several East County communities. It is expected to open its doors in late 2024.

Concept design for new public health lab

Health Services Complex Replacement: The Health Services Complex on Rosecrans Street in the Midway District will relocate to the County Operations Center. Phase one will involve a newly constructed two-story, 52,000-square-foot Public Health Lab. Phase two relocates the remaining Public Health Services staff to the existing four-story, 150,000-square-foot 5530 building after some remodeling. The lab will open in early 2025. A timetable for the move to 5530 is being developed.

San Diego County Animal Shelter: Watch for a groundbreaking late in the year for a new animal shelter in Santee. The state-of-the-art building will replace the Bonita facility built in 1974. The new site will include a building measuring approximately 20,000 square feet, a barn, kennels and an outdoor livestock area. The site will also temporarily house animals during local disaster events. The project’s completion date is set for mid-2025.

A LOOK BACK AT 2022

Youth Transition Campus: Phase one of the Youth Transition Campus was completed in January giving a whole new look and feel to juvenile detention in San Diego County. The Kearny Mesa site was rebuilt to look like a school campus and is designed to help young people get the tools they need to succeed. Phase two is underway and could open in December.

Oceanside Crisis Stabilization Unit: The County’s sixth crisis stabilization unit opened in April at the Live Well Health Center at 1701 Mission Ave. The walk-in facility is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and features a calm environment for those suffering from a behavioral or mental health crisis.

Probation Community Support Office: The Ohio Street Probation Office was closed and demolished to make way for a new Community Support center in North Park. The community played a great role in planning the facility and the ribbon-cutting was celebrated in May. The building provides rehabilitative services, a community meeting space, a demonstration kitchen to teach cooking skills and a food pantry.

Palomar mountain fire station 79 Living quarters

Fire Stations: Firefighters saw a flurry of ribbon-cuttings in 2022. In March, new living quarters opened at County Fire Station 79 on Palomar Mountain. The cabin-style building includes bedrooms, a kitchen, dining room, dayroom and laundry room. Previously, firefighters used a home that was built in the 1930s. The space was returned to the community.

CAL FIRE Station 59 at Sunshine Summit boasts a little more elbow room. This remote facility north of Warner Springs saw its vehicle bay expand by 900 square feet to allow for a water tender. The station also gained a new 5,000-gallon water tank with pump to fill trucks, and a new vehicle bay exhaust system. This remote station is located on State Route 79 north of Warner Springs.

Mt. Laguna Fire Station 49 celebrated its grand opening in May. The new facility sits at 6,000 feet, the highest elevation of any of the County’s stations. Special fire resistive materials went into the construction because the building is in a high wildfire area. Specific dark sky lighting systems were installed to avoid interfering with research at the Mount Laguna Observatory. The station features sleeping quarters for six, a living area, kitchen, office space and gym.

East Mesa Juvenile Track and Playing Field: Justice-involved youth are getting a workout at the new track and playing field at the East Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility. The opening in November was celebrated with the field’s first track meet. The space allows youth a place to exercise and train for competitive sports.

For more information on planned and proposed construction projects, see General Services’ Current Capital Projects list.

County of San Diego InSite News

County of San Diego InSite News

Home

County of San Diego InSite News

New and Improved County Buildings on the Horizon

County of San Diego InSite News