Board authorizes early work for Be Well behavioral-health campus; state grant milestones at risk

San Joaquin County supervisors on Oct. 21 authorized the director of General Services to negotiate amendments to the county's progressive design-build agreement with Herrero Maguire Hester Joint Venture and to issue an interim notice to proceed for early-construction packages on the Be Well behavioral-health campus, a phased project on an 18-acre site near San Joaquin General Hospital. The vote was 5-0.

The measure clears the way for site mobilization, demolition and grading work that county staff estimate at about $23.4 million (early works package 1). County officials said a second early-works package for Building B (structural steel, long-lead mechanical/electrical equipment and related work) is at about $60 million in preliminary estimates; a third package to establish utilities remains under review.

The board's action does not finalize a guaranteed maximum price (GMP). Staff said the project remains in a progressive design-build stage in which design, cost estimating and limited construction proceed in parallel so the team can maintain schedule and control costs. County Healthcare Services Director Genevieve Valentine said Building B is already at about 60% design and that phased permitting and early works allow construction to proceed while the overall design is completed: "Building B, which is the first building that we will be initiating, is already at 60% design," Valentine said.

General Services Director Dan Wertz told supervisors the early works package covers the entire property and that completing site-wide grading and utilities now should reduce duplicate utility and site costs later: "After we get the fencing up, we will then be able to come back and enhance lighting in the park and then amenities... 120 days for them to complete the work." (Wertz was answering a different item but explained timelines for contractor work and mobilization during the same contract discussion.)

County financial context: the board previously approved a planning estimate of roughly $261.8 million for the overall project; the county's current FY 2025'26 appropriations for the campus total about $80.5 million. County staff warned that failure to meet milestone deadlines could put about $11.6 million in state grant funding at risk tied to Building B, including state behavioral-health capital grant milestones that require permit and construction progress by mid-2027.

To manage risk, staff said the county will continue open-book estimating and value-engineering with the contractor, use AECOM as the owner's representative for cost validation, and bring a negotiated GMP back to the board for approval in 2026. Genevieve Valentine described the design-build approach as a way to avoid duplicate work and to explore long-term operational savings by co-locating clinics and administrative offices on site: "When we are actually doing the demolition, we're actually doing the grading, and we're actually looking at all sewer, all water, all PG and E to the whole 18 acres, this allows us not to have to do that and pay for a second time... this allows us to start delivering those buildings and see that the project and the funding can be drawn down from the state in a timely manner."

Supervisors questioned oversight and cost certainty. Vice Chair Dhaliwal asked whether the phased approach produces long-term savings; Valentine and Wertz said early, coordinated site work should reduce later change orders and duplicated utility costs. The Board approved a motion to allow the director to negotiate and execute amendments and change orders that do not require an appropriation increase, and to proceed with early-works packages within the project's existing FY25'26 appropriations. The board asked to receive regular updates and to return for GMP approval.

Project next steps include issuance of the interim notice to proceed for early works, negotiation of subsequent early-works packages, completion of the full design and a board return in 2026 with the GMP and schedule for remaining construction.

Ending: County leaders said the phased approach intends to keep the campus on its funding timeline and to preserve state grant eligibility, while AECOM and the county continue cost-validation work ahead of a formal GMP submission next year.