Scripps built Tower II to add acute-care capacity on a hillside La Jolla campus that had run out of room. The 10-story building rises over Genesee Avenue and gives Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla one of the largest concentrations of surgical and critical-care beds in San Diego County.
Project Scope
Tower II holds about 418,500 square feet across 10 floors, with 170 licensed inpatient beds, nine operating rooms, three interventional radiology suites, and expanded imaging, emergency, and neonatal intensive care. A rooftop helistop lets critical patients arrive without a ground transfer. McCarthy Building Companies led construction, HGA designed the tower, and KPFF handled the structural engineering. Schuff Steel erected the frame, which is base-isolated at the roof to meet California’s hospital seismic code.
Why It Matters
California’s 2030 seismic deadline is forcing older hospitals to rebuild or close beds, and Tower II is one of the first large acute-care towers in the region delivered under the tighter standard. The helistop and the concentrated surgical floors give Scripps a trauma-ready core that neighboring hospitals lack. For San Diego’s aging population, it’s added capacity that arrived before the deadline crunch hit.
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Project Team & Details
| Owner / Client | Scripps Health |
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| Architect | HGA |
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| Consultants | KPFF (Structural) |
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| General Contractor | McCarthy Building Companies |
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| Major Subcontractors | Schuff Steel (Structural Steel) |
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| Status | Completed |
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| Funding Source | Institutional |
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