From Grand Orchid Jury:

"Fabulous. A smart, tasteful building for a public agency. It restores (our) confidence in the expenditure of funds."

"Beauty among the beasts of a business park...understated elegance- wonderful use of stone/ flowing river rock and drought tolerant landscaping. Simple thoughtful facade....the architecture is a novel alternative to the overused California mission."

"A welcome diversion from the old California Rawhide Ranch/ Bonanza theme that abounds San Marcos."

"A class standout in contrast to the industrialist style tilt-ups of its neighbors. This is a friendly and inviting building that is residential in nature with a front door highly visible from surrounding streets."

"This beautiful building was built on a large industrial-zoned undeveloped 68-acre parcel, at the toe of a coastal sage-covered knoll. At one time the land was farmed and was also the site of a fairgrounds, and the Prairie-style architecture fits the history of the site and the community."

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The project consisted of providing the Vallecitos Water District services to a new headquarters facility on a 75-acres site with program and design in mind. The result was a four-building development on approximately 14-acres of the existing 75-acres.

The buildings are as follows:

- Administration Building 40,000sf

- Operations Office Building 10,000sf

- Shops Building 13,000sf

- Warehouse 13,000sf

Other structures on the site include a fueling island and a vehicle wash building.

The project cost estimate was $8,500,000 and the bid price was $8,725,000. The five lowest bidders were within 5% of each other. Change orders totaled 5.4% ; of that approximately 2.4% were Owner additions/changes, and 3% were field and A/E change orders.