6-Story Convention Center to Get Start in San Diego

Ground-breaking ceremonies will be held Monday for the 1.75 million-square-foot San Diego Convention Center, a joint venture 7of Sylmar-based Tutor-Saliba Corp. and the Perini Corp. of Framingham, Mass.

The partnership submitted a successful low bid of $110.9 million, $3 million less than the next lowest bid, to the San Diego Port District Authority, which awarded the contract.

The center will be located on 11.2 acres bounded by Harbor Drive, the Inter-Continental Hotel, 5th Avenue and San Diego Bay.

Designed by Arthur Erickson Architects of Los Angeles, Loschky Marquardt & Nesholm of Seattle and Deems/Lewis & Partners of San Diego, the six-level structure will contain exhibit areas, meeting rooms and 100,000 square feet of outdoor meeting areas.

The center represents the second major project within the past month on which Tutor-Saliba has won the bidding. As managing partner in a joint venture with S. J. Groves & Sons Co. of Minneapolis, the firm submitted the low bid of $61.5-million to construct the single largest portion of the Los Angeles Metro Rail project.

In 1984, Tutor-Saliba completed the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport.

Two other major Tutor-Saliba projects include the $85-million maximum security facility at Folsom Prison and reconstruction of the San Francisco cable car system.