An article from Suffolk wins $278M California university dental school project
Using progressive design-build, the builder will deliver new educational, clinical and collaborative spaces on UC San Francisco’s Mission Bay campus.
Published Sept. 1, 2026
Matthew Thibault Reporter
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The location of future dental school facilities on the Mission Bay, Calif., campus of UC San Francisco. Courtesy of Susan Merrell Listen to the article 2 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback.
Award: Dental school buildings
Value: $287 million
Location: San Francisco
Client: University of California, San Francisco
UC San Francisco is advancing its plans for new dental school facilities at its Mission Bay campus with its selection of a progressive design-build team for the project.
The university tapped a partnership of Suffolk Construction and CO Architects, a design firm that emphasizes health sciences and higher education projects, to deliver the school’s Mission Bay Education Center and Dental Clinics project, according to an Aug. 27 announcement. The project will cost approximately $278 million, per a prequalification notice on the project from the university. The announcement also follows the school’s acquisition of two life sciences buildings adjacent to its existing campus in December.
Once complete, the facilities will provide UCSF faculty and students with new educational, clinical and collaborative spaces across dental education, research and patient care, according to the announcement. The new structures will support collaboration between faculty, researchers and clinicians.
Through the progressive design-build process, which is gaining popularity around the country, the combined construction and design team will provide early input to inform key decisions, manage project complexity and keep scope, budget and schedule expectations in check throughout the planning process, per the announcement.
Alongside CO Architects, Suffolk’s integrated design management unit, Suffolk Design, will help with design management, sustainability expertise and technical reviews.
This isn’t the only project Suffolk is working on for UCSF — the contractor is also delivering the school’s Parnassus Campus Central Site Improvements project, also in San Francisco. UCSF has tapped a trio of Webcor, Herrero Builders and The Boldt Company on its $4.3 billion Helen Diller Hospital in the same area.
More broadly, Suffolk’s UCSF projects follow a trend for the builder, which has zeroed in on the opportunity presented by healthcare projects on the West Coast.
“We’re honored to partner on a project that will expand opportunities for education, research and patient care while drawing on Suffolk’s experience delivering complex healthcare and higher education facilities,” said Preston Hoopes, Suffolk general manager of Northern California, in the news release.
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Filed Under: Commercial Building