By HFT Staff

McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. (McCarthy) and HOK announced the groundbreaking of Kedren Children’s Village for Kedren Community Health Center Inc. in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. When complete, the $145 million Kedren Children’s Village will be one of the few pediatric-focused behavioral hospitals in the country, and the first comprehensive behavioral health facility in South Los Angeles. Together, McCarthy and HOK make up the design-build team leveraging their expertise to deliver a modern, efficient, and patient-centered facility tailored to the unique needs of children requiring behavioral health services.  

The 103,000-square-foot campus will include three main buildings – an inpatient psychiatric facility, outpatient services including primary, urgent care and pharmacy services and a transitional housing development. The 24-unit transitional housing development is intended for families of patients receiving care, along with homeless families or individuals served by Kedren’s mental health programs and community outreach in need of temporary accommodations.   

Along with the main structures, the campus will feature a parking structure to address the lack of parking in the project’s location within a residential neighborhood. A physical therapy gym and an outdoor garden will provide therapeutic and recreational areas for patients to enjoy outside their treatment centers.  

The design for Kedren Children’s Village is guided by evidence-based best practices in pediatric behavioral health, prioritizing safety, flexibility and therapeutic environments and inspired by the history and culture of the surrounding community. Drawing on the diversity and warmth of the Watts community, the exterior façade and interior design is based on a quilt representing the people and families that will receive services through Kedren in materiality and form.   

McCarthy's design-build services include self-perform concrete, utility and drywall installation, McCarthy Mapping, parking solutions and landscape design. Uniquely, McCarthy will provide its EQUIP service, an integrated health care build approach that includes equipment planning services coordinated from beginning to end, effectively reducing delays and costs down the project lifespan due to equipment alterations.   

Coordinating construction logistics in the Watts residential neighborhood provides unique project challenges, including building within a relatively small site footprint, managing proximity to active railroad tracks and minimizing noise and traffic disturbances for the local community.   

Estimated completion of the Kedren Children's Village is in summer 2027.