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The Los Angeles Business Journal ( LABJ) awarded Torrance Memorial Medical Center’s Melanie and Richard Lundquist Tower the first place Gold Award for medical projects as part of its 2015 Commercial Real Estate Awards. The awards are designed to recognize the biggest, best and most notable commercial real estate projects in Los Angeles County completed over the last 18 months.

On Tuesday, February 17, 2015, LABJ honored the developers, contractors and architects of outstanding projects in 11 different award categories at a reception at a LA Hotel Downtown. Representatives from Lundquist Tower developer Boehling Construction Management, general contractor McCarthy Building Co., architect HMC Architects, and Torrance Memorial Medical Center attended. During the event, it was noted that Melanie and Richard Lundquist donated $50 million in 2013 to name the tower.

“Seven years ago, we challenged HMC Architects to create something unique and special to serve the health care needs of the South Bay community of Los Angeles for the next several generations. It’s evident they listened,” Craig Leach, president and CEO, Torrance Memorial Medical Center, said. “Our new gleaming tower is not only a beautiful architectural creation, but also maximizes functionality to masterfully serve our patients and staff.”

As part of the award, the 390,000 square-foot tower received a write-up in a special section within the February 23 LABJ edition. The article highlights the tower’s patient-centered, state-of-the-art healing environment that invokes the ambience of a world-class hotel.

The Lundquist Tower officially opened to patients on November 16, 2014—six months ahead of schedule and $10 million under budget. The tower replaces Torrance Memorial’s second facility built in 1971. The new tower incorporates 256 private patient rooms, 12 operating rooms, 44 prep and recovery beds, six interventional radiology rooms, an inpatient pharmacy and sterile processing. The second floor of the new tower houses the South Bay’s first Hybrid Operating Room, which allows surgeons to perform high-risk, minimally invasive surgeries and then switch to more conventional open surgery if needed. In addition to providing an environment to support state-of-the-art medical technology, the tower’s patient-centered design addresses the comfort of visiting family members by incorporating family-friendly lounges and overnight spaces.