DBIA Announces 2025 DBIA Project/Team Merit Award Winners 

By: Kara Brown, DBIA Digital Communications Specialist

DBIA is excited to announce the 2025 National Design-Build Project/Team Merit Award Winners. These projects showcase technical excellence and embody the collaborative spirit, creativity and forward-thinking that define Design-Build Done Right®. From revitalizing communities to advancing sustainability and delivering complex projects with speed and innovation, this year’s winners demonstrate the transformative power of design-build to shape the future of the built environment. 

This year, talented teams from across the U.S. submitted nearly 80 projects to compete for the 10 project type categories, and submissions were judged by a panel of industry experts.

“The DBIA Project/Team Awards are more than recognition of a single success. They represent where the industry is heading. These projects and teams demonstrate that design-build’s collaborative mindset creates a ripple effect of better outcomes for Owners and teams, stronger communities and a new standard of innovation for the built environment,” DBIA Executive Director/CEO Lisa Washington, CAE, said. 

2025 DBIA Project/Team Merit Award Winners

Aviation
Civic/Assembly
Commercial/Office Buildings
  • May Lee State Office Complex (Sacramento, CA): The largest facility ever built by California’s Department of General Services, this 1.25 million sq. ft. all-electric, zero-carbon campus replaced Sacramento’s oldest government buildings with a modern hub designed for efficiency, sustainability and resilience.
Educational Facilities
Federal/County/State and/or Municipal
  • Clackamas County Circuit Courthouse (Oregon City, OR): Oregon’s first P3 courthouse sets a new civic standard by blending transparency and security with sustainable design that reduces annual greenhouse gas emissions by 60% through an all-electric mechanical system and a rooftop photovoltaic array. 
  • The Orange County Health Care Agency at Marine Way (Irvine, CA): Built on a remediated military brownfield, the 70,000 sq. ft. Risk Category IV facility co-locates Emergency Medical Services, the Public Health Laboratory and the Community and Nursing Services Division into a 24/7 high-performing, emergency-ready facility with a Biosafety Level-3 lab.
  • Ramona Community Resource Center (Ramona, CA): Serving 22,000 rural residents, this trauma-informed, all-electric facility unites public health services, family support and veterans’ services under one roof, combining human-centered design with Net Zero Energy performance.
  • Riviera Beach Fire Rescue Station 88 & Fire Administration Building (Riviera Beach, FL): This modern 31,000 sq. ft. replacement station restores full fire-rescue capacity, enhances response times and supports firefighter wellness with circadian rhythm lighting, detox saunas and mental health rooms.
Healthcare Facilities
  • Jewel & Jim Plumb Heart Center at Mercy Medical Center (Cedar Rapids, IA): A cardiac center of excellence, this facility consolidates specialized care into one patient-centered hub while opening its doors to the community with AED training, screening stations and cardiac wellness education. 
  • Orlando Health Neuroscience Institute (Orlando, FL): As Orlando Health’s first major healthcare project using design-build, this new three-story, 45,000 sq. ft. institute  streamlines neuroscience care by uniting multiple practices in a patient-centered, state-of-the-art facility. 
  • Riverside Franklin Adult Residential Facility (Riverside, CA): Originally built as a  book repository in 1970, this 81-bed residential facility was transformed ahead of schedule into a trauma-informed environment that supports recovery, dignity and community connection. 
Industrial, Process and/or Research Facilities
  • Caltech Resnick Sustainability Center (Pasadena, CA): Uniting scientists, engineers and students under one roof, this LEED Platinum facility advances Caltech’s commitment to solving global environmental, climate and energy challenges through innovative, sustainable design. 
  • Project Dolphin (Cherry Valley, IL): As Illinois’ first LEED Platinum warehouse, this flagship facility combines advanced technology and sustainable design to reduce energy use by 66% and embodied carbon by 28%. 
Rehabilitation, Renovation and/or Restoration
  • California Firefighters Memorial Expansion (Sacramento, CA): Expanded to honor 3,000 more fallen firefighters, the memorial now features improved accessibility and new educational elements, including bronze relief panels and integrated digital media.
  • IMA Locker Room & Pool Upgrade (Seattle, WA): This renovation transformed a 1966 facility with gender-inclusive locker rooms, sustainable upgrades and modern amenities, all while keeping the recreation center open to thousands of daily users.
  • Smith and Perkins Renovation & Expansion (Dallas, TX): Modernizing two 70-year-old residence halls in under a year, this renovation delivered upgraded systems, enhanced accessibility and a unifying addition that set the standard for SMU’s multi-phase housing transformation.
Transportation (Other than Aviation)
  • Hurricane Ian Sanibel Island Access (Sanibel, FL): After Hurricane Ian severed Sanibel Island’s only link to the mainland, this Progressive Design-Build project restored resident access within 30 days and rebuilt the causeway two years ahead of schedule with a resilient, storm-ready design.
  • Redmond Technology Station (RTS) Pedestrian Bridge (Redmond, WA): Linking Microsoft’s campuses, regional transit and the SR520 bike trail, this landmark design-build bridge overcame pandemic and labor challenges to deliver a safe, sustainable connection over one of Washington’s busiest corridors.
  • Route 7 Corridor Improvements Project (Fairfax County, VA): By widening 6.9 miles of roadway and introducing Northern Virginia’s first Displaced Left Turn Intersection, this project eased one of the region’s worst choke points, reducing travel times by more than 25% while adding a 14-mile shared-use path network.
  • Wekiva Parkway Section 8 Interchange Design-Build Project (Sanford, FL): This project completed a vital 25-mile beltway connection while saving $75 million, preserving four bridges and accelerating approvals to set a national model for design-build innovation. 
Water/Wastewater
  • Big Creek WRF Expansion (Roswell, GA): Fulton County’s largest-ever capital infrastructure project expanded Big Creek’s treatment capacity to 32 MGD with state-of-the-art membrane bioreactor technology that improves water quality in the Chattahoochee River. 
  • McAlpine Creek Wastewater Management Facility Reliability and Process Improvements (Pineville, NC): Keeping operations online, this $120 million rehabilitation of Charlotte Water’s largest plant extended service life by 25 years, increased wet weather capacity by 40 million gallons per day (MGD) and delivered $15 million in added value.
  • Rocky River Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant Phase 3 Expansion (Progressive Design-Build (PDB)) (Concord, NC): Completed three years ahead of schedule, this Progressive Design-Build expansion increased capacity, improved energy efficiency and nutrient removal and returned $8.5 million in savings to the Owner. 
  • Sterling Natural Resource Center (Highland, CA): Transforming a traditional utility into a community asset, this Progressive Design-Build facility provides water for 600,000 residents, generates renewable energy through codigestion of food waste and wastewater and creates civic amenities from a community center to gardens. 
Next Steps for Merit Winners

The 2025 Project/Team Merit Award winners now move forward in the competition for DBIA’s National Awards of Excellence in each category, “Best of” distinctions, special Owner awards, Chair’s Award and Project of the Year. All Merit Award recipients will be honored, and winners for additional categories will be honored during DBIA’s Design-Build Conference & Expo Awards Ceremony on Nov. 6, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. PDT, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nev.