SAN DIEGO — A major milestone was reached in the construction of the new recruit mess hall at Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) San Diego, as crews held a topping off ceremony which signals continued progress on the $84.2 million project, June 26 in San Diego.
“This project will replace the current 64,000-square foot facility with the largest mess hall in the Department of Defense, surpassing the Air Force’s Fort Sam Houston’s DFAC and the Army’s Fort Lee’s DFAC by more than 20,000-square-feet, supporting MCRD San Diego’s ‘We Make Marines’ mission for the next six decades.” said Lt. Dylan Christianson, NAVFAC Southwest - MCRD San Diego Facilities Engineering Acquisition Division Director.
Known as MCRD San Diego mess hall replacement, the project will deliver a 100,000-square-foot facility capable of serving up to 20,000 meals per day at peak demand. The building includes expansive mess deck dining areas, modern kitchen and scullery spaces, cold and dry storage, and administrative and employee support zones. The new facility is designed to support the operational needs of Marine recruits for the next 60 years.
To date, the project has achieved several significant construction milestones, including the installation of all major underground utilities, completion of a watershed basin, and rerouting of surface road Guadal Canal Avenue. The building is supported by 318 deep pile foundations spanning a total of 24,000 lineal feet. The overall project will include more than 3,600 cubic yards of concrete and 373 tons of structural steel.
“This just isn't about putting this big steel piece of girder on top of there. This represents the combined effort of everybody that's out there and the dedication and countless hours, the meticulous planning, the unwavering teamwork, and that's what this represents,” said MCRD Food Service Director, Todd Young ”To our incredible construction team...your skill, your tireless efforts, and your commitment to safety resulted in 311 days, 70,000 man hours, zero lost time, and zero incidents. That is huge.”
The project’s foundation utilized power screed techniques in large open areas—especially the dining decks—to ensure a high-quality finish, while hand screeding was used around utility penetrations to maintain precision. The facility incorporates 33,000 concrete masonry units and extensive utility systems, including 9,000 feet of underground plumbing piping and more than 25,400 feet of underground electrical conduit. In total, the project uses 421,000 feet of electrical wire—roughly equivalent to the distance from MCRD to Camp Pendleton and back. The facility is also designed to house 840 lighting fixtures.
The MCRD San Diego Recruit Mess Hall project is being delivered through a coordinated effort between NAVFAC Southwest, MCRD San Diego Public Works, MCRD San Diego Food Services, MCAS Miramar and MCRD San Diego, and the design team from Michael Baker International. Balfour Beatty serves as the general contractor. Planning is currently underway for fiscal year 2025 requests for furnishings, fixtures, and collateral kitchen equipment funding to complete the facility.
A topping off ceremony is a traditional celebration marking the completion of a building's highest point, typically when the final beam is placed. It's a milestone event that acknowledges the hard work and dedication of the construction team, and includes the tradition of stakeholders signing the final beam, and lifting the beam with a pine tree and U.S. Flag.