Our client
Located just northwest of Orlando, the City of Gainesville is home to the states largest and oldest university—the University of Florida—and ranks as the largest city in the region of North Central Florida. The city provides a full range of municipal services, and it prides itself on being citizen-centered and people-empowered.
Project highlights
Their challenge
Salas O’Brien’s Orlando team was brought on board by Bentley Architects + Engineers to assist in engineering for a new station to supplement the City of Gainesville’s main downtown fire station. The 24,000-square-foot project started in 2017 as a response to the increased development in downtown Gainesville, and when completed, it will serve as the Gainesville Fire Rescue administrative headquarters with offices for the Fire Chief, Deputy and Assistant Chief Staff, fire inspectors, fire investigator, and administrative support personnel.
Our solution
Our team provided mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, and low voltage systems design as well as MEP-related LEED administrative support for this project. The electrical systems are backed up by a 300 KW natural gas generator and station alerting systems were coordinated with Purvis. The HVAC system is an energy efficient VRF system with a dedicated DOAS system. The bays are heated with natural gas radiant heaters, include air scrubbers for exhaust and are specified with vehicle exhaust gas detection systems for a higher level of life safety.
The results
The finished facility boasts state-of-the-art dispatching and station alert equipment, and helped by our LEED administration services, it earned a LEED Silver ranking. The building includes both a smaller two-bay apparatus bay and a larger three-bay apparatus bay for fire department vehicles and equipment. These include spaces for bunker gear storage, scuba repair, radio equipment repair, and laundry facilities. A two-story portion of the building includes living quarters for up to 15 crew members and dormitories complete with a day room, training room, fitness area, kitchen with commercial range and commercial kitchen hood, and administrative areas.
