Fire and Police Headquarters Patience Pays Off!!

Quick Links Project Notices and Bulletins Project Overview Artist’s Renderings Project Schedule Construction Cam Construction Photos Environment Project Contact Credits

Project Notices and Bulletins: The following important information is being provided to keep our citizens informed of project work which may impact them. UPDATED Notice of Road Closing - Lake Ave.: The closure of Lake Avenue next to the Police and Fire Headquarters Project will be extended to August 16, 2010. Should you have any questions, please contact Nick Mcray, Sr. Project Manager at 407.688.5000 extension 6053 or via email at mcrayn@sanfordfl.gov ..... read more. Notice of Lake Ave Closing: The portion of Lake Avenue fronting the Police and Fire Headquarters project will be closed beginning August 10, 2009. The closure will be in place until July 2010. Read the road closure notice here. back to top

Overview: Construction on the City's Police and Fire Headquarters began July 2009. This facility has been a concept nearly two decades in the making. Discussions about cramped quarters as early as the 1980's were confirmed by a formal Space Needs Study conducted in 1996. The study clearly showed Sanford's Police and Fire services had outgrown their existing facilities. Funding, location and design were difficult hurdles which all had to be addressed in order to make the project happen. Through patient dedication and guidance from the Commission and City Manager all the prerequisites were satisfied and the project has moved from a "planning concept" to reality. The project consists of a 75,000 square foot joint headquarters building to be constructed on a six acre site at the southeast corner of West 13th Street and Lake Avenue. The land was formerly owned by the State of Florida and was purchased by the City in 2007 from the Department of Agriculture. Construction costs are estimated at just under $16 million with total development costs being roughly $21.5 million. In November 2005, through a competitive proposal process, Architects Design Group (ADG) of Winter Park Florida was selected as the Architectural firm of Record to design the facility. Since that time they have worked with the City providing master planning, schematic and other design services to aid the City in placing the facility. ADG also discovered a grant opportunity and developed the City's application to FEMA for funds to harden the facility to a 150 MPH wind speed. The grant review and award process took over two years, but through patient determination the City secured $705,000 in grant funds to aid with facility hardening. Once the site was selected in 2007 and funding of the project confirmed in 2008, ADG began the work of developing construction plans for the facility. Their design responsibilities include the building, site and all associated improvements. ADG worked closely with the City and our contractor during the design process to ensure a functional, cost effective and aesthetically pleasing facility will be the end product. Construction and Permit plans were finalized in April 2009. ADG is now providing construction administration services during the building process. The project is being delivered using the "Construction Manager at Risk" method. Through this contract method, the contractor is brought on by the Owner as a team member during the design process and participates in design discussions. The contractor provides input on constructability and value engineering options to maximize the owner's construction dollars. Once the design process is sufficiently complete, the Construction Manager at Risk submits a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) to the Owner. The contractor is required to absorb cost overruns associated with the work which exceed the GMP. This is why they are termed "at Risk". Conversely, if the project is delivered at a cost less than the GMP the City and Contractor share those savings. The City's Construction Manager at Risk is Wharton Smith Construction Group, Inc. They were selected by the City via a competitive proposal and interview process in July 2008. back to top

Artist's Renderings: Please click on the images below for a larger view of the artist's renderings of the facility and project.
Plaza View	Plaza Aerial	Site Plan Aerial
back to top

Schedule: Our contractor, Wharton Smith has provided a schedule with the following project milestones. Please be advised this schedule is subject to change without notice due to field conditions.
July 2009 - August 2009	Site Clearing and Demolition
August 2009 - November 2009	Foundations and Slabs
September 2009 - November 2009	Storm Drainage Systems
November 2009 - May 2010	Building Shell and Roof
November 2009 - September 2010	Underground Utilities & Site Work
September 2010	Substantial Completion of Project
back to top
Construction Cam: The City has set up a camera to allow the public to monitor the progress of the project. Due to power and network connectivity requirements the camera is currently set up at our existing Fire Station # 31 radio tower looking onto the site. When power and network lines are made operational on the site, the camera will be relocated to provide a better view. back to top

Construction Photos: Progress photos are taken daily to document the contractor's work and site conditions. Below are a few of the photos which are updated periodically. Click HERE for a gallery of all construction photos.
November 2009	December 2009	January 2010
February 2010	March 2010	April 2010
May 2010	June 2010	September 2010
back to top

Environment: The new facility will be constructed with "green" principles in mind, featuring many of the design and construction practices found in environmentally conscious projects. The facility has been specified with a Building Management System (BMS) to control all mechanical equipment.  Through software and sequences of operation, areas of the building can be "set-back" during non occupied hours to higher temperatures to reduce the load on the chillers and air handling units, resulting in additional energy conservation. Through the use of multiple zone temperature sensors and a BMS system, there are more control points, offering more individuals control over their work environment. An automated building lighting control system (tied into the BMS) has been specified to control lighting based on time of day use.  Space occupancy sensors to turn off lights when spaces are empty have also been specified to further reduce energy consumption. Although the facility will be built to a 150 MPH wind load speed, it includes a significant amount of windows. Through the use of LOW-E energy efficient windows more natural light is brought into the building without heat thereby reducing the need for artificial light and additional cooling. The City is participating in the Saint Johns River Water Management District conservation program known as Florida Water Star with this project. Water Star compliant plumbing fixtures have been specified for the building. The facility landscaping and irrigation has also been designed to Water Star standards. The landscaping will predominantly feature Florida native species and be irrigated using the City's reclaimed water system. These design efforts will provide an overall reduction in potable water demand for the facility. Where possible and cost feasible, the building will also utilize materials with recycled content. For example, it is anticipated the overall interior finish materials (carpet, tiles, laminate, etc) will have as much as 60% recycled content. Use of recycled content not only reduces demand on virgin materials and the associated energy for mining the raw material, but also diverts materials destined for landfill. Construction methods which focus on reduced waste and a philosophy of recycling rather than landfill are also being used. The site is being cleared using this approach. The trees that could not be saved are being chipped on site and sent to a processing facility where they will be dyed and used as colored landscape mulch. Trees which are too large to be chipped are being sent to lumber mills rather than being sent to landfill or burned off-site, which is a typical practice in site clearing. Concrete rubble from the project is being sent to a facility which crushes the material and returns the product to market as various sized aggregate. back to top

Project Contact: For questions or concerns regarding the project, please contact Nicholas Mcray, Sr. Project Manager at 407.688.5070, Extension 6053 or via email at mcrayn@sanfordfl.gov. back to top

Credits: Artist’s renderings courtesy Architects Design Group. Aerial of Site Plan courtesy of AVCON Engineering. back to top

Last Updated: