City of Venice Public Safety Facility Earns an ABC Eagle Award
The City of Venice Public Safety Facility won an Eagle Award from the recent Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. (ABC) Gulf Coast chapter’s annual Excellence in Construction competition. The winning projects are judged and honored based on their innovation, execution, quality control, safety, team collaboration and complexity.
The City of Venice’s previous police station was built in 1990 and did not accommodate the space needs nor current administrative / support needs for the Venice Police Department. In the 26 years since this station was built, public safety has taken on even more responsibility in meeting the overall community needs. Ajax Building Company, Tandem Construction and AE partner Dewberry were chosen to provide a new and improved facility allowing the officers and first responders to react efficiently and effectively, and for continuous operations during an emergency event.
This facility consists of a one story 31,421 square foot building constructed of 7 ¼” and 9 ¼” thick concrete tilt-wall panels. The roofing assembly is a composite metal deck with 6” concrete slab with a SBS-modified bituminous roofing system. All structural elements were designed and constructed to meet 220 MPH Wind Speed that exceeds Level E impact criteria. Entry points include the necessary bullet resistance wall and window construction. It also comes with all the required redundant systems, including full facility generator back-up with 72 hours of fuel to ensure operations during an emergency / storm event.
Finally the facility provides community meeting space, officer training areas, workout space, forensic processing of evidence, digital evidence processing, evidence storage, record storage space, media briefing rooms, internal conference rooms, a full service kitchen, interview rooms, detective/investigative operations, armory and weapon cleaning space, vehicle inspection bays, vehicle maintenance bays and police department administrations.
The CM team worked closely with the City of Venice, Police Department and nearby residents to ensure a “good neighbor policy” was maintained throughout the project. This included locating key landscape elements to provide a buffer and exterior lighting controls to minimize potential impact to the adjacent neighborhoods.
The project also had to adhere to the specific architectural guidelines of the “Venetian Corridor.” These guidelines include limits on the building height, paint color, type of roof, decorative trims at doors, windows, and columns. Integrating these particular design elements with the wind resistance requirements posed a unique construction challenge in which the team had to get creative. For instance, in lieu of traditional clay tiles on the roof, Ajax used a metal roof system formed in the shape of clay tiles. The decorative cast stone banding and keystones installed on the building were also altered slightly to achieve the wind resistance. The team used special dowels and high strength epoxy grout for anchoring. The City of Venice Architectural Review Board and City Zoning had to approve the final appearance before the Certificate of Occupancy was issued.
The City of Venice’s new Public Safety Facility was delivered on time and within budget. The facility’s expanded functions have allowed the city’s police department and staff to become even more involved in their community. The building will continue to serve as home base for community gathering and public safety for years to come.
About Our Company: Ajax Building Company, LLC founded in 1958, is an employee owned and third generation family operated construction management firm. During the past 63 years, Ajax has steadily grown to become one of the Southeast’s premier contractors. As a part of the STO Building Group family, Ajax’s project experience now extends throughout the United States, into Canada and the UK, and Ireland. Regardless of the complexity or size of a project, Ajax brings innovative solutions to construction challenges and always strives to exceed their client’s expectations. Ajax prides itself on delivering projects that are on time, within budget and possess the highest level of safety, customer service and quality. Ajax is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics.