Vehicle Maintenance Facility for Parks & Recreation

In early 2012, PWA and Trabue, Hansen & Hinshaw, Inc. completed a building inspection of the City of Columbia’s Fleet Operations maintenance facility located adjacent to the Parks and Recreation Department and found a severe termite infestation. Further inspections determined that the over-70-year-old building also had structural issues that forced its closure and led to the decision to build a new, state-of-the-art fleet maintenance building. Since the City was also beginning to add Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles to the fleet, it decided to incorporate the necessary National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) codes to support CNG vehicle maintenance.

Project Successes

Occupied and opened for business on May 23, 2014, the new fleet maintenance building has approximately the same square footage as the old building. However, where the old building could handle only three vehicles at a time for repair, the new building can accommodate six to eight vehicles at once, depending on vehicle size.

The old building could not handle any oversized vehicles. The new building can easily handle up to four oversize vehicles simultaneously. The new building utilizes the existing property behind the old building. The landscaping plan incorporated stormwater runoff treatment through the addition of a rain garden.

Innovation

The new 7,948-square-foot building is fully CNG compliant. It has methane sensors and automatic air handlers to mitigate the effects of a CNG leak. The building is heated by in-floor heating, which eliminates any open combustion source while providing comfortable warmth for mechanics. The maintenance bays offer drive-through convenience and are equipped with translucent garage doors. These translucent doors offer enhanced natural light in the maintenance bays while providing full weather protection. As a result, artificial lighting is rarely used during daylight hours.

A gantry crane running the length of the building provides up to one ton lifting capacity across all maintenance bays. This gantry crane extends over an elevated mezzanine above the parts room for additional parts and material storage without increasing the building’s square footprint.

Facility Highlights:

• Accommodates 6-8 vehicles
• Drive-thru maintenance bays
• CNG compliant
• Gantry crane
• Daylighting
• Rain garden