The idea of starting a new construction project, particularly one as complicated as a public safety facility, can evoke a great deal of tension along with the obvious excitement. Small projects can require countless hours of planning, coordinating and nail-biting. How do you start? What will you spend? How long will it take? Who can you talk to about it?
Some of you have the advantage of working on a commercial building project in the past. So you have a pretty good idea of what you may encounter on your new project. The purpose of this article is to provide a "laundry list" of some very basic issues that need to be addressed as you proceed. I will, by no means, answer all the questions you have about your "big adventure". But if you know the major issues to address, the minor questions should be easier to answer. So strap yourself in and lets get started!
Whether your planned facility is "brand spanking new" or a renovation and addition, you are going to need somewhere to put it. There are many things that may drive the rough location of the new facility - like population growth projections or ISO ratings - but once you have located some real estate there are a lot of questions still to be asked.
What is the property going to cost you? I don't just mean the purchase price. If the property is offered to you free it may be time to look the gift-horse in the mouth. Some really great properties have been given before, but sometimes the reason its free is because it will cost a fortune to make "buildable". It has been said that often the most important part of the property is what's below the dirt line. Buried debris, rock, bad soils, high ground water, multiple utility easements, abandoned underground tanks, etc., are all unseen conditions that may require you to spend thousands of dollars just to get the site ready to build. These have to be considered a property cost and may be enough to point you to another location. A Phase I environmental report and soil borings can help to identify some of these problems. Knowing the history of the site can also provide good indicators of what you can expect to encounter once a shovel goes in the ground.
Once the property is yours you need to get a survey. This is more than the boundary plat that came with the deed. However, the same surveyor may be able to provide the comprehensive survey for a good price. Make sure the surveyor is going to produce the drawing with CAD, Computer Aided Drafting. The future designer will likely need computer drawings in order to provide their services.
Some of the things that need to be included in the survey are:
If your project is a renovation and addition to an existing building now is the time to determine if the project will require additional property acquisition. Once acquired, the new property will need to be added to the total survey.
Being an Architect myself, I would have much preferred to put this first on the list. All kidding aside, it is never too early to involve an Architect. Notice I said involve, not necessarily hire. Any Architect worth their salt will be happy to give you some direction, advice, and input even before you agree to start writing checks. At this point we have already discussed property, but an Architect can help you evaluate property before you purchase or invest in it.
The Architect needs to have plenty of expertise and experience in the area of Fire/EMS facility design. Just because a dermatologist is a M.D. doesn't mean I want him performing heart surgery on me! Any Architect should be able to design an adequate station with enough practice. But do you really want to be the one paying him to learn a new building type? Find an Architect that has extensive, successful experience with public safety projects.
There are many things that you should consider when trying to select an Architect. Part Two of this series will cover those issues in greater depth.
The two most important parts to any project are time and money. And time will take a back seat to money almost every time. Before you get into any serious investigations, design or construction, you need to have an idea of your budget. Where will you get your money? When will you need it? How much of it can you get your hands on?
Some of you work for Cities. Some of you work for Counties. Some of you work for Industry. And most of you are Volunteers. So the money issue is as varied as the organizations that you belong to. But here are some basic concepts. Money for a project can be divided into two groups; Construction Costs and Soft Costs.
Construction Costs are those costs that you pay for, actual brick and mortar. The money that you actually pay for materials and labor of the construction are usually the largest of your expenses. This money is usually paid to between one and four contractors, depending on whether it is a single prime or multi prime contract.
Soft Costs are all the other things that you will spend money for. That includes; land, testing, design fees, furnishings, fixtures, and equipment. If you have to buy land, it is usually the largest of your soft costs.
It is very unlikely that you will be successful in going to your city/county manager, fire board, etc., asking for a large sum of money to build a station and walking away with it. In this day of tight state and local budgets, finding money to build or renovate can be very difficult. It likely means that you need to be having this conversation with your money provider(s) for years. If they will start budgeting something each year, you can get off to a good start. This is true even if you plan to get your major construction dollars from bonds or borrowing.
Getting the ball rolling can often be accomplished with smaller financial outlays. For instance, after you secure the land you can hire an Architect to carry the project through a partial design. The Architect can develop a program that lists your needs and gives you an approximate size for your new facility and provide design development drawings. This means that you can have rendered site plans, floor plans, exterior elevations or perspectives and accurate construction cost estimates for a fraction of his total fee. Then you can use these fund raising tools to go marketing. Like it or not, we are all salesmen. We have to convince the manager, board, commission or community that we need a new facility. These renderings and estimates helps excite them (a picture is worth a thousand words) and lets them see that you have done your homework for the project.
You can also have the Architect complete a full design package. This will carry the design all the way through construction documents which include specs and blueprints. This will allow you to get the best possible cost estimate and be ready to build when funding is available. You will not have spent a dime for construction but you will be ready to go to that stage.
Obviously, the best route is to have enough finances planned so that you can design, bid, and build without any stops. This will save you the most time and money in the long run.
As a side note, there seems to be more and more sources for Fire/EMS money, especially after 09/11/01. Reports are that the federal government will start increasing funding to Fire/EMS over the next few years until it comes much closer to the funds provided for Police. USDA and other government agencies have a history of providing low interest loans and grants to Fire/EMS, especially in rural areas. FEMA has a history of providing grants to Fire/EMS for hurricane and earthquake mitigation measures in new or existing buildings. And don't forget those VFD barbeques!
You already have a mental list of needs or you would not have seen your need for a new station. This is also something that you can compile very early in your process. The more time you spend thinking about it the better. There are three lists that you should consider writing. They will help you and your Architect.
We have discussed a few things that you can get started on today. They don't require hiring a design professional to do them. If your group or funding authority see that you are laying a good foundation for your planned facility, they will take you much more seriously. Hopefully that will mean realizing your completed project sooner rather than later. So start planning now and maybe you will still have enough hair left to part at the project's end. Don't forget, we'll be discussing how to select an Architect next issue.