RAMSEY PUBLIC WORKS FACILITY
Ramsey, Minnesota

• Project type: New construction

• Completion: Fall 2021

This project took a previous building space needs program that was developed just a few years ago, and really tested it against best practices for fleet maintenance and developing industry trends.  The result was a new building program that did increase in total size but addressed working areas that the previous study and owner had not considered and integrated those critical needs into a new design. 

The initial design process needed to be mindful of a critical city budget number.  As such, as initial designs were developed and tested for fit and operational function, even at that conceptual level, initial project cost opinions were developed to help city staff make critical design and sequencing decisions.  These efforts allowed City staff to really defend certain aspects of the design to City Council and build the understanding and consensus of need, not just want. 

The City Council agreed with the depth of investigation of that need, and through the consensus building design process, was able to increase the budget to meet long term goals and provide their city asset with the best project possible within their means. 

This project also utilized energy modeling, as another consensus building tool, to justify some of the commonsense building solutions with tangible data. 

This project has taken place entirely within the COVID time frame.  Our team’s integration, collaborative approach and familiarity allowed us to program and design this project with our client in a relatively short amount of time for a project of this size and scope.