When it came time to build a new 285,000-squarefoot headquarters and training center, the California Military Department (CMD) was committed to devising a plan that would protect the environment, integrate with the existing neighborhood and give the National Guard and other California Military Department entities the resources and facility necessary to continue to serve.
Our team helped secure funding for the project and draft a two-step design-build RFP package for the state-of-the-art headquarters. As the prime architect-engineer, we collaborated with CMD to determine the needs, identify the necessary programming requirements and standards, and then transform those needs into a biddable document that would attract the most qualified candidates for the job.
We prepared a thorough Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to meet the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)’s broad environmental requirements. The EIR assessed the project’s environmental impacts related to a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, aesthetics, air quality and greenhouse gas emissions, biological resources, cultural and paleontological resources, geology, hazards and hazardous materials, land use, noise, tribal cultural resources, traffic, and water resources. In addition to preparation of an EIR and associated technical studies, we conducted a robust public involvement strategy to engage community stakeholders.
Using energy modeling, feasibility studies and financial analyses, we helped CMD determine how it could own and operate its own photovoltaics (PV) that could be used to isolate from the grid instantaneously during outages, allowing critical operations to continue during natural disasters or other emergencies.
One of the primary goals of the project was to find a way to integrate the new headquarters seamlessly with its neighbors, including the nearby Mather Airport. This was accomplished by creating specific guidelines in terms of the facility’s scale and materials, as well as a robust public outreach effort to address the public’s concerns.