Over a decade ago, forward thinking leaders in Leon County, Florida had a vision to bring the community’s emergency services and critical operations together under one modern, resilient roof. Today, that safety complex not only set a standard for the region but also changed the trajectory of Ajax Building Company’s business.
ENGINEERED FOR THE EXTREME
From the beginning, expectations for the 100,000sf complex in Tallahassee were exceptionally high. Bringing emergency communications, medical services, fire department administration, emergency management, and regional transportation operations together meant designing a facility capable of supporting approximately 150 employees during normal operations—and as many as 350 to 400 people during an emergency.
The building itself had to be just as resilient. Designed to withstand F4 tornadoes and winds exceeding 200 mph, the facility also meets Department of Defense anti-terrorism standards and FEMA 361 tornado shelter requirements.
However, resilience meant more than withstanding extreme weather. During an emergency, power, water, and communications can all be disrupted at once, while the personnel coordinating the response still depend on those essential services. To keep operations running, the complex incorporates multiple layers of redundancy, including backup generators, redundant water supplies, uninterruptible power supplies, specialized cooling systems, and multiple fiber-optic connections.
“The biggest scheduling challenge involved coordinating and integrating all of the equipment required to keep the building operational around the clock,” says Ajax Director of Support Operations Jordan Wise. “Because this facility supports critical public safety functions, there was no margin for error when it came to system reliability.”
For critical facilities like these, not all projects are created equal and some simply cannot go wrong. The Ajax project team understands that.”—VINCE LONG, LEON COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
MAKING HUNDREDS OF PIECES WORK AS ONE
Achieving reliability required more than installing equipment. Many of the facility’s systems depended on one another, meaning power, cooling, inspections, commissioning, and startup all had to follow a carefully planned sequence.
“Because so many systems were interconnected, we had to carefully inspect, commission, and activate them in a precise sequence,” Wise says.
Throughout construction, Ajax facilitated dozens of coordination meetings among subcontractors, designers, commissioning specialists, government agencies, and building operators to determine how—and when—each system could be installed, tested, and activated.
FROM THE AJAX PORTFOLIO
Leon County PSCSarasota County EOCVolusia County EOCBrevard County EOCSumter County EOC (x2)Monroe County EOCFlagler County Sheriff AdministrationSt Johns County Sheriff AdministrationHardee County EOCSt. Petersburg Police Department HQTallahassee Police Department ComplexNorth Port EOCSt Cloud Public Safety ComplexGA Emergency ManagementGA Department of Public Safety
The data center offered a clear example. Recognizing its critical role, Ajax prioritized the space ahead of surrounding areas, completing the walls, access flooring, chilled-water piping, fire suppression, power distribution, and supporting infrastructure before the owner’s technology equipment arrived. This sequencing provided technology vendors with a clean, temperature-controlled environment in which sensitive equipment could be installed without waiting for the rest of the building.
STRENGTH ON THE OUTSIDE, FLEXIBILITY WITHIN
While the complex was designed for strength, it also needed to adapt. Insulated concrete forms, structural steel, concrete floors, brick and precast stone exterior, and FEMA 361 tornado and bullet-resistant glazing create a hardened exterior, while the building’s interior was designed to accommodate changing technology and operational needs.
A raised-floor system sits 16 inches above the concrete slab, creating space for electrical, computer, and data infrastructure and making future modifications easier. Modular walls and furnishings can also be dismantled and reconfigured as needs change.
That flexibility is particularly important in a technology-driven facility. A two-story Control Center supports regional traffic monitoring through a joint effort between the City of Tallahassee and the Florida Department of Transportation, while interconnected communications, data, and emergency-response systems support operations throughout the complex.
A LEGACY OF PUBLIC SAFETY
Completed in 2013, the Public Safety Complex gave Tallahassee and Leon County a centralized, resilient environment where public safety agencies could share information, coordinate resources, and prepare and respond to local emergencies together.
The complexities of this project have placed unique and unusual demands on the entire project team. Ajax has been a model team member working hand in hand with the architect (CRA), multiple users, multiple government agencies, and the subcontractors to develop the most functional and cost effective solution available to all issues on the project. Ajax has always been proactive and timely with the day-to-day business of construction management on all its various elements.”—CARL MORGAN, CONSTRUCTION MANAGER, LEON COUNTY
For Ajax, the project remains a benchmark for success and changed the company’s trajectory as a market leader within the public safety sector in the Southeast. Since this project was completed, Ajax has been awarded more than 25 public safety facilities throughout the Southeast US.
“More than a decade later, the greatest measure of this project’s success is that the facility continues to do exactly what it was designed to do,” says Jay Smith, Ajax President. “Knowing our work continues to support the people of Tallahassee and Leon County is something we’re incredibly proud of.”