Project Overview
The River Rouge service center is a Gas Utility campus providing operations and maintenance support facilities including office space, locker rooms, meeting rooms, stock supply warehouses, a training center, and laboratory testing services. NTH was selected by our client’s Corporate Facilities and Real Estate division to provide consulting services for development of a long-term strategic plan for facilities upgrades, optimization, and capital improvements for the property to meet the changing needs of their local workforce. Rough order of magnitude (ROM) cost estimates were created for each alternative for use by the client in long term business planning and to be included in submission to the company Board of Directors for funding appropriation for capital improvements.
Project Scope
NTH began by collecting baseline data of the existing facilities. Seventeen (17) different structures were evaluated throughout the campus. Property Condition Assessments were conducted in accordance with ASTM Practice E2018, “Standard Guide for Property Condition Assessments: Baseline Property Condition Assessment”. Historical records research was conducted for the site including analysis of Sanborn maps and prior completed Environmental Due Care plans. A Hazardous Material Survey was performed to test materials and finishes for potentially hazardous substances such as lead, PCBs, and asbestos for identification of quantities and tabulation of costs of materials to be abated.
The second phase of the project consisted of the strategic program development. NTH staff interviewed various user groups of the site to collect statistics of their operations, understand their needs, and identify gaps in the functionality of the existing facilities. From this input NTH design staff created several proposed conceptual options for the redevelopment of the site, spanning from repair and rehabilitation of existing buildings to new construction of modern facilities followed by demolition and site restoration of large areas of the campus.
NTH coordinated closely with our client’s Facilities and Real Estate team throughout the process to align our understanding and deliverables with their expectations and needs. Detailed cost estimates were generated for each of the strategic alternatives. A final presentation summarizing the results of the strategic analysis was prepared and delivered to the site business unit leadership for use in long term capital planning and ultimate presentation to the company Board of Directors for capital appropriations.
Project Challenge:
The site campus had numerous decentralized structures that suffered from deferred maintenance and no longer meet the operational needs of the field technicians.
NTH Solutions:
NTH provided our client’s real estate division with a comprehensive understanding of options and costs to transform the campus.
Client Benefit:
NTH brought value to the client through use of aerial drone technology for efficient assessment of large areas of site paving and documentation of existing roof conditions for multiple structures.