Pinellas County

Architecture & Engineering Term Contract

GLE has held an architectural/engineering contract with Pinellas County since 2000. GLE has provided programming, design, construction, furniture design, signage and graphics services.  We have also completed additions and renovations throughout numerous projects for Pinellas County.  One large project was the renovation of the 501 Building. This landmark 10-story downtown office building into the new headquarters for 10 departments of Pinellas County Government was accomplished, in six months. Approximately 90,000 square feet of space was involved in the overall renovation.  In most cases, the floors of the building were demolished down to the bare structure and reconstructed to meet the specific needs of each department and bring the building into code compliance.

Security issues were of prime importance in the design and placement of various Departments. Multiple Courtrooms were also a part of the project scope, as were Judges’ Chambers, Interview Rooms and Detention Rooms.  Selection of floors for specific Departments was chosen based upon the need for that specific Department’s interaction with the public.

GLE also designed the addition and renovations to Pinellas County’s Logan Laboratory.  This laboratory is responsible for ensuring water quality of all Pinellas County residents.  GLE developed a radiused design solution, sympathetic to the adjacent structures of this building which is located among a water tank farm.  Other projects recently undertaken for Pinellas County by GLE are the Sheriff’s Department Canine Training building and Oakhurst Pump Station Park.

Oakhurst Pump Station

This renovation project involved renovating an existing water tower pump house and site into a public park.  Half the existing building was demolished and the remaining portion of the building was renovated to resemble a residence.  This included exterior finishes and the addition of a hipped roof.  The site will also redesigned to function as a public park.  Sidewalks from neighboring properties allow public access to interior park sidewalks that meander thru the site and lead to various gardens, pavilion and kiosks.  Throughout the park are benches, water fountain, bike racks and pet stations as well as informational signs describing the landscaping and plants.  The project also entailed site work consisting of drainage, utilities, parking and driveway pavement, site lighting and security fencing.

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Scalehouse

This renovation project consist of renovating the scale houses at the Pinellas county land fill.  The houses themselves will receive new finishes, millwork and storefront windows.  Above the four scale houses the canopy will be renovated to receive new metal panel soffits and be framed down to the ‘houses’ below to close off the space between the canopy and roof of the scale house.  In addition, signage and control arms will be added to the weigh in and weigh out scales to better control operations and to clearly denote to the customer where and when to pull onto the scales.  There will also be many mechanical and electrical upgrades.  The challenge of this project is to schedule the construction in a manner that will not interrupt the day to day operations.  All scales must remain operational during construction.

Judicial Center Building Envelope Consulting

Shortly after completion of this five-story courthouse building, problems developed involving the building envelope. Having provided both architectural and environmental consulting services to the County for several years, GLE was asked by Pinellas County to assess the building envelope and design repairs for the deficiencies identified from our assessment. GLE identified construction joints which run throughout the building as one of the primary areas of concern. GLE’s experienced forensic architects immediately began working with our architectural staff to develop solutions to the problem. The project was complex in its nature because of the numerous building materials and components involved. It was further challenged by the need to complete all of the repairs without disturbing normal courtroom activities. The total construction cost of this project was $970,000.

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