Click on the above image to bring up a complete gallery of images. Photos by Tom Fitzsimmons Photography

This project included several renovations to this 1950’s auto dealership building later renovated for this Subaru dealership.  The split-level building has the showroom four feet above ground level, a customer waiting area at ground level adjacent to the service area, and offices above the waiting area.  From the showroom, one had to go down a half flight of stairs to customer waiting, and up another flight to the offices.

The major incentive of this 2012 project in this 1950’s building was to renovate their very outdated customer waiting area.  It had low ceilings and finishes trendy in its last renovation in the 1980’s.  The original 1950’s bathrooms were uncomfortable for the general population and unusable for a wheelchair patron.  Grand Subaru realized that an upgrade was necessary to provide their customers with a great shopping experience.

Other needs included a new employee locker facility and bathrooms.  Since the new customer toilet rooms would take up significantly more area then the original ones, a mezzanine level was crated for the customer at the office level.  As this was a new area, ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance was necessary, and a new chair lift was provided from showroom to offices.  It was investigated to have the chair lift continue to the showroom level but the foundation work necessary was cost prohibitive, so a separate outdoor ramp was also provided to complete ADA access.

As there were upgrades to this old building, new HVAC systems were necessary, requiring the reinforcement of roof structure for new rooftop units.  Construction created challenges such as the unfortunate cutting of power to the service bay as there were no available drawings of the original building.  Our team worked with the owner and general contractor to timely address such issues.  Water supply lines also had to be upsized to comply with current codes.

Click on the main image above to bring up a complete gallery of images.  Photos by Tom Fitzsimmons Photography and Berneche2 Architecture (interiors)

We designed a new retail center with site development for a CD One Price Cleaners franchise who decided to be his own landlord.  The new building was designed to house his commercial laundry and up to five additional tenant spaces. The project included complete site development and replaced a 50 year old motel complex in disrepair.

Several innovations were employed in the project. Permeable pavers were used for storm water retention and an aesthetic foreground, allowing space normally needed for storm water management to be used for parking and drives. One challenge with laundromats is the amount of heat generated. Canopies shade direct sunlight on the south wall, and a light shelf which is an interior continuation of a canopy into the space reflects natural light deep into the space. We were able to keep the space just small enough to not require a vestibule allowing the excessive heat to more readily escape. A white PVC roof membrane aids in keeping the building cool. A high roof deck allowed for the construction of office mezzanine over the bathrooms, and spot cooling ducts are placed at worker areas for employee comfort.