“We
have 14 buildings on the sites and some of them
are modular. There are lots of inefficiencies. They
are not energy efficient. It’s just become inappropriate
to do business there. We’ve not only outgrown it,
it’s also become outdated.”
The
south side of the Greenway location belongs to the
City of Phoenix and will become part of its Parks
& Recreation Department, according to Mark Weise,
development branch chief for AZGFD. The north side
will be entered into a purchase agreement with the
city and a new precinct station will occupy the
space.
The
new facility will allow for customer convenience,
Weise points out.
“It’ll
provide customers with one‑stop shopping.
Not only customers who might be getting a particular
license or conducting business, but our outside
vendors as well. Everything will be under one roof.
“We
looked at renovating existing space or buying property
and building a new facility,” Weise explained. “We
concluded it was just too expensive to buy the land
and build or to renovate. It just makes sense to
have it all located on agency‑owned land.
We already had the 1,500 acres on the Carefree (Highway)
site all along. Completion is projected for early
October with a mid‑October move‑in planned.
“It’s
a great project. It’ll ground our agency in one
permanent structure on agency‑owned property.
Everyone here is very excited about the move.”
Bloom
noted the agency met with no opposition to the project.
“It
ties in well with the area and the (Ben Avery) shooting
range, which is ours,” said Bloom. “The stars really
aligned for us. The project hinged on the availability
of water and sewer. The City of Phoenix informed
us they were running water and sewer lines in front
of the property, and they bought a right‑of‑way
from us. Things just fell into place.”
In
keeping with today’s environmental consciousness,
the project is proceeding under the guidelines of
the national Green Building Council through leadership,
energy, environment and design, Bloom explained.
“It’s
called a Green Building, which is part of a national
resource initiative to build energy‑efficient,
sustainable buildings, we are aiming on a silver
certification under the LEED program for our building
when it’s done. As we’ve gone along, it’s become
realistic for us to aim our sights on a gold certification
upon completion. That’s the highest award you can
receive. There’s only one other (Arizona) building
that’s earned a gold. We would be the first ones
to receive gold upon completion.”
The
high certification comes with a price tag, Bloom
said.
“It
requires an intensive design effort. We have to
use energy‑efficient equipment, and the contractor
has to recycle as much of his waste as possible.
We’re required to use a certain amount of recyclable
material. Being a conservation‑oriented organization,
we serve as an example. We have to be held to a
higher standard.”
