Safe training center enters final weeks of construction
After a productive summer of clearing planning hurdles and completing MEP installations, crews have entered the final weeks of building the Safe Center.
A project of the nonprofit Safe Alternative Foundation for Education, the 3,200-square-foot center on South Payson Street is designed to include a workshop and classroom space and deliver National Center for Construction Education (NCCER) accredited training programs in construction trades.
Four years ago, the BC&E Foundation got involved in the daunting plan to create the training center in three vacant Baltimore rowhouses, including one that had been converted into a car wash. The buildings had experienced decay, water damage and renovations that made the proposed project especially challenging. For example, the ground floor of the former carwash had been sloped for drainage and the upper floor raised to accommodate the car bay. The floors of the three rowhomes did not align.
Despite initial fears that the property would have to be torn down, GWWO Architects developed a plan to salvage and transform the space, and construction began.
“This project threw some pretty intense curveballs at the companies involved,” said John Stahl, former president of the BC&E Foundation and Vice President Sales at Swirnow Building Systems. “But we cleared some big hurdles in recent months and, this summer, we have really powered through the job.”
One hurdle was developing the best HVAC design for a building project that had complex needs, tight spaces and limited budget.
“The needs are a little unusual because you have a woodshop right next to an office,” said Robet Ariosa, President of Ariosa & Company. “We were trying to figure out the best system that could work within the smaller confines of the building and wouldn’t encroach too much into the working classroom space and also meet Baltimore City codes.”
That system would also have to meet the heightened ventilation needs of a workshop.
A collaboration between James Posey Associates and Ariosa & Company produced a five-zone HVAC plan to electrify the system (to avoid placing any gas-fueled equipment near a workshop) and to align with upcoming state mandates. The installation includes a VRF-heat pump system with five zones and an Energy Recovery Ventilator for fresh air, along with separate exhaust for the shop area.
Ariosa, like other companies working on the project, received a lot of support from industry suppliers who discounted their prices and even donated some equipment.
“We are blessed to have these great companies and great people involved in this project,” Stahl said.
In total, 13 BC&E member companies have committed to the project: Ariosa & Company, Baltimore Fabrication, Bunting Door and Hardware, Cap Ex Advisory Group, Excell Concrete Construction, GWWO Architects, Henry J. Knott Masonry, James Posey and Associates, Leonard A. Kraus Co., MK Consulting Engineers, Swirnow Building Systems, Temp Air Company, and The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company.
Those companies have donated professional and trade services and provided other work at low rates.
“We’re not cutting any corners with this project,” Stahl said. “The subs are providing top-quality work and materials in order to create an incredible career training center that will be a great resource for that community.”
With mechanical, electrical and plumbing work completed this summer, crews plan to spend September completing finish work inside the center. The BC&E Foundation is planning to hold a ribbon cutting and grand opening in late September.