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(RALEIGH, NC – April 7, 2010) – The City of Raleigh held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Wilders Grove Service Center Solid Waste Services Facility on April 7, 2010. The Center will be among the first remote operations facilities built by the City.

The City retained Hazen and Sawyer in 2008 to design the new Center, including the 24,000-square-foot Solid Waste Services (SWS) Administration Building, a four-bay vehicle wash, and a vehicle fueling center. The Center is located on a 20-acre former soil borrow area adjacent to the City’s closed solid waste landfill and transfer station, which will significantly reduce SWS vehicle miles and crew hours while providing a modern facility for the 300 SWS Department staff.

Hazen and Sawyer completed the design in late 2009. A construction contract was then awarded in March of 2010 and the $15 million dollar project is expected to be completed in July 2011. Hazen and Sawyer is also responsible for the construction management through facility startup.

Hazen and Sawyer’s design emphasizes sustainability throughout and the Wilders Grove Service Center has been registered with U.S. Green Building Council, anticipating a LEED Gold certification. LEED certification is a third-party verification that the facility was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across several important sustainability metrics, including energy efficiency, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, waste reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and responsible stewardship of resources.

• Facility heating and cooling will be provided by an innovative ground loop geothermal system consisting of sixty vertical wells, which will also provide hot water for the Administration Building.
• HVAC, daylighting, and energy-efficient lighting fixtures and controls are expected to reduce the energy costs of this building by approximately 40% compared with a conventional building of this size.
• Building materials with recycled content will comprise at least 40% of the material cost for the project.
• Glass recycled by City residents will be used in innovative and creative ways throughout the masonry and terrazzo.
• Reclaimed wastewater will be supplied for toilet flushing and for selected stages of vehicle washing, reducing the potable water demands for the facility.
• Project specifications call for minimizing construction related waste and for diverting as much as 95% of the construction waste from disposal at a landfill.
• The building’s roof system has been designed to accommodate approximately 10,000 square feet of solar panels in the future.

The Wilders Grove Service Center was awarded a U.S. Department of Energy Technology Demonstration Project grant for up to $1.3 million in matching funds for design and construction of the geothermal energy system.

Since our founding in 1951, Hazen and Sawyer has focused on two things: providing safe drinking water and controlling water pollution. Our range of services encompasses the planning, design, and construction management of water and wastewater-related projects – from clean water treatment, storage, and distribution to wastewater and stormwater collection, treatment, and reuse.