Chesapeake Public Safety Operations Center

Chesapeake, VA

The Public Safety Headquarters for the City of Chesapeake ushers in a new era for emergency responders, providing them with a state-of-the-art facility that streamlines and consolidates multiple departments. Designed by Clark Nexsen and HOK, the 51,150 square foot facility integrates an emergency dispatch center, emergency operations center, customer call center, backup network operations center, and fire department training space, in addition to associated ancillary spaces.

The design process emphasized programming for adjacencies that would allow each department to function optimally. Fundamentally, this centered on creating breakout team areas for every aspect of emergency activation and locating them adjacent to the large Emergency Operations Center, which can accommodate up to 100 people. Additional spaces include emergency management meeting rooms, community meeting spaces, internal staff training rooms, and private offices. A full kitchen equips the building to meet the needs of workers who are frequently there for 24-hour shifts.

The facility is designed to be both sustainable and resilient. Extensive redundancy preserves operability in case of an unforeseen event, including redundant mechanical systems, a backup network operations center, and an emergency generator. In a weather event such as a hurricane, the facility can withstand up to 130mph winds. Resilience and security overlap in additional considerations such as facility hardening, bomb blast mitigation, parking with separate entrances for employees and visitors, communications and radio tower placement, and security access points.

Sited next to the City of Chesapeake’s animal services building, the precast concrete facility is intended to align with the existing architectural context while providing the security necessary for emergency operations. Its location on an old construction landfill necessitated extra measures to ensure the appropriate venting of any potential methane or radon away from the building. Overcoming this design challenge involved the full range of Clark Nexsen’s expertise, with architects, civil, mechanical, and structural engineers collaborating on the solution.

SIZE  51,150 SF  /  COMPLETION  2018  /  COST  $40,198,374
SERVICES Architecture, Civil, Electrical, Fire Protection, Interiors, Landscape Architecture, Lighting Studio, Mechanical/Electrical, Structural