Tri-Cities Readiness Center

The Washington Military Department’s new 40,000 square foot facility, located in the Horn Rapids Business Park, is a state-of-the-art facility that provides the Washington National Guard additional training and operations functionalities in the Tri-Cities region. The amenities provided within this facility are in place to serve as a home base for approximately 150 members of the Washington Army National Guard’s Stryker Infantry Unit, the National Guard’s 81st Brigade Combat team. In order to support the National Guard’s operations within and around this facility, the building features a large administration area that is to be staffed full-time, multiple training rooms containing TA50 lockers for troop gear storage, a 4,500 square foot assembly hall with high-bay coiling doors and thickened concrete suitable for driving showcasing military equipment indoors, a commercial kitchen, a large weight room and sizable locker rooms. Also featured is a large dry gear storage area as well as two arms vaults for firearms and munitions storage. When not in use by the Washington Military Department, the facility has provisions to also serve as an event space for the general public.

The building was designed and constructed under a fixed price design-build procurement. Fowler and design partner TVA Architects faced extreme price pressures and supply chain disruptions from the time the fixed price design-build contract was signed to the time we were able to contract the work. Close collaboration with all stakeholders allowed for the projects program to be realized without increasing the project budget. This was achieved by staggering contract awards to ensure early procurements were awarded to maximize project value. Fowler and the early contracted trade partners coordinated the work and procurements in progress with the design through a collaborative BIM/VDC process. This allowed for actual equipment selections and details to be coordinated early ensuring flow to the project and eliminating rework. Later in the project multiple architectural finishes were added to the project by WMD, including polished floors throughout all corridor and multi-purpose spaces. Sequencing the polishing activities around finalizing base scope work posed a challenge, but through careful planning the Fowler team was able to complete and turnover the building on time. Lastly, this project required as part of the RFP that Fowler be able to achieve LEED Silver through the USGBC. As a result of extensive planning and cost benefit analysis as it related to the end user, Fowler received 61 points on USGBC’s score sheet, ultimately receiving LEED Gold and providing WMD with a much more clean and efficient building than was required.