Santa Fe Freight Depot Adaptive Reuse

About the Program

Category: Arts, Culture and Historic Preservation (Best in Category)

Year: 2012

Maricopa County responded to a need to provide its citizens with effective and cost efficient government services with the Santa Fe Depot Adaptive Reuse project. The Santa Fe freight was used as the center of regional commerce for 37 years until it was scheduled to be demolished after being unoccupied since 1966. The County’s Assessor’s office decided to lead this reconstruction project to reestablish the use of the freight depot building. The main goals of the Assessor’s office were to consolidate satellite offices such as hearing rooms for annual property tax appeals meetings, provide access to light rail and bus routes to serve customers who rely on public transportation, reduce travel for employees, achieve Energy Star Rating at 90%, reduce water use, utilize at least 20% of locally manufactured building materials and recycled building materials and divert 50% of on-site generated construction waste from landfill. Reuse of the Santa Fe Freight Depot has met and exceeded all of the anticipated goals. It saves the county $800,000/yr, paying back the cost of the project in just 5 years. It also incorporated history, modernization, energy efficiency and instillation of historic artifacts. Because the building is a Historic Structure, special attention was taken to maintain the integrity of the building and the existing original materials. The County provided funding and advocated for an education component. Partnership was taken in this project with community groups such as City of Phoenix Historic Preservation Office, Arrington Watkins private architect, Brignall Construction and Arizona Railway Museum for Santa Fe Railroad artifacts. This program satisfied Maricopa County’s strategic goals of reducing their leased real estate footprint while continuously providing quality service to its citizens.