Architect says Boys & Girls Club building is moving to construction documents; parking remains hinge for permitting
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Summary
Architect Brett Hammond told the Gadsden County commission the Boys & Girls Club building is in the construction‑document phase after surveys and soil borings; he said using county street‑side parking could avoid a new lot and a costly stormwater pond, but the city must approve access before the building can be permitted.
Brett Hammond, an architect with Hammond's Bank Group Architects, told the Gadsden County Board of County Commissioners that the Boys & Girls Club project is advancing into construction documents after recent surveys and geotechnical borings.
Hammond said the team received the survey last month and soil reports last week and has forwarded results to the structural engineer “for foundation design and tweaking to get our soils correct.” He said the building will be designed to Florida Building Code wind speeds for Gadsden County — roughly 120–130 miles per hour — and clarified the facility will be hurricane‑resistant, not a hurricane shelter: “It is not. But it is hurricane resistant to the codes required by the Florida building code in chapter 16.”
The presentation described a two‑wing layout with a monitored foyer, staff offices in a central core and higher windows to reduce glazing costs. Hammond outlined a preferred strategy to use existing street‑side asphalt on county property for parking, which he said would reduce impervious surface area, avoid needing a new retention pond and allow more grant funding to go into the building itself. He said, “My intent is to do the street side parking; that asphalt is on your property. The city should not be able to keep you from using it.”
Commissioners pressed for a realistic schedule; Hammond said the team delivered a schedule in November and is accelerating consultant work but declined to give a firm completion date, saying the project is “doing the very best we can” while avoiding overtime costs for consultants. The county attorney and staff said they expect to resolve the on‑site parking interpretation with the city by Friday so permitting can proceed.
Why it matters: The project has multiple federal and state grant conditions and site constraints; whether the county may use street‑side parking affects stormwater requirements and the budget. Commissioners signaled interest in keeping costs focused on the building rather than on added site work.
What’s next: Staff said parking access and city approvals are the remaining gating items; once clarified, the project will move through permitting and procurement to construction documents and estimates. Representatives from the architecture team and county staff will return with updates as those items are resolved.
