Case Study | Master Planning: City of Fort Walton Beach

The City of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, wanted an implementation plan addressing the City’s current and future operational and space needs. Up until then, the City had a total of 24 facilities, 14 of which were decentralized and comprised the City Hall and Field Office Complexes. To achieve this plan, the project required an assessment of all 24 of the City’s current facilities. After this assessment, a Master Plan for the facilities was required, as well as defined project budgets which would outline available implementation options.

Step one was to confirm the project approach and methodology, as well as to align with the City on project deliverables and an overall schedule. Following this, the Securitecture team conducted a strategic planning and facility review, which revealed a low growth rate for the City, with its current population of 21,108 only expanding to 24,141 in 20 years. The existing space evaluation required an increase from the existing 53,498 s.f. to only 72,456 s.f. to achieve minimum operational efficiency, while projection modeling suggested the need for 101,794 s.f. with a potential staff increase from the current 145.5 to 167 in 20 years. Using this data, the Securitecture team defined the needs for a potential 20-year staff of 160, space of 98,413 s.f., and 1,021 spaces for parking. 10 site options were explored, as well as both 1- and 2-story building scenarios for both City Hall and Field Office Complexes.

The evaluation of these different options, building conditions, and the City’s financial capabilities allowed the Securitecture team to generate recommendations for the construction of a new consolidated Field Office Complex first, followed in the future by a new City Hall Complex.