Case Studies: Justice
City of Hobart
Police, Courts, & Community Center
A long-term solution was needed for the city of Hobart, Indiana’s City Hall, City Court, and Police facilities, who had been operating across two facilities totaling 18,747 s.f. These facilities, which housed 15 city departments and the Police Station, had a variety of security and ADA issues, and provided an inadequate amount of space to properly offer services to Hobart’s citizens.
Operating as Principal in Charge (as an RQAW team member), Joe Mrak conducted a strategic planning study and provided the city with a conceptual design to re-use and revitalize a former High/Middle School building, which totaled 174,679 s.f. One-third of the building was renovated to be used for the Hobart Police Station, Courts, and Community Center, helping overcome the prior space deficiency. Another third of the building was demolished to make way for parking, while the final third was earmarked to be used for future growth.
The adaptive re-use project met the immediate and long-term needs of each city department for staffing, parking, and programmatic space. The project also provided a 9-1-1 Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) location for citizens to use for emergencies. In addition, the redeveloped building, located one block away from City Hall, led to the revitalization of downtown Hobart and afforded the preservation of the “Brickie Bowl,” an historic football stadium being used as a public asset, space for Police department training, and community events.
Client:
City of Hobart Hobart, Indiana
Project Roles:
Principal in Charge, (as RQAW team member)
Project Team:
RQAW Corporation
Key Accomplishments:
Building re-use led to downtown revitalization; long-term staffing, parking and programmatic space needs met; allowed for preservation of historic football stadium.