1890’s Barracks Conversion

During the late 1800’s barracks were constructed at Fort McPherson to house ten companies of solders. Those barracks remained in constant use until approximately 1997. Redesign of the historical structures converted them from barracks to modern administrative space. The U.S. Army contracted Reams Enterprises, Inc. to renovate buildings 60 and 62, which consisted of over 33,000 SF of gross space.
Scope of Work for this project included:
* Demolition of walls, and architectural finishes
* Asbestos & Lead Abatement
* Construction of new offices
* Construction of new bathrooms to include all new plumbing out to 5″ line
* New HVAC systems with direct digital controls
* Installation of three elevators
* Completely new electrical systems to include the electrical service
* New fire suppression alarm system
* Painting
* New carpet, hardwood & VCT flooring
* Handicapped ramps
* Repair of the masonry work
* Insulation and soundproofing

This was a very challenging project, two 100+ year old structures never originally envisioned to have indoor plumbing, much less the infrastructure that is typical of a modern office. The project also had to maintain and restore as much of the original buildings as possible.

The renovation, while not only striving to maintain the character of the building had to conform to all of the requirements of modern construction. Retrofitted in a haphazard manner over the years with such modern conveniences as “indoor plumbing” and central heating and air it was necessary to redo every system. It was also necessary to install a completely new fire protection system and fire alarm system. The buildings also had to be adapted to meet the needs of any staff or clients that possess any mobility difficulties, to meet the requirement we installed three elevators and ensured that each building had wheelchair accessibility from the street level. Finally, towards the end of the project it was determined to include the necessary cabling for a state-of-the-art computer LAN system, which Reams Enterprises, Inc. was able to provide for less than the government estimate.