When Potomac Yard Development LLC, presented its initial concepts for a new $700 million mixed-use community to the city of Alexandria, Va., then-Director of Code Enforcement Art Dahlberg saw a challenge.

The 167-acre development ultimately will include nearly 1,700 homes, 1.8 million square feet of office space, numerous stores and services, and a 300-room hotel. The project requires extensive redevelopment of a transportation and industrial site that lies approximately one mile west of the Potomac River.

“We talked about the issues with emergency vehicles and the road network,” says Dahlberg, who is now the commissioner of buildings for the city of Richmond. “These vehicles were going to have to fight traffic and I had concerns about the turning radius at several points. It was clear that the city was going to require some significant revisions.”

The nearest fire station in Del Ray was nearly 85 years old. Dahlberg sat down with Stan Settle of Pulte Homes and other representatives of the development team and the city to discuss working a new fire station into the community.

“The typical response might have been to ask the developer to go back to the drawing board, but we took a step back,” Dahlberg says. “… Rather than asking the developer to redesign the new community, it seemed to make more sense to consider adding a fire station to the plans.”

The developer agreed to donate the parcel of land and $6.6 million toward the construction of the new fire station. The firehouse will alleviate the safety concerns and enable the city to build a modern facility to accommodate new technology and equipment.

City planners and Alexandria Fire Department representatives soon recognized another opportunity for the proposed station: the chance to create affordable housing for low-income families and city workers. One of the densest cities in the United States, Alexandria has lost more than half of its affordable rental units within the past decade. Now under construction, the Station at Potomac Yard is a new twist on mixed use in the municipal realm; the state-of-the-art, four-bay station will be combined with four levels of rental housing.

“The city's approach is always to look to the best interests of the community — we're very oriented to serving the public,” says Bttn. Chief John North. North has been instrumental in the planning efforts for the new station and anticipates that the mixed-use project will be a model for the future. The master plan called for extensive transportation improvements, as well as the creation of pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods with parks, playing fields and open-space areas.

The city tapped the non-profit Alexandria Housing Development Corp. to develop, finance, own, operate and manage the residential portion of the project, which will be maintained as long-term affordable housing. It's successful application for low-income housing credits earned the project more than $10 million in tax-credit equity from the Virginia Housing Development Authority, the state's housing finance agency. That agency, through its Resources Enabling Affordable Community Housing in Virginia program, also is providing below-market loans to help finance the development, with Potomac Yard Development adding another $6 million as a voluntary affordable housing contribution.

As the city began to assemble its ideas for the mixed-use structure, planners reached out to local residents for feedback. Two areas of concern arose. First, residents of the nearby Del Ray neighborhood questioned the future of their firehouse. Second, a few community members questioned the noise for housing atop a fire station.

The city hosted a number of informational meetings for the Del Ray community. Fire department representatives explained the city's dire need for a new, up-to-date fire station, especially given requirements to house modern apparatus and equipment following Sept. 11. Not only was the Del Ray fire station ill-suited to contemporary operational needs, the station was too old to accommodate standard fire trucks. Vehicles had to be special ordered at a smaller size — and greater expense — to fit into the station.

Once the department had outlined its case to residents, providing assurances that the proximity of the Potomac Yard station would allow for prompt service to the neighborhood and that the current, historic station would remain in use as a civic building, the Del Ray community was on board.

To address the noise concerns, the fire department reminded residents of the Virginia statute that prohibits fire department personnel from turning on sirens until the vehicles have moved away from the station. They pointed out that many residents in Alexandria live adjacent to or across from fire stations with very few complaints.

In addition, the station's structure was designed to minimize noise. The effort began with the procurement of two studies, one to analyze the sound impact from nearby off-site sources such as Reagan National Airport, Route 1, and the CSX rail line; and one to assess the sound impact of the station itself on the residential apartments above. Several practical and economical sound-mitigation measures then were introduced.

A double-ceiling system mitigates sound transmission and attenuates sound within the bays. The system incorporates a double layer of L-inch drywall hung from spring-mounted isolation hangers below the structural slab. Above the drywall is a 2H-inch layer of batt insulation. This sub-ceiling isolates the structure from the bays and limits the transfer of sound through the structure. A finished ceiling is then hung 6 inches below and attached to the drywall sub-ceiling. This heavy-duty, moisture-resistant acoustical tile ceiling also serves to attenuate loud noises within the bays.

The first level of apartments is built on a floating slab system that isolates sound transmission from the entire station area on the first floor. The system features three main components: a 2-inch layer of rigid insulation set over the structural slab; a second, non-structural 4-inch floating slab set over the rigid insulation; and neoprene bearing pads at the load-bearing walls between the wall sill plates and the structural slab below. The pads are capable of providing full load-bearing capacity for the structure above, and provide a similar sound isolation to that achieved by the non-load-bearing rigid insulation.

In addition to standard curb-mounted isolation pads for rooftop equipment, specifications include a 1½-inch lightweight gypsum layer on top of the roof sheathing in areas under the mechanical units. This additional layer will mitigate equipment noise from the large rooftop units that serve the fire station.

Four-fold doors were specified for the apparatus bays in lieu of the typical overhead doors. These doors have fewer maintenance problems, are less noisy to operate, and open more quickly than overhead doors.

Another design concept that helps minimize sound in the residential units while adding a distinctive amenity for tenants is a small terrace on the second level along the front elevation. This landscaped area is positioned directly above the apparatus bays. Apartment floors are arranged above the “quieter” portions of the station, such as the bunk areas and offices.

The design of the station goes beyond meeting the parameters of noise control. The exterior facade, composed of brick masonry with punched windows, reflects the traditional architecture of Alexandria. The station's “public face” overlooks a small landscaped park, where the firehouse flagpoles will be located. Landscaped edges and integrated fencing keep the park's users from straying into vehicle response paths.

The new station allowed the fire department to address a host of requirements, including adequate space for hazmat equipment storage and decontamination areas, that were shoehorned into older facilities. General circulation and egress into the apparatus space is designed to be efficient, with short and direct patterns of travel from the kitchen, dining area, day room, and bunk areas into the bays.

The new station has been carefully zoned to project an inviting, community-friendly identity while also allowing for appropriate security and privacy for fire station personnel. The day room, kitchen and dining areas, are positioned along the more highly traveled sidewalk areas adjacent to the major roadways, while bunk rooms are set along the back of the building with a landscaped buffer.

The station includes 15 private bunk rooms and six private bathrooms with showers. Each firefighter on the premises has his or her own bunk room equipped with a bed, desk and locker.

“The private bunk rooms and bathrooms give us so much more flexibility than we've had before,” says North. “…The single rooms remove a lot of the gender-based issues that have come up with staffing accommodations.”

The lockers feature a two-sided design that allows firefighters beginning a shift to access their lockers from the corridor without going into the bunk rooms and disturbing the crew members on the previous shift.

“Every aspect of this station has been carefully thought out,” says North. “… The flow of the space is extremely efficient in terms of access to the apparatus. There is also a good flow for general public use, with an [Americans with Disabilities Act]-equipped restroom near the main entrance. The fitness area has a glass front, so we can see into the space, which we believe is an important safety feature. We've got space for equipment and training. Everything is also designed to be low maintenance, with fixtures and finishes that wear well.”

Just as much consideration has been given to the 64 apartments within the building, 44 long-term affordable rental units and 20 apartments priced for city workers, including first responders and teachers.

“This is a high-quality project with nice finishes,” says Helen McIlvaine, deputy director of the Alexandria Office of Housing. “The VHDA has very high construction standards, and the units and the amenities will reflect those standards. We want to change the way people think about affordable housing.”

The housing also will be EarthCraft House-certified, requiring an energy-efficient, green building approach that includes air sealing of the building envelope and its mechanical systems while allowing for adequate fresh air intake. The certification process also calls for extensive use of materials containing recycled content, window and insulation levels that exceed code, water conservation measures, and the use of Energy Star appliances.

Green design measures also are used extensively in the fire station and the overall structure, which will be LEED-certified. The exterior of the building features an extensive use of materials produced locally, as well as a high level of recycled content. The metal roof, which is designed to resemble tile, also has a solar-reflectance value, and the vinyl roof membrane in the mechanical wells includes recycled content as well as solar reflective qualities.

Two strategies have been employed to optimize water efficiency in the building. A rooftop cistern will capture rainwater to irrigate the tree wells adjacent to the building, and recycled water will be used to wash the apparatus. A vertical shaft runs from the bays to the rooftop, allowing diesel exhaust fumes to be drawn up through the shaft and away from apartment windows.

Inside the station, concrete block walls and interior finishes also feature recycled content, and low-volatile organic compound carpet is used in the bunk areas. The building has a recycling area, bike storage, and reserved parking for low-emission, fuel-efficient vehicles. The below-grade parking eliminates the heat island effect that results from surface parking.

“This entire project was something that worked out very well to meet our needs and the city's needs,” says Settle. “Adding the public housing to the station — with the ability to take it vertical and not use more land mass — was a great solution.”

Soon after the groundbreaking, the city learned that the station had earned an “Excellence in Public-Private Partnership Awards” from the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The award recognizes outstanding partnerships between cities and companies.

The station and the apartments are set to open in the fall of 2009. All of the planning, programming and design has been on schedule, despite the many stakeholders involved.

“… You can't always go by the book in terms of approach,” says Dahlberg. “We were able to take a challenge — the issue of addressing response time for emergency vehicles in a dense community — and create a viable solution for a new firehouse with the added benefit of affordable housing. Our solution helped both the developer and the city.”

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Paul Erickson is a principal with LeMay Erickson Willcox Architects and the architect of record for the Station at Potomac Yard.

The design and construction team for the Potomac Yard Fire Station project includes LeMay Erickson Willcox Architects, serving as architect of record and providing interior design and project management; Rust | Orling Architecture for architectural design; Ehlert/Bryan for structural engineering; Mendoza, Ribas, Farinas and Associates for mechanical/electrical engineering; Land Design for landscape architecture; christopher consultants for civil engineering; and Polysonics Corp. for transportation noise analysis and acoustical noise control. The general contractor is Whiting-Turner Contracting Co.