ms consultants provided design and construction services for a new 47,600 square-foot service center and detached 23,800 square-foot pull-through, vehicle storage and maintenance garage in Lima, Ohio.

The Lima Service Center and Maintenance Garage is part of a larger $250 million AEP program for new and updated service centers and maintenance garages throughout the Eastern, Central, and Southern United States.

The front office space includes:

• Dedicated office space
• Training rooms
• Conference rooms
• Employee gym
• Break room

The maintenance garage includes:

• Dedicated maintenance and servicing space
• Receiving dock
• Wash bay
• Truck and equipment storage
• Additional storage bays

The floor of the vehicle storage and maintenance garage is equipped with an under-slab radiant heating system. This is the primary source of heating in the facility. This type of heating system is a more energy-efficient and sustainable alternative for a maintenance building. Additionally, it creates a more comfortable work environment for employees.

At the crossroads of design aesthetic and budget constraints our structural engineering team utilized a cost effective pre-engineered metal building design for the high bay truck parking space. The front office space utilized a traditional stick design. This flexibility in design allowed AEP to achieve the aesthetic they desired while keeping construction costs within budget.

LEED certification, from the US Green Building Council (USGBC), is an international standard for the design, construction, and operation of high-performing structures. Each certification level indicates the achievement of environmental, economic, and social impacts for the structure and its surroundings.

The AEP Lima Service Center and Maintenance Garage project achieved LEED v4 certification. Some aspects of the project that makes it a LEED certified project include:

• Indoor and outdoor water use reduction
• Optimized energy performance
• Maximized occupant comfort with better indoor environmental quality practices
• Maximized use of products verified to have improved life-cycle impacts
• Rainwater management
• Responsible sourcing of raw materials
• Maximizes daylighting and reduces electrical lighting loads