Renovation Breathes New Life Into Historic Downtown Phoenix Building

Award of Merit, Renovation/Restoration: Santa Fe Freight Depot Historic Renovation, Phoenix

Photo Courtesy of Brignall Construction

Santa Fe Freight Depot Historic Renovation

Built in 1929 and included in the city's historic registry, the building sat empty for more than 30 years. The renovation transformed the facade to open it up with glazing so that passersby could see the operations of the county assessor's office. A new cast-in-place concrete staircase became a focal point for the LEED-Gold project and gave new purpose to an otherwise unusable mezzanine level. Because most of the ceilings were intentionally left exposed, attention to detail while installing conduit, ductwork and sprinkler piping was essential.

Submitted by: Brignall Construction Co.

Key Players

Owner: Maricopa County Facilities Management, Phoenix

Contractor: Brignall Construction Co., Phoenix

Lead Design: Arrington Watkins Architects,

Phoenix

Structural Engineer: Paragon Structural Design Inc.,

Phoenix

MEP Engineer: Pearson Engineering, Phoenix

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Blair leads day-to-day operations of the ENR editorial team to ensure brand quality and further best practices. He spearheads ENR's various competitions, including Best Projects and the Award of Excellence, and organizes editorial content at events including the Top Young Professionals conference. A Jesse H. Neal, Construction Media Alliance and AZBEES-award-winning writer and videographer, Blair frequently contributes to ENR’s burgeoning video channel with project tour videos and interviews with industry leaders. He is also a frequent speaker and moderator on topics such as diversity and inclusion, design and jobsite technology, construction means and methods and marketing.