120 West Gay St.
For the last 20 months, the renovations and additions to a former police station has been perhaps one of the most successful and unique projects for SME. The newly renovated building is now home to City of Columbus employees, after standing vacant for more than two decades.
Paired with Messer Construction, SME worked with Heapy Engineering and Harris Architects to complete almost $38 million in renovations and additions.
Originally built in 1929 and serving as Columbus police headquarters, the 120 West Gay St. renovation and addition served as a unique and challenging project for SME. After completely gutting the facility, SME worked with engineers and contractors to renovate the historic facility. Challenges included incorporating modern day equipment and systems into a very old building.
In addition to complete system changes, SME installed energy saving lighting and fire, safety and security systems. 30,000 square feet of additional space has been added to the building, as well as a large glass atrium that is aimed to reduce energy costs by providing more natural light to the historic building.
SME’s high quality work turned a once-dilapidated eye-sore into 143,468 square feet of office space for the city’s attorney’s office, income-tax division, public safety, human resources and civil service and purchasing.