Whatcom County Civic Center Annex

The Whatcom County Civic Center Annex is a 4-story building, comprising 24,000 square feet of office space. FSi was hired by the county to do a renovation that included HVAC, plumbing, and fire protection to bring the facility up to code improve occupant comfort and safety. Our initial assessment showed a building with different heating and cooling systems on every floor, and no fire protection outside of the basement meeting room and parking garage. The age of most of the HVAC units was unknown by the county, but FSi’s visual inspection showed significant weathering, indicating advanced age.

The county’s goal was to have a holistic HVAC system in the first through fourth floors of the building, and to add fire protection to those areas. They also wanted LEED NC v. 4 commercial interior Silver certification. In response to the county’s goals, FSi designed HVAC and upgraded plumbing on floors one, two, and four. The nine year old HVAC on the third floor was kept, as it had considerable useful life left, and an adequate capacity to serve the needs on that floor.

Based on FSi’s recommendations, the county chose a highly efficient rooftop heatpump DOAS system, with heat recovery and a variable refrigerant flow system for the daylight basement, first, and third floors, a choice that increased their LEED points. For controls, FSi recommended a new DDC system to comply with 2015 Washington State Energy Code requirements.

FSi was subconsultant to RMC Architects in Bellingham, WA. Our total design fee was $202,398, and the project cost was $4.7M. The project was completed in 2022 and received LEED Silver certification.

We love our work with small cities and counties. For a look at a larger project we worked on from start to finish, check out our work on the Richland School District Teaching, Learning, and Administrative Center.