Construction begins on KAI-designed $22 million Dallas County South Government Center

Construction began in September on a new 73,000-square-foot Dallas County South Government Center at the southern edge of Dallas County at Interstate 20 and South Polk Street. KAI Design served as the Architect-of-Record on the project, plus integrated its in-house MEP engineering group into the project and assisted with master planning the overall site for future growth.

The new two-story building will replace and consolidate three existing aging facilities under one roof and will house Dallas County’s Tax Office; County Constable; Sheriff’s Traffic Division, Dispatch and K-9 Unit; and two Justice of the Peace courts.

Design features of the new facility include a public walking trail around the property that will also be used by the Constable’s and Sheriff’s Academy for agility training, food truck parking adjacent to the detention pond, a weight room for the employees and a wellness room for nursing mothers. The project also included the design and integration of a 160-foot-tall radio communications tower, a kennel for the K-9 Unit and property and evidence storage for the Sheriff’s Traffic Division.

The Sheriff’s dispatch area has been designed as an ICC-500 2015 Storm Shelter that will withstand winds of up to 200 mph and remain operational during severe weather. This facility will also serve as a back-up dispatch center for adjacent municipalities.

“We leveraged our storm shelter design experience and worked collaboratively with our structural engineering consultant to bring forth an innovative design,” said Derwin Broughton, AIA, NCARB, principal – Business Development at KAI.

The facility is designed to achieve a LEED v4 Silver Certification. Construction of the facility is expected to be completed in December 2020.