Municipal Maintenance Facility Improvements in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia: New Construction, Renovation, and Field-Condition Management Across Multiple Buildings

Location: Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia

Industry: Commercial & Corporate Facilities

Service: Occupied Space & Facility Renovation

The Situation

The Fort Oglethorpe municipal maintenance facility project combined new construction, occupied-facility renovation, and repairs across an active public works campus. The City needed a new 40-by-80-foot maintenance garage, three second-floor offices inside the existing Parker Building, exterior and drainage improvements, and repairs to five existing maintenance buildings affected by earlier high-wind damage.

Vehicle, equipment, and maintenance activities continued around the project. JBrennon therefore had to phase work across the garage pad, occupied office building, existing service structures, and active access routes without treating the campus as a clear construction site.

The Challenge

The most consequential condition was below grade. Excavation encountered unsuitable soil and persistent mud and water beneath the proposed garage foundations. Test excavations extended approximately three feet below the planned footing elevation and were benched about five feet wide in key areas. Project records documented 140 cubic yards of footing spoils by December 17, with excavation, stockpiling, and export continuing beyond that point.

Existing utilities also conflicted with the new work. A floor drain crossed the proposed slab area, and an existing storm drain penetrated a footing line. Those conditions required field verification, drain modifications, revised foundation preparation, and close coordination among the civil, structural, concrete, and utility crews before the new garage could rise.

Material availability created a separate problem. The originally specified HVAC equipment was no longer manufactured, and its refrigerant had become outdated. JBrennon coordinated replacement equipment using R-454 refrigerant and adjusted procurement around the revised availability.

At the connection between the old and new garages, existing roof and wall conditions also required added box-gutter, metal-panel, and two-part flashing work to establish a durable weather barrier.

How We Worked

JBrennon stabilized the garage site through staged overexcavation, water removal, haul-off, stone placement, and mud-slab construction. Crews placed #3 and #57 stone in unsuitable areas, installed graded aggregate base where required, and used approved Class B concrete as flowable fill to establish working support.

Forms were prefabricated and installed over the stabilized areas, reinforcing mats were tied, vertical reinforcing was set for masonry, and the foundations and reinforced slab were completed on the corrected subgrade.

The new garage was built with concrete foundations and slab, concrete masonry walls, structural steel and lintels, wood roof trusses, plywood roof decking, soffit and fascia framing, insulated metal roofing and wall panels, overhead coiling doors, gutters, downspouts, and associated flashing and trim.

Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing work included HVAC equipment, ductwork and refrigerant lines, natural-gas piping, electrical distribution, receptacles, and high-bay LED lighting.

Inside the Parker Building, JBrennon created three new second-floor offices using metal-stud framing, fire-rated wall assemblies, drywall, acoustical ceilings, paint, trim, doors, and hardware. HVAC systems were extended into the new spaces, electrical wiring and panel work were completed, and exterior metal siding was replaced where former window openings had been closed. Floor restoration and final finish repairs completed the occupied office work.

Repairs across the existing maintenance buildings included rolling steel doors, metal roofing and siding, purlins, gutters and downspouts, windows, trim, sealants, and interior finish work.

At the old and new garage connection, the team removed and replaced the box gutter, installed metal siding, and used sidewall and counterflashing to manage water at the roof-to-wall transition. Additional work on the old garage included approximately 80 feet of six-inch seamless gutter and three downspouts.

Site work included drainage adjustments, utility coordination, stone placement, grading, debris removal, fencing, and a new 14-foot access gate. Work zones and deliveries were coordinated around active municipal traffic throughout construction, with final cleaning, metal repairs, paint touch-ups, and remaining door work completed before turnover.

The Outcome

The City of Fort Oglethorpe received an expanded and renewed municipal maintenance campus with a new service garage, three finished offices, repaired support buildings, corrected drainage conditions, and improved site access.

JBrennon integrated ground-up construction, occupied-building renovation, envelope repairs, utilities, and site work while adapting the project to unsuitable soils, existing drain conflicts, discontinued mechanical equipment, and the conditions found where old and new construction met.

• New 40-by-80-foot garage completed with concrete, masonry, wood-truss, metal-envelope, overhead-door, and MEP systems

• Three second-floor offices completed with rated assemblies, HVAC, electrical, ceilings, doors, and finishes

• Unsuitable soils corrected through overexcavation, haul-off, stone, flowable fill, and mud-slab construction

• Existing floor-drain and storm-drain conflicts coordinated within the foundation work

• R-454-compatible HVAC equipment incorporated when the specified units became unavailable

• Roofing, siding, door, gutter, window, trim, and finish repairs completed across existing maintenance buildings

• Drainage, fencing, and a new 14-foot access gate completed around active municipal operations