Carroll County's Charles Carroll Community Center

Sitting just off MD Route-97 and only 4 miles south of the Maryland-Pennsylvania border, Charles Carroll Elementary School has served as the educational foundation for several generations living within the Westminster area. Often the quiet observer during key historical events, both national and local, including the passing of union and confederate Civil War soldiers, the launching of the first astronaut into space, and the fire of the original school in 1928, the historic structure has been in uninterrupted operation since 1929. Yet as all things tend to do over time, the structure aged beyond maintainable repair, prompting the Carroll County Public School System to select it as one of the schools slated for permanent closure and demolition. Looking towards the future, the County Commissioners of Carroll County opted to revitalize the space, restoring the community with a new community center, the Charles Carroll Community Center.

The new facility will house a full-size, multi-use gymnasium with seating for 200 spectators, two multi-purpose community rooms separated by an operable partition, a kitchenette, utility/ storage room, two ADA compliant toilet rooms, two offices, and associated mechanical/ electrical rooms. Confident that the Owner can maintain the speed, flexibility, quality, durability, and economy of the pre-engineered building while also achieving the aesthetics, the MIMAR design team has developed a solution that best anticipates, analyzes, and prepares the allotted space based upon the established goals, budget, and time line of the County by designing a semi pre-engineered building. The gymnasium will be within a pre-engineered structure, while the remaining requested spaces will be housed within an attached conventional structure that aesthetically welcomes the surrounding community.

Mimar and our design team is providing professional architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire alarm, fire protection, and civil / site engineering design services. Mimar's services include coordination between all consultants, review of existing condition drawings and conduct site survey, develop program in coordination with the County and stakeholders, develop drawings and technical specifications, AHJ code compliance, interior design, space planning, assist in the bidding process and construction administration.

Mechanical engineering services included the design of new Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems to serve the new gymnasium building including connecting to and new septic tank and pump chamber. Plumbing design includes domestic supply and sanitary systems connecting to the existing well and septic systems. Fire protection services include specifications and hazard classification. Electrical design services include coordinating the incoming electrical service with the utility company, building electrical power and distribution system, lighting design and circuiting, and fire alarm system. Data and IT will be limited to providing empty conduit rough-ins.

Civil engineering services included existing conditions survey, site layout, grading, utility, erosion and sediment control, landscape plan, prepare forest delineation stand and forest conservation plan and stormwater management plans. Services also include assisting with the zoning requirements to determine building setbacks and parking requirements. With input from our team in coordination with the County, a site layout was developed to minimize total site disturbance.

Site work included parking for 135 vehicles, a 30,000 gallon underground fire suppression tank, retaining wall, and modifications to the existing septic system which include a new 2,000 gallon septic tank and a 2,000 gallon pump station tank.

Structural services included development of structural notes/ specifications, foundation and framing plans, foundation and framing sections, and typical details.