East Hillsborough News

City Center at Hanna Avenue Project Wins Sustainability Award

The City Center at Hanna Project was recently honored with an award in sustainability from the American Institute of Architects of Tampa Bay in their annual Tampa Bay Design awards.

The chapter awards it based on the AIA Framework for Design Excellence and the embodiment of AIA Tampa Bay’s position to embrace resilience as a key design feature. 

All entries were evaluated on resilience, energy, water, structure, and light, as well as standards of indoor air quality.

The City Center at Hanna project, a silver LEED facility, won in the “unbuilt” category for its emphasis on resilience, including:

• SOLAR PANELS: Included on the main building, the trellis to the parking garage, Central Fleet, and Facilities buildings respectively. The total PV infrastructure on campus is expected to produce 55 percent of the annual electricity requirements, including electric car charging stations.
• WATER: The green plaza on the east side of the main building, which will welcome community members and encourage outdoor collaboration and engagement includes rain gardens to filter stormwater runoffs. Native low-maintenance plant species were selected to minimize irrigation. Indoor water use is reduced by 35 percent by using water-efficient fixtures and grouping all plumbing in a central location. Drinking fountains have filtered bottle fill stations that communicate the gallons of disposable bottled water saved.
• ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATIONS:  The City of Tampa’s commitment to sustainability strengthens with the conversion of fuel to electric vehicles to its fleet annually, electrical vehicle charging stations are needed.  The parking garage and immediate surface parking at Hanna will include public and City vehicle exclusive charging stations.
• DAYLIGHTING:  The lobby is designed as a stepped lobby with large stairs and skylights in the heart of the building. It encourages walking instead of using the elevator. All lighting is LED with an emphasis on daylighting.  The building’s orientation east to west helps to maximize daylighting.
• STRUCTURE: The main building was designed for short- and long-term flexibility. Flexibility is of particular importance for this project because the City of Tampa is constantly growing and evolving. The building’s structure provides wide open spaces that enable the reconfiguration of the departments. The wide uninterrupted flat roof maximizes the number of solar panels. Light-colored exterior walls and low albedo roof panels help to reduce solar absorption and minimize the local heat island effect. Facing Hanna Avenue and the entry plaza, the façade is more transparent with a large porch connecting to a café, community rooms, and the entry lobby.
• EQUITABLE SPACES: The new campus is in East Tampa where 30 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. The site was selected to create a positive impact without spurring gentrification. Engagement with the community during the design workshops identified important social equity and inclusivity priorities for the project. The design of the project started with the design of an inclusive and equitable public space forming the entry plaza, which transpires inside the main building. Different design elements of the main building are inspired by the local contexts. The shape of the main entry is inspired by the shape of Rogers Park, which has a significant history as the only inclusive park in Tampa during the segregation era. The main sculpture on the entry plaza is intended to celebrate stories of diversity. The resilient campus is a COOP (Continuity of Operations) site for the City. In addition to the solar panels, a generator allows City Hall to use the main building during emergencies. The entry plaza serves as a resilience hub to support residents, coordinate communication, and distribute resources during emergencies. The new campus promotes alternative modes of transportation. The parking garage provides (24) covered bicycle parking spaces with (4) showers located in the main building, in addition to bicycle parking provided throughout the campus. Provisions for a new bus stop along Hanna Avenue were incorporated as well as micro transportation such as bike and scooter sharing amenities.

In January 2022, the City of Tampa broke ground on the City Center at Hanna Avenue, located at 2515 East Hanna Avenue.  The 161,000 sq. ft. building and adjacent green plaza known as “Hanna Square” will serve as a gathering space for neighborhood residents while housing seven City departments.

“City Center at Hanna Avenue is a prime example of how we’re Transforming Tampa’s Tomorrow in a smart, resilient, and responsible way,” Mayor Jane Castor said. “This historic and important investment in East Tampa will benefit our entire community through added green space, community meeting spots, new workforce initiatives, and much more.”

FleischmanGarciaMaslowski Architecture designed the City Center at Hanna Project.

“Sustainability is integral to our design process,” said Marcel Maslowski, FleischmanGarciaMaslowski Architecture President & Director of Design. “Our designs seek to achieve the optimum environment through orientation, shading, and sensitivity to the local climate and culture. We are thrilled to help secure this award for City Center at Hanna Avenue.”

“AIA Tampa Bay celebrates and promotes public consciousness of the built environment through distinguished works of architecture," said Jonathan Moore, President of AIA Tampa Bay. "The AIA Tampa Bay awards jury was honored to recognize the City Center at Hanna as a project of magnitude and impact on the future of the City of Tampa. Integrating sustainable design practices as part of the foundation of the facility puts this project in line with world-class best practices of environmentally and socially responsible architecture.”

This project promises to increase efficiency across City operations, bring government closer to the people, and represent a brighter future for all of Tampa.

The City Center is expected to open in late Summer 2023.   

Original source can be found here.