Tag: Municipal Construction

Princess City Fire Station Breaks Ground

Posted on September 18, 2023

Construction Kicks Off in Mishawaka

Building is officially underway at the future site of Mishawaka Fire Station #2! Set to replace the current Fire Station #2, the upcoming facility will span 23,000 square feet. This expanded space will accommodate twice the number of crew members, feature a versatile training area that doubles as a public meeting space, provide ample room for future staff expansion, and will also be the first station in the region with separate living quarters for female firefighters.

Additional Features:

12 Individual Dorm Rooms
6 Individual Restrooms
5 Apparatus Bays
Occupancy for up to 36 Firefighters

This station holds the promise of enhancing fire crews’ living conditions, fostering greater community engagement, and amplifying the fire department’s capabilities and operational prowess in the region.

Standing in the Gap

The ability to reside in quarters that brings a more private atmosphere at the station creates opportunity for more time with family, which is the backbone of support for men and women serving on the force.

Mayor Wood and Mishawaka Fire Department breaking ground

“Your home family’s the big rock in your life and the most important thing ever. So, we want them to have their wives, kids, moms, dads, grandmas, and grandpas to come see our firefighters at work and be proud of what they do.” – Bryon Woodward, Chief, Mishawaka Fire Department

However, this endeavor will not only improve living conditions for fire teams and their families. It will also strengthen the ability to respond to emergencies throughout the region.

“The need for this investment is being driven by the significant increases in calls for service. The Mishawaka Fire Department reached a new yearly milestone in 2022 by responding to 10,686 calls for service (an overall 11% increase) that included 21,660 total apparatus responses in 2022. This means the department receives, on average, 1.2 calls for service every hour. The greatest number of calls for service continues to be for emergency medical service (EMS) responses. Our ambulances and fire trucks responded to 8,098 (10% increase) calls that required medical care. Mayor Wood indicated ‘This is a significant investment in Mishawaka that will provide increased capabilities for public safety for generations to come’.”
City of Mishawaka

We take immense pride in our partnership with Mishawaka, as our dedicated South Bend Team works diligently to breathe life into this remarkable project.

Mayor Dave Wood sharing his thoughts on the new fire station construction

The groundbreaking site with helmets and shovels

Noble County Wins Big at the APWA’s

Posted on June 19, 2023

We’ve got a Winner!

The Noble County Annex Project was recently awarded as the 2022 Project of the Year by the Indiana Chapter of the American Public Works Association! This building, which was assembled in the midst of Covid-19, opened its doors June 3rd of 2022. Congratulations to the Noble County and American Structurepoint for this well-deserved honor!

The Annex is part of a bigger whole that’s happening in Albion. The project created space for offices and departments in the existing, outdated courthouse. Now that the move is complete, the next step is updating the courthouse building. We look forward to the benefits our next Noble County job will bring to the community!

A special thanks to our project management team and our field operations crew. The successful construction of this facility would not have been possible without their expertise and dedication. Their commitment to the client, even when building during a pandemic, paved the way for all of us to accept this award.

5 Important Updates at Steuben County

Posted on June 19, 2023

The End of the Beginning

On Monday, April 10th, Weigand workers attached the final beams of the Steuben County Judicial Center’s frame, marking a new progress milestone for the project. When finished in 2024, the new facility will be over 56,000 square feet, making it the first new judicial system construction in over 150 years. The current Steuben County Annex, which was first built in 1867, has become increasingly outdated and unable to meet new municipal building accessibility requirements. After a period of putting together a plan that went between updating the Annex or creating an entirely new facility, community officials decided to move forward with starting from scratch with a new judicial center.

Bringing Officials Together

The 3 Story + Partial Basement structure brings several amenities and more space:

3 Courtrooms in the upper levels
Offices
Support Spaces
Storage Areas
Holding Cells
Mechanical Spaces

With a significant increase in square footage, Steuben County’s justice system will be able to bring most of its public offices into one single building. All but the Sheriff’s Department will transfer to the new building, including some additional offices like the Clerk of Courts, Probation Department, and the Steuben County Prosecuting Attorney’s office.

Project Dedication

Despite the challenges that come with construction during the winter months, our team has completed 210 consistent days of project operations, putting us one-third of the way through the schedule. Steel erection was completed in just 2.5 weeks, paving the way for preparations on the first-floor slab deck like stairs, decking, detailing, and welding.

Starting from Rock Bottom

The success of completing the steel topping would not have been possible without the expert work of Weigand’s concrete crew, however. Beginning the job in the basement, crews spent weeks safely excavating soil and creating the bottom level of the structure. This part of the project was finalized with a well-executed, 9,700 square foot concrete slab pour. From here, crews began work setting the foundation for the building’s first floor. These individual milestones created a base for pillars and steel framing to go up, allowing us to see the “skeleton” of the facility for the first time!

Homegrown Investment

Students from Hendry Park Elementary School attended the topping out ceremony, and many locals have voiced in favor of this project. There was debate initially on whether the original judicial building should be a renovation project instead of an entirely new structure, but once a decision had been made, the community rallied behind the conclusion and saw this construction as an important next step for the region. The Steuben County Government, RQAW Architecture, and the City of Angola have also demonstrated their show of support, partnering with Weigand in this venture. However, this is not just a municipal project for the county. It’s also an opportunity for Weigand staff to invest directly in the places they call home. Five employees from our firm reside in Steuben, including the Project Manager and the Superintendent assigned to the job.

Ironworks Plaza Opens in Downtown Mishawaka

Posted on December 5, 2022

Something’s Stirring Downtown

Residents of downtown Mishawaka are gathering for several new attractions that have arrived with Ironworks Plaza! In this third building phase, with Weigand serving as construction manager, there are three primary new additions.

These include:

An Ice Rink,
The Ironworks Café
An Events Center

However, these are not the only new expansions that have made a home downtown. They will be joining other recent developments like The Ball Band Biergarten (a food event hub) and The Mill (an apartment complex).

More Interest in the Princess City

“This is just an opportunity for us to bring activity to our downtown all the months of the year,” says Mishawaka Mayor Dave Wood. “…Another added amenity that will help us to attract people; to fill shops, restaurants, and other things.”

Bringing the Community Together

Residents from all over Mishawaka can now enjoy all the offerings that Ironworks Plaza has! Whether that’s taking a walk through the Biergartens, ordering a warm drink at the café, watching a concert at the event center stage, or skating with friends on the ice rink, there will be plenty to see and do! We’re excited to work alongside the city in this season of growth. We look forward to seeing more municipal projects come together in the future!

The Noble County Annex Building – New Construction Project Reveal

Posted on June 24, 2022

Delivered On Time

As of this June, the Noble County government began transitioning many of its offices into the newly complete Noble County Annex building! Serving as the construction manager for this project, the Weigand team worked with Noble County commissioners to ensure that task planning was completed as intended – even with the global pandemic shaking things up throughout the process. By regularly reworking and sticking to the plan, we were able to finish this 40,000 square foot project on time. In spite of the disorder caused by the pandemic, we executed on our commitments!

The new building consolidates 16 different county offices into one area, improving the interconnection between departments. It holds rooms such as:

Dispatch call center
Conference rooms
Multipurpose space
Commissioners’ meeting room
Event plaza
Mixed-use sections
Employee lounge

See what it looks like on the inside!

Plenty of Room

The building houses spaces for a majority of the county departments including:

The Treasurer
The Public defender
The Prosecutor
The Auditor
The Recorder
Deputies
The Investigator
Caseworkers
The Assessor

The annex sits just across the street from the historic Noble County Courthouse, which will be receiving its own set of renovations in the coming fall months. So, soon enough, the whole campus will be ready to serve the needs of the region for years to come!

All in the Family

We had a chance to chat about the job with Jason Schoeff, our superintendent on this project. For him, this building held some special history. The annex is in Albion, IN, which is where he lives. “This is a pretty important job for me as this is my hometown; it had a lot of significance to me,” said Schoeff. His family has been pouring into this town for many years now. In other words, this makes him the third generation to carry on the legacy. “The building that stood here previously was the old prosecutor’s office, which was built in part by my father and grandfather.”

We love to see our team members from all over making a difference right where they live. Great work Jason!

Weigand is thrilled to support Noble County by providing a landmark designed to impact the community for the better!

Weigand Awarded New Mishawaka City Hall Project

Posted on September 4, 2020

Weigand Construction is proud to have been awarded the new Mishawaka City Hall project by the Redevelopment Commission in Mishawaka. The 100,000 square foot facility, previously owned by Liberty Mutual, is centrally located at the heart of downtown at Lincolnway and Main, right on the bus line, and right across from other government services, within a block of the library. The new plan includes space for City Hall, the Mishawaka Police Department, and City Utilities all under one roof, as all of the current buildings being used for those services need quite a bit of work, and are spread out all over the city.

The new City Hall should open in Spring 2021.