KAOD Leads Team to $500,000 Grant for Health Services Building
With the exceptional help of Allen-Smith Consulting's expertise, KAOD was able to land a half million dollar grant from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (A.R.R.A.) through the DCA of Georgia. This money will go directly to the construction budget for a new Public Health Services Facility for Coweta County. The effort required that all drawings be complete and permit ready in very short order and the various approvals and documentation be in hand. This qualified the project as "shovel ready" and set it out as the highest qualifying project in the State. The $500,000.00 that will serve as approximately one quarter of the project budget was presented to KAOD, Allen-Smith, and representatives of Coweta County at the official award ceremony at Callaway Gardens in December of 2009.
Since that time we have conducted the general contractor bidding process and have been very pleased with the results. The approved bid was within the established budget and we will soon be under contract with a reputable GC. Now we are ramping up for the process of dealing with Federal guidelines as the construction proceeds. Allen-Smith will be the grant administrator and KAOD will provide full CA services to insure the success of the project for Coweta County. If you have any interest in pursuing stimulus or A.R.R.A. funding please let us know. We have a great team assembled.
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Newnan Utilities Offices Complete
For the past year, KAOD has been working with the local utility company, Newnan Utilities, to renovate existing space and create new office and training space at two different locations. We are very excited to announce that the projects are coming to a close and should be completed by the end of this month. With the full reopening of these facilities, Newnan Utilities will be able to provide a convenient new location for their clients, new updated work spaces for their employees and much needed training space to promote their continued excellence.
One of the most dramatic changes was the complete exterior renovation of the Wahoo Creek facility. Please see the before and after pictures in this letter. KAOD's design concept and diligent work from Tomco Construction made the previously industrial looking building become a more client friendly visage of traditional American architecture. The interiors were completely updated and express the traditional yet forward thinking outlook of the service providing company. KAOD appreciates the trust and cooperation of NU throughout these projects and looks forward to being able to continue serve them in the future.
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Historic Reuse to the Extreme
Another project for KAOD that is wrapping up is the renovation to the three story Reese Opera House building. It was saddled with under utilized space and limited or no functional building services in most areas above the ground floor. The third floor had a ceiling height of under seven feet and was only accessible by difficult street access and a maze of challenging stairs. KAOD lead the design/build team to install an elevator, update the second and third floor plans by opening up the interior space, and most dramatic of all, remove the old roof and raise a new one to gain at least three more feet of vertical space. You have to see it to appreciate it.
Additional measures will insure that the occupation and operation of the space will be more cost effective and comfortable. All new windows were installed which  replicate the previous historic appearance and also provide some insulation value that was completely absent before. Insulation at the roof level was significantly improved, floors were leveled, and most interiors walls were furred out to provide new gyp board surfaces and insulation in the wall cavity. We have not conducted any infiltration tests but I can tell you from just being in the space there is a drastic improvement. KAOD looks forward to more projects such as this that allow the effective reuse of space in small urban and downtown centers. It is always a challenge but it is very rewarding.
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