Passenger Transport - 02/19/2016

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Following three years of construction, Los Angeles Metro recently opened Division 13, a new, state-of-the-art bus maintenance and operations facility with a multi-level parking garage that accommodates 200 CNG-powered buses, fueling equipment, transportation offices and support areas.

“All of Metro’s assets have the ability to transform communities,” said Metro Chair and Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, “Even maintenance buildings have the potential to go beyond the significant function they serve in ensuring that our transportation system operates in a safe and reliable manner, to being models of great design and sustainability. This is exactly what Division 13 does.”

Metro Chief Executive Officer Phillip Washington added, “Division 13 is more than just a new facility to do our work. This advanced facility is a concrete example of how innovative thought can go from the drawing board to the street corner and we are committed to many more forward-thinking projects like this one.”

Metro received $53.2 million in federal funding—a State of Good Repair grant and a Clean Fuels discretionary grant—toward the $120 million project, with the balance coming from state Proposition 1B funds ($52.7 million) and local Transportation Development Act funds ($14.3 million).

RNL provided sustainable design, architecture, interior design, landscape architecture and lighting design on the 540,000-square-foot project, located in downtown Los Angeles.

The three-level complex includes a maintenance facility with 19 service bays. Division 13 is expected to achieve a Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating from the U.S. Green Building Council, which will make it the agency’s sixth LEED-certified building.

Metro Board Member and L.A. County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich called the new facility “a model of energy efficiency and design [that] will serve as an example for other transportation agencies worldwide.” He continued, “This necessary investment in our transportation infrastructure ensures safe and reliable travel options to meet the needs of today’s riders as well as for future generations.”

Will Todd, a project architect with RNL, said the firm “believes sustainable design considers the well-being of the people who use a space as much as the materials and energy consumed. Using this holistic approach as a guiding principle on Division 13, RNL worked with Metro to drive building efficiencies, make smart siting choices and create a healthier work environment for Metro employees at the facility.”