Over the years, the allocation of space and its usage at the Trades Center has evolved to support the critical and growing needs of our community. Growth in both County and APS vehicles, equipment, and storage have increased space pressures forcing operations to make trade-offs in efficiency to maintain a safe work environment. Siting for operational functions has been developed based on available space, and expansion is not an option given the developed land surrounding the site. These factors make operations at the Trades Center constrained and susceptible to adjacent neighborhood conflicts and complaints.
For this reason, the County and APS with the guidance of the consultant group Stantec, will engage with Trades Center employees and County residents in the completion of a Trades Center Optimization Study. The study will assess existing facilities and site layout of County and School operations to provide recommendations on enhancing and improving the layout. Recommendations will be based upon program requirements gathered from operational staff, input from employees based at the site, community feedback, and best practices of similar municipalities and/or public entities.
The study consists of two phases, and we will ask for your feedback along the way:
Phase I: Consultants began in early November by interviewing key internal stakeholders representing each Trades Center operation, visiting the facilities and site, and researching best practices in other jurisdictions. In the coming weeks, you will have the opportunity to share your thoughts via an online feedback form.
Phase II: Beginning in May 2019, consultants will begin to layout a Site Optimization Plan, which will produce three concept scenarios based upon Phase I findings. Once again, we will ask for your feedback with the goal of getting to one preferred site plan, which will be further developed by Stantec.
The Final Deliverable is one Preferred Site Optimization Plan with a cost estimate to include phasing of identified priorities over the next several years.
The Trades Center is the primary hub of operations and services that are vital to everyday functions of the County. We continuously strive to exceed expectations in the level of service we provide to the residents, businesses, and visitors of Arlington County. It is equally important that we continue to be a good neighbor, which is why we want to hear from you every step of the way.
