Echelon Masonry teams with Georgia architect to upgrade Hall County sheriff’s new headquarters

Serving more than 184,000 citizens and housing nearly 1,200 inmates, the Hall County Sheriff's Office simply ran out of space, requiring a move from the old county jail to a 33-acre Government Center campus within Gainesville, Ga. Formerly plagued  with broken heating and air systems, as well as the need to turn closets into offices, the new three-story, 50,000 sq. ft. headquarters opened in 2016 at a cost of approximately $5 million. 

 “After looking at the renovation of existing space at numerous other locations, the Sheriff’s Office decided the design and build of its own building at the administrative campus was the most practical and economical alternative,” says Doug Straughan, a principal partner at Hussey Gay Bell Principal, the architect of record for the project. “The goal was to design a durable, low-maintenance facility with a contemporary look and feel that blended with the existing complex, but yet stood out. Given it was a municipal project paid through a special purpose sales tax, we were extremely cognizant about meeting these requirements, while maximizing the budget at every turn.”

Hussey Gay Bell began the assignment by creating a look for the Sheriff’s Office that complemented the modern, concrete and glass style of the Government Center, while meeting the county’s stringent budget and creating a one-stop shop of municipal services for citizens. Other considerations involved saving money by utilizing the existing site’s infrastructure and providing the space needed for additional growth.

As a result, the architectural firm worked cohesively with the township to combine savings with quality throughout the process. Once completed, the final price point for the facility hovered around $100 per square foot. Much of the structure’s cubicles and furniture were purchased from surplus stores, while the interior labor, such as painting and framing, were even supplied by daily by inmates.

Another essential element was the choice of masonry. Hussey Gay Bell selected Oldcastle Architectural’s Echelon brand of polished-face architectural block, multi-colored split face block and brick veneer.  Echelon Masonry is supplied regionally in Georgia by Adams Company.

“Echelon really helped by coming to the table with a selection of quality, yet economical block options,” said Straughan. “Their representatives worked closely with our clients to present a wide variety of samples and options. This flexibility and creativity allowed us to produce a high-profile, terrazzo-look but at a block-type price. The Echelon team even assisted in the selection of grout colors that matched with the brick and the split face, and worked closely with the contractor.” He noted that the products were easily integrated with a local brick manufacturer’s products.

Having worked with Oldcastle Architectural for nearly five years prior to this project on numerous other municipal buildings including school and public safety offices, Hussey Gay Bell started the process by showing the client masonry samples as well as a rendering of the finished project. This highlighted how the Echelon gray smooth and split face masonry with matching grout and mortar “blended nicely” with the traditional Cherokee brick. Full-sized samples of the Echelon blocks were then showed to the client before installation to ensure approval and “so they could see for themselves how the cool, grey masonry played against the warm, red veneers.”

As for the installation, the Echelon masonry blocks were inserted into a wall system consisting of 6-inch metal studs, gripboard interior and Exterior Gypsum Sheathing.   

With a grand opening in September 2016, The Hall County Sheriff's Office now features a unique, curved wall design in the front along with accent walls on the corners highlighted by two-story glass windows. Seven-thousand pieces of black and gray Echelon Polished Face block were combined with 8,500 pieces of Architectural Colored Split Face and traditional brick to provide a multi-textural, “modern meets rough-hewn” style to the building’s contemporary design.

Infused with recycled glass, the Polished Face Block is made differently than conventional ground face, utilizing a 10-head wet grind process that starts with an 80-grit diamond and works its way to a 3500-grit polishing wheel, giving the final finish a high luster. The Split Face Block is an integrally colored pre-finished block with a rough-hewn texture on one or more faces of the unit. Available in a variety of shapes and colors, the Split Face Block offers up to a four-hour fire rating and is suitable for both interior and exterior use.

After partnering with the architect to select materials, Echelon’s representative, Anne Olausson, worked alongside the contractors, Charles Black Construction, through the end of the project. “I helped to educate the masons on how to care and clean the product,” she said. “This was a very high-profile and important job for Hall County and I wanted to do everything possible to ensure Echelon was there to help see it through. The result is beautiful and we were proud to be a part of the project. As Straughan puts it, “This kind of building is not something you see very often in North Georgia; it’s quite an achievement.”