The new Des Moines Municipal Services Center II building is part of a larger city planned development to relocate and consolidate the Des Moines Public Works, Solid Waste, Fleet Maintenance, and Radio Services city departments into one facility. The 215,000-square-foot building will house Des Moines public works and solid waste departments, fleet services and radio services. The facility, which replaces the current public works yards, will provide vehicle storage and shop areas and will also include office space, locker rooms and break areas for city workers, as well as covered fueling island and vehicle wash bays. The two-story building also includes space for the municipal departments’ office and support services. A fritted glass curtainwall and glazed skylight windows lend transparency to the mostly precast acid-washed concrete exterior.

The project is working to incorporate many high performance components within the building design to improve the energy efficiency of the building and lower its yearly and long term operational costs Targeting LEED Silver, the project will be following the LEED process to monitor and verify the creation of a healthy and efficient building. Strategies include:

• Western roof incorporates a solar array
• An on-site water collection system allows rain harvesting and will be used by Street Sweepers. The system has capacity to hold 100% of an average rain fall.
• Designed for the future electrification of the entire sanitation fleet as well as other vehicles through a second transformer and electric charging distribution.
• Skylights are incorporated throughout the facility for increased access to daylighting and staff productivity.
• Designed for a 100 year flood resistance, with durability considered for all first floor spaces and with all main utilities moved to the second floor