The Costa Building was built by and named after the Costa family, who ran a popular ice cream parlor at this location for almost 40 years. The building was built in 1910 and consists of a three-story concrete frame and brick exterior with a full basement.
Arcollab was hired by Athens-Clarke County to design and make operational a renovated facility to extend the life and usefulness of this historic building located in the heart of downtown Athens. Renovations will include interior space and layout revisions, provision for ADA access, upgrades to mechanical, plumbing, energy, and data systems, and provision of a fire sprinkler system. The project will be pursuing EarthCraft Sustainable Preservation Certification through the Southface Energy Institute.
Arcollab led a concept design phase in collaboration with the SPLOST staff and a county appointed User Group which explored potential uses for the building as well as code-compliant access to and through the building. The proposed solution, recently unanimously approved by the Athens-Clarke County Mayor and Commission, is to locate the core elements of stacked restrooms, elevator, and one of the two required fire stairs in a rear addition to the building. The second fire stair utilizes existing shaft space in the building. The addition not only provides the code-required separation of the two stairs, it also frees up programmable floor space in the existing building footprint, is less expensive than modifying the existing structure for new vertical circulation, and provides new entrances and a lobby on the north side of the building to serve the separate function and potential hours of use of the eventual 2nd and 3rd floor tenants.
Our team collaborated with the Athens DDA and their landscape architect to integrate a ramp into the neighboring park project on Washington Street. Our studies showed this was the best location for an accessible entrance to the Costa Building’s 1st floor, which is located approximately 5-7 feet from surrounding exterior grade.
Arcollab brought together multiple entities and stakeholders to create a shared vision for this important community-centric project.
