Healthcare Design - May 2016 - 92

C CONSTRUCTION | 05.16
History lesson

A landmark building offered the ideal site for a Louisville, Ky., nonprofit
healthcare provider, but retrofitting the 80-year-old space to support modern
care delivery was a historic challenge By Steve Wiser

Getting started
One positive aspect of the Standard Sanitary
Building's existing conditions was that the previous
tenant had used it as a warehouse: There were few
walls and no ceilings to obstruct visual reconnaissance and no occupants to protect during construction. However, there were plenty of challenges
to come.
While an iconic structure, the building wasn't on
the National Register of Historic Places or within
a historic district, so there were no restrictions as

An initial observation of the building also revealed
some concerns, including two different levels on
the first floor. The front section was about 5 feet
lower than the rear section in answer to the threat of
flooding during heavy rains due to a nearby creek.
Although flooding was a rare occurrence, the risk of
potentially several feet of floodwaters had to be addressed properly in order to obtain a building permit.
Following code review with FEMA and the local
regulatory agency, it was required that the entire
first floor elevation be raised by 12 inches-or 6 feet
above the front section. Existing perimeter vestibules
therefore needed small interior ramps to negotiate
the offset, so they were enlarged to accommodate
12-foot-long ADA ramps. And, instead of 12 inches of
solid concrete being poured, polystyrene foam was
used and then concrete topping was placed over it.
This composition provided for a lightweight surface
that wouldn't add more loads on the existing structural slab below.
Vertical circulation also needed significant
improvement. There were two existing elevators:

to maintaining the original exterior appearance or
other preservation guidelines. The design team
was sensitive to the aesthetic nature of the building,
though, and sought to retain the character as much
as possible.

one passenger and one freight. Another passenger
elevator was needed, but the location was undecided,
influencing the process of determining a main entry to
the facility. Initially, the plan was to have the primary
access at the rear, where a surface parking lot was

HCDmagazine.com 05.16

An entry vestibule to
the building showcases
neighborhood artwork. The
steps just inside the entry
doors cover the vertical
distance required due to the
building's location in a flood
plain, and a new elevator is
directly adjacent to those
stairs in an alcove.

Steve Wiser

BRIAN MOBERLY/MOBERLY PHOTOGRAPHY

The Family Health Center Inc. (FHC) is a nonprofit
healthcare provider that was established in 1976
with seven locations throughout the Louisville, Ky.,
metro area. It now serves more than 37,000 patients
annually, without regard to the ability to pay.
In 2012, FHC's East Broadway Center location
had outgrown its existing facility, and with the impending patient increase anticipated from Kentucky
Gov. Steve Beshear's decision to expand Medicaid,
FHC leadership determined it was time to improve
and expand services. Successful in obtaining a
$5 million Affordable Care Act grant through the U.S.
Health Services and Resource Administration, FHC
entered into a long-term agreement to relocate to the
nearby Standard Sanitary Building.
Built in 1925, the Standard Sanitary Building is a
historic five-story masonry structure that was located
just one block west of the existing FHC. The building
originally housed the offices and showroom for Standard Sanitary Co., which was founded in Louisville
in the late 1890s and became American Standard
in 1929. It also had more than four times the square
footage of the FHC, allowing for both the proposed
expansion and future growth, as well.
Following a design team selection process, FHC
chose JRA Architects and CMTA Engineers (both of
Louisville) to implement the renovation of the landmark building. Soon after, the design team began
programming the functional requirements as well as
assessing the infrastructure needs of the old building, with ground breaking in December 2013.

http://www.HCDmagazine.com

Healthcare Design - May 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Healthcare Design - May 2016