Gwinnett County Police Headquarters Space Needs Assessment

The engagement

What We Did

The work established the operational program for a consolidated police headquarters, prepared independently of design so that the resulting area reflected operational need rather than design ambition. The department was organized into twenty-two space designations, running from public access areas and executive command through records, criminal investigations, special investigations, professional standards, and the uniform division, and each room within those groups was then sized against operational requirements and published space standards.

Every space was carried across three planning horizons, 2026, 2036, and 2046, so that the county could see how each unit’s requirement changes across a twenty-year service life rather than sizing a building to present staffing alone. Departmental subtotals received a thirty percent efficiency factor for internal circulation, and a grossing factor was then applied to the building total. Mechanical, electrical, plumbing and technology space, together with utility services and building support, was carried as a further allowance above programmed area. Programmed building area totaled 125,357 square feet for 2026 and 145,545 square feet for 2046. With utility services and support included, the grand total moved from 153,323 to 178,014 square feet.

Four of the twenty-two designations were removed from the program during review, and several functions were combined where one space could serve more than one unit, including a training room sized for 120 people and a public lobby of 2,000 square feet. The final revision, issued in November 2024, gives the county a line-by-line document that an architect can design to and that a governing body can budget against.