Southwest Engineering and Design

Punta Gorda Airport Commerce Center (ACC)

SED recently completed the design and construction of the (ACC) and was presented with two awards of Excellence from Charlotte County Airport Authority. One for the Project Entry Feature at Piper Road, and one for the Stormwater Design. The ACC is adjacent to airport property and is designed to accommodate airport-related business. Our professionals were involved with the ACC from the land acquisition, conceptual design development, through design permitting and construction. The ACC had a construction cost of approximately $9.6 million. The 418 acre Industrial Park included a 61 acre wet detention system, over 4 miles of road right-of-way, three master lift stations with approximately 10,500 feet of force main, 13,000 feet of gravity sewer, and 21,000 feet of water main.

Blue Bell Distribution Center

The Blue Bell Distribution Center is located in the Airport Commerce Center southeast of the Charlotte County Airport in Punta Gorda and offers distribution, commercial sales, and servicing to their clients.The site contains one office building approximately 12,524 square feet in size, water and sewer services are provided by the Airport Commerce Center and a treatment pond for stormwater runoff. Within the site, the parking layout was designed to maximize the parking spaces and utilize truck traffic flow. Autoturn™ was used to confirm adequate turning radius design for a truck maneuvering. The Proposed stormwater system abides by the master drainage system for the industrial park under Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) and County Stormwater Permits.

Laishley Crab House

SED redesigned this coastal walkway to improve pedestrian and bicycle traffic to the interactive fountain, open air market and city marina. As part of this redevelopment, SED staff worked with City staff in identifying salvageable areas of existing sidewalk that could be incorporated into the final design. SED provided final construction plans, permitting documents and construction observation for this high-profile project. The Laishley Crab House is the largest restaurants in the area totaling 13,064 square foot. This 2 story multi-use building also includes, 2,883 square feet of office space, and 14,007 square feet of retail space.

Water Main Loop at Charlotte County Airport

The Water Main Loop at Charlotte County Airport Authority included 7,800 liner feet of a 10 inch watermain that was designed and constructed in 2007. This water main runs parallel to the Charlotte County Airport Runway 4-22. In order to achieve pressure and water quality, SED incorporated water system network design principles. This included extending a water main beneath the runway resulting in a successfully operating water system providing adequate water quality, pressure, volume and fire protection for ACC owners and users.

SLD Construction and Debris Recycling Facility

The SLD Construction and Debris Recycling Facility had an overall construction cost of over $12 million. The 373.5 acres C&D landfill included two disposal cells, six dry detention areas that could accommodate the 100 year 24 hour storm event, and a 137 acre slough that was granted over to the State as a conservation easement. This development triggered a large scale drainage basin study which encompassed several square miles. The study confirmed the capacity and size of the box culvert crossing US 41 at Zemel Road and the tailwater condition at the proposed site. The tailwater determination was then used to calculate the culvert size necessary to cross the slough within the proposed development. In addition, SED’s design accommodated existing regional sheet flow to create a project that did not significantly impact flow patterns in the area.

Construction Observation

SED’s certified construction technicians have observed land development, roadway, and utilities construction projects to assure compliance with design plans. The ACC project included excavation, fill, and water and sewer system construction with lift stations, gravity, and force mains. SED successfully controlled costs on the engineering and construction of the ACC project. Local presence facilitated our quickly addressing construction issues, avoiding interruption of the construction schedule and additional costs from delays. SED’s experienced CET onsite allowed quick resolution of project issues. Our quality review process included Value Engineering and Constructability reviews, which resulted in higher quality engineering plans, more accurate estimates, and fewer change orders. As a result, the project construction budget was maintained throughout the project.