Delivering for Diverse Operational Needs at Hill AFB

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By Chris Ernst, P.E., M.SAME, Mike Arens, P.E., M.SAME, Rob Campbell, P.E., M.SAME

A new U.S. Navy Reserve Center at Hill AFB required careful design and execution coordination to meet multifaceted mission needs, along with maintaining flexibility and innovation in its design to stay on schedule.  

With a mission to provide strategic depth and deliver operational capabilities to the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps as well as to joint forces in times of peace or war, the Navy Reserve comprises over 56,000 officers and enlisted personnel. Reservists are expected to serve at least one weekend per month and two weeks per year, oftentimes convening at a Navy Reserve Center.

Utah had operated a Navy Reserve Center located at historic Fort Douglas within the University of Utah campus near downtown Salt Lake City since it was built in 1976. The facility, however, required ongoing maintenance and repair and was inefficient to maintain. It continued to deteriorate over the years, which resulted in increased operational costs for the Navy and eventually prompted the relocation to a brand-new facility on Hill AFB, in Davis County, Utah, bordered by the Wasatch Mountains to the east and the Great Salt Lake to the west.

The installation, Utah’s largest single-site employer, serves as a major economic engine for the region and plays a central role in contributing to the nation’s defense.

In 2024, the Navy Reserve Center at Hill AFB opened its doors. The project team included the Sacramento District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) as the client and contracting agency, the 75th Civil Engineer Group at Hill AFB representing the owner, and the Navy Reserve representing the tenant.

The project delivery method contracted for was design-build, with NVE-HHI Joint Venture serving as the general contractor and Michael Baker International the designer of record, providing civil, electrical, telecom, fire protection, mechanical, and structural engineering services, in addition to architecture, landscape architecture, and interior design.

The new 37,000-ft² complex is designed to meet the diverse needs of the Navy Reserve in the state and surrounding region, serving as both a social and professional hub.

Innovation in Action

Because the facility provides reserve training and support, there are drastic differences in building occupancy between busy drill weekends and regular weekdays when the limited full-time staff are present in the administrative areas only. The building’s mechanical and lighting systems need to be able to run in low energy modes during the work week and then rapidly scale up to support the high-tempo weekend activities.

Additionally, the Department of the Navy confirmed that the project has been evaluated for joint use potential and recommended unilateral construction. This means the facility will likely be utilized by other components outside the Navy Reserve. The classrooms and assembly hall can be available to the larger military community for various purposes, such as civic events, planning and training meetings for other government agencies, and indoor recreation for base residents.

To address these varying needs, a number of innovations were incorporated into the design. The heating/cooling system is innovative for a government facility. The mechanical system includes three direct outside air supply units for ventilation and a complete variable refrigerant flow heating and cooling system with over 60 fan coil units. This technology is often utilized in private industry since it features significant energy savings with lower long-term maintenance costs. However, it required special coordination and documentation with USACE and U.S. Air Force headquarters to approve for use in military construction.

The plumbing system for the complex includes three gas water heaters to supply adequate hot water to the shower rooms when occupied by the full reserve staff during drill weekends. These high-efficiency units scale back when not in use to preserve energy. Interior lighting is all high-efficiency LED with occupancy controls to limit energy usage in areas when they are not in use.

Another innovative feature is the intentional design of various building elements to improve acoustics within the meeting spaces and minimize sound transmission. Private offices and classrooms are outfitted with sound transmission coefficient rated doors and walls, surpassing the baseline requirements in the contract. Within the multipurpose classrooms, operable partition walls are sound transmission coefficient rated; this allows greater utility of the existing spaces when larger rooms are subdivided into smaller rooms. The drill hall wall and ceiling acoustical panels were engineered to limit reverberation to below 1-sec. Acoustical analysis identified the optimal system configuration during the design phase, which was then implemented in the field and tested to ensure appropriate acoustic levels.

Since Hill AFB is in a Category D seismic region, the internal structure has seismic bracing to safeguard the building in the likely event that Utah experiences future earthquake activity.

Addressing Complexities

Coordination throughout was key. The project required the cooperation of multiple service branches: the Navy Reserve facility is located on an Air Force base, with the work carried out under a USACE contract. The industry team of NVE-HHI JV and Michael Baker International coordinated efficiently with all parties and found innovative ways to incorporate government needs from different, and sometimes competing, requirements. When the agencies involved had conflicting priorities, the team held design conferences and recurring owner meetings, which provided ample opportunity to weigh in and discuss possible solutions.

Pandemic-Driven Adjustments. The initial design of the project coincided with the extreme supply chain difficulties caused by COVID-19. This included an acute shortage of prefabricated steel joists that threatened to delay the structural roof framing by a full year. The response by the team was proactive and highly effective. The original roof system was revamped to be comprised of more readily available wide flange and hollow structural steel shapes. This conceptual change helped keep the work on schedule.

Supply chain delays significantly affected several other aspects of the project. By leveraging some advantages inherent to the design-build, some long-lead equipment was selected and approved prior to final design completion to allow earlier ordering to take place. This included electrical transformers and distribution gear, HVAC equipment, and systems furniture.

Collaborative Solutions

Having the design team actively engaged in solving design challenges during construction was invaluable. Multiple design revisions were issued to accommodate differing conditions and supply chain issues. In fact, as the project progressed and other equipment orders were placed, certain components were found on backorder or completely unavailable.

On past projects, before the pandemic-caused delays, these would never have been a scheduling concern. Consequently, there were several systems that needed to be re-designed during the construction phase to accommodate alternate manufacturers that were able to meet the necessary timelines. Collectively, the combined efforts of the designer, contractors, suppliers, and government stakeholders helped complete work on schedule.

Dealing with Uncertainty. Another instance where the team’s collaborative approach ensured that unexpected issues did not affect the timeline was when several existing underground pipelines and structures were discovered during construction. The most significant of these buried obstacles were aging storm drainage systems that did not match the as-built information.
The inaccurate and incomplete locations of existing utilities made it difficult to determine if they were abandoned or still in use. A series of differing conditions also made it impossible to utilize the original site drainage design. Changes had to be made to the storm drain design as these lines were discovered. The solution would be found in an approach that was able to accommodate existing flow lines and pathways while ensuring the new project runoff and drainage plan was efficient and met all codes.

Ready for Anything

Facilities with varying use schedules and multiple planned purposes can provide challenges in design. Ensuring support for both low-use and high-use states requires careful consideration and innovation.

With its completion, the new Navy Reserve Center at Hill AFB provides a state-of-the-art facility to train professionals contributing to mission readiness and ongoing naval operations.

Chris Ernst, P.E., M.SAME, is Project Manager, and Mike Arens, P.E., M.SAME, is Office Executive – Salt Lake City, Michael Baker International. They can be reached at chris.ernst@mbakerintl.com; and marens@mbakerintl.com. 

Rob Campbell, P.E., M.SAME, is Senior Design Manager, HHI Corp.; rob@hhicorp.com.

Published in the May-June 2025 issue of The Military Engineer