WCU – Fleet Maintenance Facility

The Fleet and Transportation Services Department at Western Colorado
University desperately needed a new centralized maintenance garage
and storage facility. Western’s Mountain Rescue Team, the only
collegiate-based rescue team accredited by the Mountain Rescue
Association, needed a central operations center to conduct training
and missions successfully, as well as a place to store their current fleet/
trailers, gear, and supplies.

The goals for the new 16,000 sf building are:

• Improve response time by as much as 30 minutes due to all
  equipment and gear is stored in a central location
• Better preserve the equipment and gear, reducing the annual cost of
  operations
• Provide quality training space to better hone the team’s skills

The building is designed as a long, linear, one-story building with
multiple garages on two sides of shared support space and wash
bay. The space accommodates tire storage, ample workbenches and
cabinet space, lifts, hoists, and a welding station/shop.

The east end of the building houses the team’s fleet of vehicles. The
adjacent Leasing Office Building will be remodeled and used as the
two mechanics’ offices for the Fleet/Transportation Services division
complete with training classroom space.