First East Side Savings Bank, (FESSB), is a Savings Institution headquartered on the South side of Chicago. They had a lending operation in South Florida and decided to establish a stronger position. The bank commissioned The Hezner Corporation to design and Hezcorp Construction Services to construct a new South Florida Bank in Tamarac, Florida, which is just West of Fort Lauderdale. The building was originally designed to have leaseable second floor office space but by the end of construction they had elected to use it for their own purposes. The challenge for this project was in designing in Florida. Site engineering issues transformed a once spacious site into a meticulously designed site due to issues regarding storm water detention and release. Building materials typically used in Florida were not favorable with our client. They didn’t feel the indigenous materials appeared substantial enough. The Hezner Corporation essentially designed a masonry and steel structure with 4 sided butt glazed panels. We learned several things about South Florida. The Municipalities need to be strict due to contractor quality and design constraints for storm water and Hurricane design and we learned a great deal about the relaxed construction pace of Florida subcontractors. Our client was from Chicago, and they kept us mindful that their time frames were what mattered. The result is a beautiful, technically sound building that exceeds local building standards and, most important of all, serves our client well. The project was 12,500 square feet, completed in 13 months.
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