IMEG provided engineering design and services for a new Army Aviation Support Facility and Readiness Center at the Greater Kankakee Airport. The $64.6 million facility consists of a 73,000-sf readiness center and 112,000-sf Army aviation support facility, supporting three units of the National Guard: the 935th, B016 and Medivac.

Engineers provided mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, and technology engineering, as well as construction administration services. IMEG worked with the architect, Bailey Edward, and the owner to design the 185,200-sf, two-story facility  – which is among the largest projects undertaken by the Illinois National Guard. The aviation support building houses a helicopter maintenance hangar, cold storage hangar, shops, flight facilities, a fuel distribution system and state-of-the-art fire suppression systems. The readiness center includes classrooms, offices, ground equipment maintenance, a weapons simulator and flight simulators, vaults and a medical clinic. The hangar space was designed to accommodate the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, a weapons simulator training space, and task-loaded combat simulated flight environments.

More than 200 traditional Army National Guard Soldiers were moved from the Chicago Midway Armory to the new Kankakee facility, as well as ten UH-60 Black Hawks. The building and systems design meets the Anti-Terrorism Force Protection requirements and is LEED Silver certified.

Awards:
ENR Midwest 2018 Best Project, Government/Public Buildings
ENR 2018 Best of the Best Projects, Government/Public Buildings