General Services Administration (GSA) Santa Fe Exterior Stabilization

The General Services Administration (GSA) engaged GH2 for a multi-phase preservation project of the Santa Fe
Federal Building. The Federal Building was built between 1923-1925 and is a 402,500-square-foot Art Deco style
structure located at the southwest side of the Central Business District of Dallas on a 30,000 square foot site. It is an early skyscraper structure with a 10-story office base and a 19-story office tower. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of four original office buildings that served as the office headquarters for the Santa Fe Railroad. The project scope included an emergency exterior façade architectural investigation focusing on finding the source of the water infiltration that was causing the exterior stone to deteriorate to the point that large pieces were able to be removed by hand. The effort included performing a drone survey to pinpoint the areas of greatest concern so that the
survey crew could repel off the building to do a close-up review of the exterior. This included up-close photographs and removal of loose debris for analysis on the ground. The next step was to prepare repair documents for bidding to select a contractor to work with GSA and GH2 on stabilization efforts, and to provide full access to the exterior building to perform in depth investigation via swing stages on every face of the building. The detailed investigation of the coated cast stone ledges, stone spandrels, metal windows, metal spandrels, stone archways, and the roofing system included photographic documentation of each element and how it was impacting the structures historic details.