Secure Industrial Construction Near Schriever Space Force Base
A building that supports a space operations installation begins with access control, power resilience and a delivery plan that respects who may enter and when. Those are the requirements we design around for owners whose facilities supply, support or sit near Schriever Space Force Base. We build secure facilities, support structures and the heavy site work around them, and we keep the discussion on what the building must do instead of who uses it.
Schriever was built from 1983 to 1985 as Falcon Air Force Station, about 10 miles east of Peterson Space Force Base, and is staffed by more than 8,100 active duty, guard and reserve personnel, civilians and contractors. A workforce of that size creates steady demand for parking, support shops, warehousing, electrical and mechanical infrastructure, and for suppliers in the defense supply chain who need space nearby. The 2022 financial report for El Paso County puts the count at about 8,000 workers, the third-largest employer count in the county, so the effect on nearby real estate, roads and utilities is considerable. The buildings serving that population have to be dependable, and they have to be built by crews who understand discretion.
We do not describe missions, programs or customers, and we ask owners not to describe them to us beyond what the design needs. Floor loads, shielding, redundancy, door hardware and perimeter lines are the vocabulary of our conversations.
Design Starts with the Security Boundary
Before we draw a room, we ask where the boundary runs and what crosses it. A controlled-access building often has a public side with visitor parking and a reception lobby, a screened vestibule, and an interior reserved for badged staff. Delivery points are separate from entry points, and loading areas are visible to the people who watch them. We locate the building, the fence line and the sight lines to support those rules, then place utilities so that service people can reach equipment without crossing into restricted areas.
We bring our fencing and security integration scope into the first drawings, not the last. Gates, vehicle barriers, cameras, lighting levels and conduit paths affect the site plan, the foundations and the electrical design, and vehicle standoff distances can change how far a building must sit from the nearest road or parking row. Resolving them together is faster and avoids rework in finished concrete and paving.
Construction Practices for Controlled Sites
Every crew on our site works under a written site security plan that covers badging, sign-in, tool control, photography limits, material inspection and escort rules. We train every worker on those rules before they set foot on the project, and the superintendent audits compliance daily. Drawings and submittals are distributed only to people who need them, and we keep controlled documents in a restricted location.
Conventional safety measures sit beside them: fall protection, trench safety, crane planning, lockout procedures and emergency action plans. At the altitude of the Pikes Peak region, we also plan for cold-weather work, wind on exposed steel and the way thin air affects equipment and workers. We keep those controls in writing and review them at each phase start. Visitors and inspectors are met at a staging point, briefed on the rules and escorted, and their access is logged. Subcontractors sign the same plan and are removed from the site for any breach. Photographs for progress reporting are taken only in approved areas and reviewed before release.
Power, Cooling and Resilience
Facilities of this type often need more electrical capacity and more redundancy than a standard industrial building. We coordinate utility service, switchgear, standby generation and uninterruptible power with the owner's engineers, and we install them in rooms designed for heat rejection, access and maintenance. A data center or a communications room inside a larger structure may require raised floors or overhead trays, tight humidity control and clean power, and we price those features explicitly. Cooling is sized for the load at altitude, where thinner air reduces the capacity of air-cooled equipment, and the mechanical design includes allowances for that derating along with space for future equipment.
Underground work is equally important. Electrical duct banks must be installed with the right separation, spare conduits and marking, because they last longer than the buildings above them. We pour the encasement, inspect before backfill and record as-built locations that the owner can rely on for the full life of the facility.
Sequencing for Badging and Access Windows
Controlled sites change the schedule. A new worker may wait days for credentials, and material deliveries may need advance notice and inspection. We account for those lead times when we build the project calendar, and we avoid last-minute crew changes. If a task requires a specialist, we request access early and confirm a backup.
On November 20, 2024 the Department of the Air Force selected Schriever to host Space Delta 15, with 250 manpower authorizations and full operational capability expected in summer 2027. We mention it only as a reminder of how fixed dates shape facility work in the area: a date on a calendar drives backward through commissioning, equipment delivery and construction. Our commissioning, turnover and closeout process is organized around those dates.
Support Buildings and Supply Chain Space
Beyond the secure structure itself, most owners need supporting space: warehouse capacity, maintenance garages, generator buildings and light assembly areas. We build data center support buildings and related electrical and mechanical structures, and we pair them with paving, drainage and utilities.
Suppliers who feed the defense supply chain, including precision shops and electronics assemblers, often look for quiet, clean, access-controlled space within driving distance of the installations. Our advanced manufacturing scope covers that need. Owners also weigh nearby Peterson Space Force Base and Falcon when comparing sites, and we can help you compare access, utilities and review requirements across them.
Discuss a Secure Facility Requirement
Send us the facility requirements: size, loads, power, perimeter and delivery rules. We will answer with a scope, a schedule and the questions that most affect them. Details of any program stay with you.
Common Questions
Do you work inside the installation fence?
Work inside the fence is governed by the installation's own contracting and security rules. We build for owners whose facilities support or neighbor installations, and we follow whatever access and security rules apply to the site.
How do you protect sensitive information during design?
We limit distribution of drawings, use controlled document handling and keep conversations to facility requirements. Those who need detail receive it, and others do not.
What is the main schedule risk on a secure project?
Credentialing and delivery screening. We start those processes early, keep crews stable and build time into the plan for inspections.
Can a building be designed for shielding?
Yes. Shielded rooms, enclosed cable paths and controlled penetrations are designed with the owner's specialists and installed by crews trained for the details. Cost depends on the size and the performance required.
Which code do I design to?
We confirm the governing code and any federal criteria that apply to the site before design. For commercial land in the county, the 2023 Pikes Peak Regional Building Code is the starting point.