Immigration Centers

November/December 2008

Sprucing Up America’s Gateways

Florida builds new CIS field offices to improve the state’s welcome mat for legal immigrants

By Debra Wood

Moss & Associates built five new immigration centers in south Florida.

Construction is wrapping up on the nation’s first “welcoming gateway” immigration centers, five facilities located throughout south Florida that are designed to rebrand the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services with a more positive image and improve services for legal immigrants.

“The current facilities used by CIS are abominable,” says Mark M. Levin, principal with developer South Florida Federal Partners of Miami. “They are disrespectful of people who are future citizens of the United States of America. I’m following the lead of CIS, which wants to change the way it relates to its clients.”

Broward County Center

Moss & Associates, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., received the $150-million contract to build the five field offices, designed by JMWA Architects, Boca Raton, Fla. Construction began in fall 2007 on four of them: facilities in Broward County, Hialeah, Kendall and Miami. Moss started work on the Palm Beach County center in summer 2008 because the government put the bid out later on that job than the others. The Palm Beach County office is included in a different district within CIS, headquartered in Tampa. All will be completed by year’s end.

“These are fast-track projects,” says Chad Moss, vice president of Moss & Associates. “We started with 50% design drawings and as the construction progressed, the drawings progressed.”

Miami-Dade County headquarters, Hialeah

Tilt-up wall centers sit on spread-footer foundations. Four of the facilities are one story and range from 38,277 sq ft to 45,911 sq ft. The Miami-Dade County headquarters has 60,157 sq ft on two stories. They all are designed to resist a Category 5 hurricane.

Exteriors feature textured coating. The centers offer on-site parking, waiting areas for children and Internet cafes.

The team is seeking LEED Silver certifications. Green elements include daylighting with overhanging sunscreen devices, reduced power systems when the facilities are not occupied and use of recycled materials.

“With all of the skylights, on a sunny day there will be no electricity used for lighting at midday,” Levin says. “And no employee will be more than 60 ft from a natural source of light.”

All together, immigration services will add 10 new service centers to handle citizenship applications and interviews, not detention or enforcement. Other sites include Orlando, Fla., Dallas, Denver, Portland, Ore., and Lawrence, Mass.

“Clients who use the buildings will be proud to be an American and will feel welcome,” Levin says.

Entry rotundas at the new immigration centers are modeled after the U.S. Capitol and feature a 25-ft Statue of Liberty etched in glass. Each of the five tilt-up buildings was designed with ample windows to allow natural light into office interiors.