Intermittent use of classical-proportioned columns and decorative wall medallions; using peaked tile-roof “towers” at some of the building corners; changing the wall heights, projections and recesses; and varying the positioning of horizontal banding and decorative trim elements all help create both diversity and unified rhythm within the façade.

Accentuating storefront entries and large display widows with canvas awnings and painted metal trellises provided effective shading, thereby reducing glare and solar heat-gain through the glass, while also creating a more customer-appropriate pedestrian scale.

Surety Construction from Bonita Springs, was the General Contractor for the project.

Designed to be a “landmark” for patient recognition, the “Contemporary” design style employs colorful painted stucco forms, expressive shapes and massing, offset planes, and repetitive patterns which create diversity and continuity within the modern theme. By incorporating curved forms in both plan and elevation, and integrating layered wall planes and surfaces at varying heights extending above the roof plan help to create visual interest while expressing the essence of this modern medical/surgical facility.

When completed, this 11,200 square foot State of Florida licensed ambulatory surgery center will house three (3) operating rooms with essential life-support and functional facilities. Stevens Construction from Fort Myers is the General Contractor for the project.

Located in Fort Myers since 1992, Christopher J. Lee Architects, Inc. specializes in providing quality services in commercial architecture including designs for many privately owned medical offices and dental facilities, and over 10 facility projects licensed under the State of Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, and recently received a 2011 Lee BIA Summit Award for Best Non-Built Healthcare Design for this project.

Owen-Ames-Kimball of Florida was the General Contractor for the project which houses new transmission equipment for broadcasting radio communications throughout the Southwest Florida area.

Completion of this new facility marks the 4th project for this client including a similar facility for WINK-TV & WINK-FM96 Radio Transmission, as well as previous additions and renovations for the Fort Myers Broadcasting Company and Meridian Broadcasting Company at their existing studios located at 2824 Palm Beach Boulevard.

Chris and his staff took home five awards including Architectural Firm of the Year!

The awards received were as follows:

*Architectural Firm of the Year

*Best Architectural Project—Healthcare for ‘Collins Vision Medical Office’

*Best Architectural Project—Healthcare for ‘Eye Specialists’ Laser & Surgery Center’

*Best Non-Built Design Product—Healthcare for ‘Orthopedic Specialists of SW Florida Surgery Center’

*Merit Award: Non-Built Design Project—Healthcare for ‘Favalli Orthodontics & Pediatric Dental Office’

The Summit Awards were created by the Commercial Contractors Council of the Lee BIA in 2006 and provide an opportunity to recognize and celebrate excellence in the commercial building industry. This unique local awards program pays tribute to the Lee Building Industry Association members who have obtained an outstanding level of success and professionalism in commercial building, planning and design during 2010 and 2011.

First Place: Powers Court Center: Interop Technologies headquarters. • Location: Fort Myers • Built: 2008 • Architect: Christopher J. Lee Architects Inc. • Interior designer: Interior Concepts (Cheryl Sazama) / Mark Borosch Photography

First place: Powers Court Center: Interop Technologies headquarters, 13500 Powers Court, south Fort Myers. Built 2008. Architect: Christopher J. Lee Architects Inc. with interior design by Interior Concepts (Cheryl Sazama)

In the commercial category it was the collective effort of an attentive and detail-oriented architect and a design conscious owner/developer that brought the community’s attention to this building.

Kimberly Haas, who previously worked there, nominated the building. She straightforwardly justified her choice: “In my opinion, the Powers Court Center is one of the most attractive business buildings in Southwest Florida and an amazing place to work. Employees work exceptionally efficiently there. The building is well-planned with multiple conference areas, open meeting spaces and plenty of natural light; I was always proud to bring clients to the office.”

Architect Christopher Lee, provided some history:

Interop Technologies is a leading provider of advanced wireless technology solutions in the United States and Central America. The southwest Florida office, developed by Talamh Associates Inc., was planned for Interop’s local business needs and to serve as the corporate headquarters for their global operations.

Identical materials applied in a similar manner inside and outside integrate and enrich the overall design. For example, inlaid natural stone on the exterior walls and pilasters as well as on the interior columns of a two-story lobby bring the exterior aesthetics into the building.

Large glass windows around the exterior combined with considerable amounts of interior glazing and low office partitions maximize natural light inside … Given a choice, employees and visitors alike appreciate the sumptuous two-story lobby while ascending a grand staircase; ignoring the rarely used elevators.

Commitment to good design and attention to detail have made an impact on this workplace, creating a place where pride and enthusiasm inevitably result in productivity and profit. The winning nomination by Haas confirms this wise investment with its abundant reward

What makes a great building?
What common thread focused the public’s attention on Southwest Florida’s favorite buildings? Each project involved both a visionary entrepreneur (or municipality) and a talented architect.
Good clients don’t just hire an architect to “make the blueprint” and a building that pleases no one, but conspire together to create buildings that are both functional and ageless assets for the community.
Michelangelo said, “Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.” Good architects recognize that it is the clients, not they, who bring the block of stone, and the opportunity to design a great building.
Good architects use their talent and expertise to discover a great building within the client’s requirements and resources.

— Joyce Owens AIA practices architecture in Southwest Florida. Her column appears in the Home & Garden section the third Saturday of every month. She can be reached at jowens@architecturejoyceowens.com.

Collins Vision was awarded an Aurora Award as well as the Grand Aurora Award for Best Commercial Construction Healthcare Facility. Located at 6900 International Drive in Fort Myers, this award-winning facility consists of a 10,450 square foot medical office specializing in ophthalmology and vision correction. The medical office will have eight exam rooms, a procedure room, two orbital scan rooms and a retail area and lobby. Liebl & Barrow provided the structural engineering, Energy Concepts provided the MEP engineering, L.E.D. Design provided the interior design service and Stevens Construction was the contractor.

Eye Specialists’ Laser & Surgery Center also won an Aurora Award in the Commercial Construction Remodeling or Renovation category. Located at 12381 South Cleveland Avenue in Fort Myers, this award-winning facility included the addition and renovation of an existing building to create a new 10,580 square foot licensed ambulatory surgery center with two operating rooms, full post-operative recovery stations and associated support facilities. This new facility serves as the surgical center for Dr. Mark S. Gorovoy, MD who specializes in Cataract, Cornea, Glaucoma and Customvue LASIK Refractive Surgery. Liebl & Barrow provided the structural engineering, HSA Engineers & Scientists provided the MEP engineering, Christopher J. Lee Architects provided the interior design and Stevens Construction was the contractor.

Chris was part of the Brew Crew this year.

But one real estate broker who specializes in the medical field said the anticipated boom may not materialize.

On Dec. 7, the county commission voted to cut medical office impact fees – charged to compensate for the costs of growth – by 70 percent to $7,400 per 1,000 cubic feet for two years.

Commissioners said they hope the cuts, which will cost $1 million to $2 million, will stimulate the building of medical space – which is weak but still the last man standing in the county’s devastated commercial construction industry.

“I do think it’ll make a difference,” said Mark Stevens, owner of Mark Stevens Construction in Fort Myers, which mainly builds medical offices. “I know a couple physicians who have been hesitating on whether to build.”

He hopes the new construction cut, and a similar one for expansion of existing medical space, will result in more doctors deciding to build.

With the rest of the commercial construction industry flat on its back, the stakes are high for builders, Stevens said. “Three years ago, 40 percent of our revenues were medical related; this year it’s over 90 percent.”

One doctor who built a new office without the benefit of the impact fee cuts said he doesn’t regret acting when he did, but still thinks the cuts will make it easier for other physicians to do the same.

“Some on the fence of it will act sooner rather than later,” said Dr. Michael Collins, who is scheduled to move into his new office Dec. 28.

But making the decision when he did had advantages as well, he said: rock bottom financing interest rates plus property and labor costs that prevailed a year ago allowed him to build a bigger and much higher profile location – visible from Six Mile Cypress Parkway a quarter mile south of Daniels Parkway.

He also was able to design his own building to suit his needs: an efficient floor plan plus a warmer, more welcoming feel to soothe patients’ anxieties.

In addition, Collins, an eye surgeon, will be able to add an optical department that sells glasses and contacts, along with a hearing specialist.

He marveled that the new office, built by Stevens Construction, was built ahead of schedule, within budget, in seven months – unheard of during the frenzied growth that preceded the commercial construction industry’s crash three years ago.

But one industry expert said he’s not sure the new rules will change things as much as builders and doctors hope.

“I don’t think that, in and of itself, it is going to suddenly spur a lot of medical office development,” said broker Mark Alexander, senior medical office adviser for Sperry Van Ness in Fort Myers.

It will, however, “level the playing field” for building owners who want to lease space to doctors, he said. That’s because in the past owners were hit with medical impact fees when they built out the interior for a doctor’s office.

Alexander said he still thinks reducing the fees is the right thing to do because they were too high to begin with.

“It begs the question, ‘Why did medical (fees) get so juiced up in the first place?’” he said. “My humble opinion is that is where there was the least resistance.”

With relatively few doctors, plus the public perception that they can afford higher costs, he said, “There were not too many people who are going to complain when you boost long-term medical fees.”

By the numbers

70 percent: Reduction of impact fees mandated by the Lee County commission for medical office space.

$7,400: The cost per 1,000 square feet for impact fees now assessed for a medical office building now that fees have been reduced.

17 percent: Impact fees’ contribution to the construction cost for a typical medical building in Lee County before the cuts.

24 percent: Typical impact fees’ contribution to the costs of changing the use of a building to medical use before the cuts.

(Article Courtesy of the News Press)

Located at 12453 S. Cleveland Ave., construction entailed the addition of 4,600 square feet to an existing two-story facility to total a 10,580-square-foot ambulatory surgery center at completion. The center includes two operating rooms, recovery rooms, step-down recovery rooms, consultation areas, a patient lounge and administrative offices.

The construction team included Troy Hernly as project manager, Mike Bussiere as superintendent and Terri Sobeck as project administrator.

Christopher Lee of Christopher J. Lee Architects Inc. provided the architectural and interior design services.