Commissioning Across Mixed-Occupancy Public Safety Facility: West Valley Community College - Saratoga, CA
At a Glance
A new campus public safety building serving West Valley Community College Police required commissioning across a mixed-occupancy facility with operationally sensitive spaces including an armory, evidence processing and storage, and assembly areas. Structured commissioning documentation and phased verification gave Kitchell CEM and the District confidence that mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems performed as intended before turnover.
Project Specifications
Category: Public Safety
Overall Area: 9,890 ft²
Services Provided: Commissioning
Completion Date: 2026
Owner: West Valley Community College
Architect: LPAS Architecture + Design
Contractor: Kitchell CEM
Project Description
Lead
West Valley Community College Police required a new dedicated facility to house office operations, secure evidence storage, an armory, and assembly space within a single building on an active campus. The mixed-occupancy program introduced distinct environmental and operational demands across spaces that needed to function independently from day one. Commissioning was structured to verify system performance across these varied space types before occupancy, reducing the risk of post-turnover deficiencies in spaces where operational failure carries institutional and safety consequences.
Scope of Work
Pragmatic PE provided commissioning services for this project.
Mechanical / HVAC
• Developed and executed functional performance testing for the VRF heat recovery system, including fan coil units and branch selector boxes distributed across operationally distinct zones.
• Coordinated verification of split system units and exhaust fans serving spaces with separate environmental and ventilation demands.
Electrical
• Verified lighting control system performance across fixture types, confirming photosensor dimming and occupancy sensor sequencing functioned as documented.
Plumbing / Irrigation
• Confirmed domestic hot water system operation at the building's single water heating point of service.
• Coordinated verification of the site irrigation controller interface with new perimeter irrigation work.
Commissioning
• Developed the Commissioning Plan and established Cx team roles, responsibilities, and documentation protocols across the general contractor, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, controls, TAB, and landscape subcontractors.
• Managed issue tracking and functional test coordination across a multi-contractor team to support an on-time construction completion.
Challenges and Solutions
Constraint: Operationally sensitive spaces including evidence storage and an armory required environmental reliability at occupancy, with no tolerance for post-turnover system troubleshooting.
Response: Commissioning scope was structured to verify zone-level HVAC performance and controls sequencing in these spaces as discrete functional test events prior to beneficial occupancy.
Constraint: Controls installation and programming were split between two separate contractors, creating coordination risk at the interface between hardware and sequences.
Response: Pragmatic PE documented the division of responsibility between the installation and programming contractors early in the process, coordinating functional testing to confirm integrated performance before close-out.
Constraint: A multi-trade subcontractor team with separate mechanical, electrical, plumbing, TAB, and landscape contractors required a clear and enforceable Cx coordination structure to avoid schedule gaps.
Response: The Commissioning Plan defined individual responsibilities and communication protocols for each trade, giving the construction manager a documented framework for tracking readiness across all systems.
Results and Impact
• Turnover risk to the College Police was reduced by completing functional performance verification of HVAC, lighting, and plumbing systems before occupancy, avoiding discovery of deficiencies in sensitive operational spaces post-move-in.
• The structured Cx Plan gave Kitchell CEM a documented coordination baseline across a large multi-trade subcontractor team, supporting schedule accountability through construction completion.
• Integrated controls testing across separately contracted installation and programming vendors confirmed system sequences were fully functional, not just individually installed.
• The District received a complete Commissioning record supporting facilities staff in operating and maintaining a building program that spans office, assembly, and secure law enforcement functions.