Nicole Brooks
REGISTERED
I’m currently working on a new gymnasium and administrative building, it's a single-story, just under 13,000 sf, and fully sprinklered. I was looking at the building as a non-separated mixed-use of A3 and Business, but am now rethinking that classification based on the security requirements for the gymnasium. The gymnasium will be used primarily for students on the behavioral health campus and by psychiatric patients at the hospital, also on campus, and occasionally for private events and graduation ceremonies. They don’t want the patients or students to be able to leave the gymnasium unchaperoned. There are two means of egress from the gymnasium; the main exit leads to a secure, fenced-in area that meets the requirements for a safe dispersal area. The other leads through a corridor to an exterior exit that opens onto an unsecured side yard. An A3 use does not allow for delayed egress locks (outside of a courtroom), so I am considering changing it to an I occupancy, but am unsure which one would be the most applicable. What do you all think? Could I classify it as mixed-use I-4/B? The space is only used for a few hours each day separately by both populations. An I-4 use allows VB construction as well as the option to add a second story in the future (which they currently can't afford but would like the option of).
