NEXGEN BUILDING REMODELING, BELVIDERE, IL

The NexGen Building Remodeling project involves the upgrade of an existing vacant facility, which is being converted into a manufacturing warehouse to meet current operational, environmental, and energy efficiency standards. The scope includes improvements to production areas, support spaces, and utility zones, aimed at enhancing overall system performance, safety, and occupant comfort.

The remodelling approach emphasizes optimized environmental control, energy efficiency, and compliance with updated building codes and industrial requirements. The overall objective is to create a high-performance facility that supports advanced operations while maintaining flexibility for future expansion and upgrades.

3S MEP provided comprehensive mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) design services for the NexGen Building Remodelling Project to ensure seamless system integration, operational efficiency, and safety. The design scope included ventilation systems, heating and cooling solutions, power distribution, and specialized environmental control systems tailored to industrial and production requirements.

The mechanical design focuses on key functional areas including the compressor room, production zones, and warehouse spaces. A dedicated compressor room ventilation system is designed to effectively remove excess heat and maintain safe operating conditions, ensuring equipment reliability and longevity.

In production areas, efficient heating and cooling systems are implemented to maintain controlled environmental conditions required for both manufacturing processes and occupant comfort. The design ensures stable temperature conditions that support operational consistency and performance.

Additionally, a dedicated dehumidification system is integrated within the production zones, incorporating desiccant dehumidifiers to maintain strict humidity control required for sensitive manufacturing processes, including paintball manufacturing rooms. This approach ensures product quality, process stability, and reduced risk of moisture-related defects.

The warehouse ventilation design ensures proper air circulation, temperature management, and removal of contaminants, contributing to a safe and efficient working environment. Electrical and plumbing systems are designed in accordance with applicable codes and standards, with precise load calculations, detailed layouts, and construction documentation. The overall MEP strategy prioritizes energy efficiency, system adaptability, and long-term operational performance.

The Electrical BIM scope focuses on documenting a data-rich power distribution network and high-efficiency lighting infrastructure for heavy manufacturing machinery within the existing facility structure. The scope mandates the development of detailed single-line diagrams (SLDs) and fully integrated panel schedules specifying voltage, amperage, and circuit calculations for the main service entrance, switchboards, transformers, and sub-panels. Power plans encompass the precise mapping of heavy-duty cable trays and primary conduit banks feeding the compressor room and manufacturing zones, alongside localized electrical drops and disconnect switches for production machinery, desiccant dehumidifiers, and process water pumps. Because the design utilizes two-speed motors with manual rotary switches and self-controlling EC motors, all power plans and SLDs strictly omit the space, upstream wiring, and panel capacity typically required for external VFDs and potentiometers.

Furthermore, the scope includes comprehensive lighting plans mapping out high-efficiency industrial high-bay LED fixtures, emergency egress illumination, and their respective branch circuiting. Lighting controls are fully decentralized and managed wirelessly via Bluetooth

enabled fixtures and an associated mobile application, which eliminates traditional lighting control panels, contactors, and low-voltage control wiring from both the physical layouts and schematic diagrams. To ensure regulatory compliance, the power plans must incorporate explicit code-required working clearance volumes around all distribution equipment, ensuring a seamless installation that is fully coordinated with the facility's heavy operational loads.

The scope included code-compliant restrooms and break room facilities, manufacturing floor hose bibbs, and a high-pressure gas piping network with pressure regulation, isolation valves, and safety provisions. A dedicated 180°F water heating system served dual purposes, supplying precise process water to manufacturing units and supporting equipment wash-down cycles backed by an integrated filtration system to eliminate mineral content and protect product quality. For drainage, a resin-based sump pit and pump system managed process effluent from wash cycles, fully segregated from the sanitary system, with cast iron piping specified throughout to handle elevated discharge temperatures and ensure long-term durability.

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