Charlottesville : About CAT: Maintenance and Operations Facility

Fact Sheet: CAT Green Maintenance & Operations Facility
Report to Charlottesville City Council on the Facility

Charlottesville Area Transit (CAT) hosted a grand opening for its new maintenance and operations facility at 1545 Avon Street Extended, just south of the City of Charlottesville. The high-performance facility was designed and constructed to achieve the US Green Building Council’s LEED Certification. Attended by officials including Delegate David Tuscano and Vice Mayor Holly Edwards, the new facility not only updates CAT’s operational capabilities, but is part of a broader green vision for public transportation in Charlottesville.

“By upgrading our capabilities through this new green facility, CAT will be positioned not only to provide current services to the community in a more efficient manner, but to expand and address future needs,” said Bill Watterson, Manager for CAT. “Charlottesville Transit is an important part of a greener future for Charlottesville. That future includes this new facility as well as adding hybrid-electric buses to the service fleet in 2011. As transit demand in Charlottesville grows, we’ll be ready to meet it.”

Cutting the ribbon on CAT's new facility: Councilor Kristin Szakos, Delegate David Toscano, Reed Davis, Scott Hendrix, Steve Davis, Councilor Satyendra Huja, Vice Mayor Holly Edwards, and Corey Hill.

The new facility houses a variety of CAT’s functions and employees -- including drivers, mechanics, and administrative staff -- at one location. Among the structures on site are an administration and operations building, maintenance shop, fuel island, and vehicle wash building. The property also incorporates parking spaces for the entire CAT bus fleet.

Green practices are projected to result in an average
energy savings of 30% over baseline code-compliant buildings, and an estimated water conservation of 1.56 million gallons per year. The facility’s innovations include:

geothermal heating and cooling
time-regulated energy consumption
natural ventilation
extensive daylighting with solar glare control
efficient building envelope design
comprehensive stormwater management including biofilters
reduction of heat island effect
50,000 gallon rain water system to serve the bus wash and toilet flushing
efficient fixtures and appliances

Designed by local firm VMDO Architects and constructed by the W.M. Jordan Company, LEED certification is anticipated for 2011, and will make this CAT’s second green facility. CAT’s Downtown Transit Station at 615 East Water Street was LEED-Gold Certified in March 2008, the first municipal building in Virginia to receive the honor.

CAT provides public transportation on 18 routes throughout greater Charlottesville. In both the 2010 and 2009 fiscal years, more than 2 million passengers boarded a Charlottesville Transit vehicle.

Daytime routes operate Monday through Saturday from 6:15 AM until 6:45 PM, with night service until 11:45 PM on selected routes. Sunday bus service is offered on the FREE Trolley and Route 7. All CAT vehicles are wheelchair accessible and equipped with bike racks.

For more information about CAT, please contact Customer Service at 434.970.3649 or visit charlottesville.org/transit.

Congressman Tom Perriello, Mayor Dave Norris, and other officials break ground at the new CTS facility on Avon Street Extended.

Read about the March 2009 Groundbreaking!