Denver averages roughly 49 to 54 inches of snow a year, and a fleet facility is the building that has to put every vehicle on the road on the worst morning of it. Plows, school buses, delivery vans and service trucks all return to the same yard, wait for the same bays and draw on the same electrical service. When the building works, nobody notices. When it does not, a route does not run, and the cause is almost always a design item: a bay door too short for a roof-mounted unit, a floor drain with no separator, or a service that cannot carry the new chargers.
We build fleet facilities for municipal, utility, delivery and commercial operators: maintenance garages, wash bays, parts rooms, fueling and charging areas, dispatcher offices and secured yards. The buildings are conventional steel or precast structures, but the details differ from a warehouse. Clear height is set by the tallest vehicle with its lift raised, floors are sloped and drained, and ventilation is sized for running engines.
The user's fleet defines the design, so we ask for the vehicle list first: lengths, heights, turning radii, weights and the maintenance cycle. From that we draw bay widths, door sizes, crane or lift needs and yard geometry. The same discipline applies to our maintenance shop and service bay work, and the two scopes often share a site.
What a fleet facility contains
The core is the maintenance building: drive-through or back-in bays, in-ground or mobile lifts, pits for under-vehicle access, overhead cranes or hoists for heavy components, a tire shop, parts storage and an office. Vehicle exhaust is captured at the source with hose reels and ducted extraction, and make-up air heats the incoming air so the building holds temperature. Compressed air, oil distribution and waste oil collection are piped into each bay, and floor drains lead to an oil and sediment separator before the sanitary or storm connection.
The yard is as important as the building. A wash bay with water reclaim reduces discharge, a fueling island needs containment and overfill protection, and parking needs slope, lighting and secure access. Heavier fleets need pavement designed for turning loads; see our truck courts and trailer yards work for the paving section and joint layout we use. Where charging is part of the plan, we install conduit and pads for current and future chargers.
Operators we build for
Municipal and public works fleets operate from the largest garages, with plow trucks, refuse vehicles and utility trucks sharing a yard. These buildings overlap with civic construction, and we cover related details in government and municipal work. Utility fleets add storage for poles, transformers and cable. Commercial and delivery fleets add vehicle staging and driver facilities, while auto dealers and service centers add customer entry and showroom space.
Automotive manufacturing and EV supply chains need a different kind of building, discussed in automotive and EV plant construction. Fleet maintenance sits at the other end of the chain: it keeps vehicles in service rather than making them. Operators in the automotive and EV sector often need both, a plant and a service network, and we coordinate site planning across them.
Site, soil and legacy conditions
Many fleet sites sit on older industrial land. Sheridan's industrial business park along the South Platte River, between West Oxford and West Union avenues, includes auto salvage, a recycling center, a lumber yard, auto repair and light manufacturing uses, and the city planned Phase 1 and Phase 2 environmental assessments of its parcels through EPA's Targeted Brownfield Assessment program to estimate remediation costs. A garage built on a former repair or salvage site must be preceded by environmental assessment, and the results change excavation, disposal and schedule.
We include environmental screening in preconstruction for any site with a history of vehicle service, fuel storage or metal work. Soil that tests above disposal limits needs handling and a haul plan, and groundwater in the South Platte valley can affect pit and sump design. For sites in Sheridan and similar corridors, we advise on these items before land is bought, not after.
Exhaust, fuel and wash water
The safety systems in a fleet garage protect people and the environment. Carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide monitors tie to the ventilation system; fuel areas use classified electrical equipment; and lifts are installed to the manufacturer's fastening and spacing rules. Fire protection is sized for the stored commodities, including tires, lubricants and batteries, and hot-work is controlled around any area with fuel vapor.
Environmental compliance is the other side. Oil and water separators, spill containment, stormwater controls and wash water treatment are part of the permits and inspections. Commerce City, for example, adopts the 2021 International Building Code with 49 local amendments including sprinklers throughout S-2 parking garages, and other cities have their own rules for fueling, storage and drainage. We check the local amendments and discharge rules before the drawings are issued.
Where we build fleet facilities
Our work covers the Denver metro corridor, the northern Front Range and the eastern plains. Fleet sites cluster near the interstates, around Commerce City and along the US 85 and I-25 corridors where depots, transit yards and delivery hubs have the access they need. We also build in the mountain and western regions where plow fleets and public works garages have snow load and altitude constraints.
Travel distance does not change the quality of the work, but it changes how we plan. In remote locations, we bring more materials with us, plan more lead time for specialty equipment and check local trade availability. We confirm the building department's code edition and loads before design begins.
Start with the fleet list
Send us the vehicle list, the number of bays you need and the site address. We will review environmental history, size the building to your fleet and return a scope with a schedule.
Common Questions
How do we size the bays?
Start with the longest, widest and tallest vehicle, then add working clearance on all sides and above for any lift or hoist. Door heights must clear roof-mounted equipment, including raised hoods and lift arms. We build a vehicle schedule with your fleet manager and draw bays to match.
Do we need an oil-water separator?
Almost always. Floor drains in repair and wash areas typically must discharge through a separator or a closed system, and the local wastewater authority sets the requirements. We confirm the approach with the authority before design is final.
Can the building be made EV-ready?
Yes. We install conduit, panel capacity and pads so chargers can be added later without trenching the yard again. The utility service size, transformer location and charger count are the main design items, and we coordinate them with the utility early.
What about environmental conditions on older sites?
Former repair, salvage and fuel sites need assessment before design. Phase 1 and Phase 2 reports tell us what is in the soil and groundwater, and they affect excavation cost and schedule. We build these studies into preconstruction.