Gila River Farms completes remodeled building, gets ready for additional construction

Emma Hughes

Gila River Indian News

To enhance its administrative facilities and accommodate growing operational needs, the Gila River Farms has embarked on an extensive renovation project for its administrative building that has been years in the making.

On April 22, Gila River Farms unveiled a newly remodeled building and held a blessing and groundbreaking for an additional building that will be constructed adjacent to the current structure.

Gila River Farms staff, Board of Directors, Lt. Gov. Regina Antone, and Community Council Representatives Anne Lucas, Chris Mendoza, Frank Pablo Sr., Gordon Santos Jr., Jennifer Allison, Joey Whitman, and Nada Celaya were present for the event. Former Lt. Gov. and former General Manager for the Farms, Robert Stone, provided the blessing. Council Reps. Allison and Celaya also serve on the board of directors.

“It was a pleasure to attend the ground blessing and speak to staff. This building is a long time in the making,” said Lt. Gov. Regina Antone. “The Gila River Farms have always struggled and is on their way to moving and growing into the future.”

The Gila River Farms’ mission is to provide quality agricultural services, training, and employment for Community members through agricultural business planning and continual expansion of services related to land and water use. Their primary crops include alfalfa hay, cotton, and olives.

The ambitious endeavor aims to modernize the existing infrastructure and includes plans for an additional building to cater to the burgeoning demand for office space in the foreseeable future.

Gila River Farms’ administrative building, built in 1977, received a much-needed comprehensive makeover that encompasses structural enhancements and aesthetic improvements. Prior to the renovation, the building had been closed for over seven years due to flooding issues and was, at one point, assumed to be condemned. During this time, Gila River Farms began renting a modular building for its operations.

Due to the continuous cost of renting the modular, the Gila River Farms Board of Directors decided to move forward with renovating the old building. Over the past three years, Board Chairwoman Jennifer Allison worked with the Farms’ Comptroller Kimberly Fisher to ensure they were able to acquire all the funds needed, with the assistance of Community Council ¬which covered the cost.

Gila River Sand & Gravel (GRSG) was hired to do the 3,200-square-foot renovation in November of last year. This included installing a whole new septic system and developing additional office space, a conference room, and a kitchen.

Robert Mendez, GRSG’s construction manager, shared some of the processes and challenges they encountered during the renovation, such as the building’s HVAC system, which was installed underground.

“I’ve never seen a building like that with underground air ducts. So that was kind of concerning because stuff got in there, and so it made it challenging because when we started digging down for the waste pipes, we started hitting these big air ducts,” Mendez said.

GRSG installed a whole new HVAC and plumbing system, replaced all the water piping with brand-new copper, and even added a septic system to the outside warehouse, which had only been using portable restrooms.

Mendez added, “Another issue was that there wasn’t enough water pressure to push it to the office building and the warehouse, so we helped them put in a water booster pump.”

He also noted that building codes had changed so much since 1977 and that another much-needed update was adding windows that can open and close. “They had windows in each office, but they didn’t open, so you couldn’t get any fresh air or anything. So we went through and replaced every single one of them,” said Mendez.

GRSG will continue to construct the new building in June and they are looking to complete it in October of this year.

“I have always supported the work from [Gila River] Sand & Gravel, and the buildings that Robert Mendez creates are truly a work of art. For him to be able to construct the new office for the Farms will be an honor for the staff, all employees and the Community who will enter the building,” said Lt. Gov. Antone. “Thank you to all who put together and all the hard work you all do for our Community”

“I was just really happy for the staff,” said Allison. “They finally get to work in a safe, sturdy place. They’re real proud of their offices.”