Tax Dollars Put to Good Use

Located in southcentral Arizona with a population of 4.1 million people, Maricopa County has a population greater than 23 states, making it the fourth largest county in the United States. This population boom, expected to grow by another million each decade, has caused the city of Phoenix to initiate the county’s single largest capital project to build a new 16-story, state-of-the-art Downtown Court Tower to accommodate the more than 56,000 court cases expected by 2016.

The four-year, $340 million project was not only built to meet the growing needs of the area’s justice system, it also was constructed with an environmentally friendly, sustainable design that emphasizes security and the comfort of victims, defendants, and court officials at every level.

“The Maricopa County Courthouse is now one of the most modern and sophisticated courthouse facilities in the country,” said Harry Hobe, vice president of Interstate Interior Systems, Inc. (IISI), a leading provider of construction specialty items based in Mesa, AZ. For this large-scale project, IISI was primarily responsible for the submittals, purchase, and installation of 116 individual bathroom stalls for the Maricopa County Court Tower.

Finding the Right Bathroom Partitions

With 16 years of field experience and more than 100 projects to his credit, Hobe provided Hiny Hiders bathroom partitions in Nickel color with Hammered texture finish from Scranton Products. Leslie Thompson, western sales rep for Scranton Products, met with the courthouse’s architects on numerous occasions, and they collectively decided that the Hiny Hiders partitions were the ideal choice due to their long-lasting durability and enhanced ability to resist fire and graffiti, Hobe explained.

“We have no doubt that they are very likely to outlive their 25-year warranty,” he said. “Plus their look and textured surface provided the perfect complement to each bathroom’s modern design.”

Scranton Products specializes in manufacturing unique and attractive interior partitions in a variety of colors and textures, available in ADA-compliant configurations. The HDPE partitions will never rust or delaminate and resist dents, scratches, graffiti, corrosion, mildew, and moisture. They’re also fully power washable and can be firmly installed in three configurations: floor mounted overhead-braced, ceiling-hung, or floor-to-ceiling.

“The entire Maricopa County Courthouse project has been a massive success,” Hobe added. “Everyone involved has been very happy with the results that include the design and the physical integrity of each bathroom.”

Remaining Transparent with Taxpayers

According to Hobe, the products for the courthouse were carefully chosen for value since the project was very transparent to the tax-paying public. “Everything was regularly reported through the news or a dedicated website, which placed the specification of nearly every product used in the courthouse under intense scrutiny,” he said.

He added that local citizens knew the total cost of the project and felt they had a vested interest in making sure that every dollar was spent wisely.

“The goal was to construct an ultra-modern, environmentally advanced facility that would meet the growing community’s legal needs with enhanced emphasis on safety, dignity, and respect,” Hobe said. “By all accounts, this mission was accomplished in every developmental design and construction phase.”