Case Study: Terrace Building

Sarasota, Florida, USA

Delta Partner: Advanced Automation Systems, Inc.

Unique prolems to solve: Due to the many county services provided at the Terrace Building, there is a large amount of everyday public traffic. The old access controls system proved to be unstable and unreliable. It kept locking up and losing its memory. Not only did the county require a new access system, but requested that the new system be installed without any disruption of public service. Long term, the county’s goal is to network the access controls of 10 facilities.

System solution: Using Delta Controls access modules and card readers, Advanced Automation installed an access system on three floors controlling 23 doors with magnetic locks, as well as programming for nearly 600 card users. By preprogramming the Delta Controls controllers and panels in the shop, Advanced Automation was able to retrofit one door at a time, while keeping the existing system on-line until the entire project was complete. Remarkably, there was no interruption to public traffic or county service.

Results: Says Bill Pfender, who served as point person for the county on the project, "I honestly expected to have our entire system down three or four days at a time. But the most we were down for any one door was a couple of hours." Mr. Pfender was so impressed with the neatness of the panels that he carries pictures of the original system and the new panels to show the contrast in the quality of workmanship. He also points out that, "The system stays on-line and is extremely reliable." All of which explains why he’s already referred Advanced Automation and Delta Controls for two other projects.

The Terrace Building is one of Sarasota’s most storied structures. Built in 1925 on the Old Gillespie Golf Course, the building was originally the Ringling Terrace and later the Sarasota Terrace Hotel. At one point the building housed the spring training offices of the Chicago White Sox. Purchased by the county in 1972, it is now the Sarasota County Administration Center.