Groundbreaking ceremony held for new Game and Fish headquarters

A public groundbreaking ceremony for the new Arizona Game and Fish Department headquarters complex took place at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility on Oct. 19.

The department's new headquarters complex will be built on approximately 24 acres at the southwest corner of the Ben Avery Shooting Facility, 4044 W. Black Canyon Blvd. in Phoenix. This project began in 1997 with a comprehensive master plan and was approved by the Arizona Game and Fish Commission in 2004.

The new headquarters will total 117,115 square-feet of new construction including office space, a 205-seat auditorium, conference rooms, a climate-controlled warehouse, laboratories, a development shop and a vehicle maintenance facility.

The entire facility is designed to meet Silver Certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System. This certification addresses sustainability, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality. The new headquarters complex is designed to be energy efficient far in excess of minimum requirements, which should save the department approximately $75,000 a year in utility costs.

The Game and Fish Department has occupied its current facility at the Deer Valley campus on Greenway Road for 30 years. The department plans to sell the existing headquarters complex to help defray the costs of the new headquarters.