Project Brief

Amazon's DCH2 delivery station in Morton Grove, Illinois, turned an existing 41,000 SF warehouse into a last-mile hub where parcels come off a sortation line and go straight into delivery vans. KeRi was the MEP engineer to SMDC Architects, designing the systems that let vans drive inside the building through three drive-in lanes while the sortation floor stays safe to work in.

Running vehicles indoors put exhaust at the center of the design. Seven roof exhaust fans move 56,400 CFM, matched by four gas-fired make-up air units that bring the same volume of outdoor air from a -6°F design day up to 65°F. Five carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide sensors run the system in two stages: the first alarm level starts four exhaust fans and two make-up air units, and the second brings on the rest and sounds horns and strobes. Six air curtains at the drive-in doors hold back cold air as vans come and go.

Plumbing added new gas piping for 5,010 CFH of make-up air load and renovated the restroom and break room fixtures. Electrical added new 480 V and 208 V panels, power drops for the sortation workstations, and wiring for the doors, air curtains and gas detection.

MEP Engineering Scope

What We Engineered

MEP systems for the drive-in delivery station:

• Seven roof exhaust fans and four gas-fired make-up air units, 56,400 CFM each way
• Two-stage carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide detection controlling fans and alarms
• Six air curtains at the three drive-in lane doors
• New natural gas distribution to the make-up air units
• Restroom and break room plumbing
• New 480 V and 208 V power panels and power drops for the sortation floor

The Challenge

Delivery vans load inside the warehouse, bringing vehicle exhaust onto a working sortation floor in a building that also has to stay warm through an Illinois winter.

Our Solution

KeRi balanced roof exhaust with gas-fired make-up air, staged both from CO and NO2 sensors, and closed off the drive-in doors with air curtains.