The Eureka DMV found a new home in the former Redwood Harley-Davidson dealership- a fitting reuse of a building already accustomed to serving the public. The project transformed the existing high-bay commercial space into a fully functional state office, with a storage and workshop addition for Pierson Company occupying the back of the building.

The most significant design challenge was getting power and lighting down to the workstations from within the existing high-ceiling space without visual chaos. The solution was a custom ceiling grid - a structural frame that organizes the overhead plane, carries lighting and power to each workstation, and gives the open floor plan a sense of order and enclosure. It became the defining interior element of the project.

The high ceilings and generous natural light were existing assets worth preserving. Interior partition walls were reconfigured to accommodate new offices, a break room, conference room, accessible restrooms, and open work space, while materials and colors were chosen to keep the atmosphere calm and open. The result feels less confined than a typical DMV- which makes the inevitable wait a little easier to bear.

Outside, the site demanded careful choreography: a fully upgraded accessible path of travel, accessible parking, a dedicated motorcycle testing area, a covered carport for driver testing, and a circulation path wide enough for big rig trucks to navigate the entire perimeter of the lot- all within the constraints of an existing parking field.

The project was completed over eighteen months with a construction budget of $3.5 million.