Jefferson County, AL
CLIENT: Poole & Company Architects
Owner: Jefferson County Commission
Contractor: Doster Construction
Sain Associates conducted an ALTA/NSPS Land Title, Topographic Survey, and Site Design for the Jefferson County Medical Examiner and Coroner Offices, a planned 30,000 SF facility located near the intersection of Lakeshore Parkway and Leaf Lake Boulevard in Birmingham, Alabama. The facility houses administrative office space and a state-of-the-art autopsy complex, with associated driveways and parking areas. The site plan also allows for potential expansions to the west of the structure. Situated within a priority watershed that drains into Shades Creek, the property included jurisdictional streams and wetlands. The Coroner’s Office was previously in Cooper Green hospital that was demolished in the summer of 2025. Due to this deadline, we designed the site to avoid any impacts to Jurisdictional streams and wetlands. Any impact to these areas would have required a Individual USACE permit the would require a lengthy approval process. The site was designed to avoid impacts to the wetlands and utilized two bottomless culverts to cross the streams. Pedestrian bridges were designed to span the existing streams to connect the staff and public parking lots to the building.
Sain’s survey was executed to the 2021 ALTA/NSPS standards and included a comprehensive assessment of the site based on designated Table A requirements. As part of the surveying services, Sain reviewed title exceptions, plotted their limits where applicable, and integrated the legal description into the survey document. Missing or estimated property corners were physically marked with iron pins, and extensive site features, including drainage structures, curbs, sidewalks, parking areas, and visible encroachments, were documented. Utility infrastructure such as poles, transformers, and visible boxes were also surveyed, with 811 requests made for underground utility locations. The survey captured site contours at one-foot intervals and spot elevations in flat terrain. Data was gathered to the edge of pavement along Lakeshore Parkway and to the right-of-way lines of Leaf Lake Boulevard, with additional efforts to extend ten feet beyond property lines where permission was granted.
The completed survey formed a foundational component for the design and engineering of the facility that enhances Jefferson County’s capacity for forensic investigation, autopsy services, and medical-legal operations. With a modern infrastructure footprint and specialized function, the new Medical Examiner and Coroner’s Office serves as a critical public health and safety resource for the county and broader Birmingham region.
In 2025, Sain Associates received an Associated Builders and Contractors of Alabama Excellence in Construction Honor Award for our work on the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office project.