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Energy plant blooms
Is it a new courthouse addition? How about a maintenance garage or public works facility? There’s plenty of questions regarding the two-story building being constructed on the south side of Alfred Street, just west of the Sinclair Avenue intersection. While seemingly large, the new central energy plant is an important component in the expansion of government facilities in the County seat. The new energy plant will supplement the existing plant’s output and will make it possible to expand the Lake County Judicial Center. A central energy plant performs several key processes for operating the County’s downtown facilities, including chilling water for air conditioning and potable water; warming water for heating and potable water; and generating emergency power. Some of the large equipment that will be moved into the facility once it is completed includes one 300-ton chiller, three- 600 ton chillers, eight water pumps and three boilers.
There are several different projects underway for the Lake County Department of Facilities Development & Management. Here are a few developments:
Previous Editions of the Building Bulletin: |
| Pieces to a master puzzle Ten to 15 sections a day. That is PPI Construction Management’s target as it builds the new parking garage in downtown Tavares one piece at a time. The construction of the parking garage, which takes up most of a city block between Texas and Sinclair avenues, attracts its fair share of gawkers. An extended glance at the site reveals a construction process that is in fact a well-orchestrated symphony of workers and machines. A crane lifts large blocks of concrete into position and iron braces are welded from the blocks to the new parking garage walls, which arrive one at a time on a tractor-trailer. The large sections that are forming the new parking garage are pre-cast concrete that are fabricated locally by Leesburg-based Dura-Stress Inc. It takes a team of workers to strap the arriving sections to the 250-ton crane, which is a sight to behold all unto itself. “They moved the crane last night and it’s literally like moving the space shuttle,” said Jim Condon, Facilities Maintenance Coordinator with the Lake County Department Facilities Development & Management. “Movable cranes don’t get much bigger than this.” According to construction officials, the parking garage is on target for completion next year. The process began with the three elevator shafts and stairwell in the southwest corner. Moving to the southeast corner, construction of the first three floors will continue until each corner is completed. The corners are important for the structure’s stability. After this phase is completed, construction will continue on the remaining four floors of the parking garage. “This is like building a museum or institution for this County,” said Ralph Crites, Superintendent for PPI. The people that lived here a long time, I hope they can say it’s about time something like this was built. “A piece of me will go into this building. Twenty-five years from now, I can look up at this building and tell my children that I helped build that.”  |
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| New office building sprouts
While mechanical, electrical and plumbing work is progressing, roofing on the two-story structure was set to begin in early October. Block and brick laying work was soon to follow. Drywall work is to begin shortly after the roof is completed. The 28,000-square-foot building will provide new space for the Tax Collector and Property Appraiser offices. The west side of the building will be the Tax Collector quarters and the Property Appraiser will reside on the eastern half of the building. Features of the building include a vault for records, a common entryway, two stairwells, one elevator and two raisedfloor server rooms. The office building will be certified in standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, which is taking additional coordination between the Department of Facilities Development & Management and contractor PPI Construction Management. “It’s been a joint cooperative effort with the County, contractor and architect,” said Chuck Creel, Facilities Development Director for Lake County. A voluntary program, LEED provides a complete framework for assessing building performance and meeting sustainability goals. Based on well-founded scientific standards, LEED emphasizes state-of-the-art strategies for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. |
The month of October marked a milestone for the
construction of the new government office building at 320
W. Main St. in Tavares.www.lakecountyfl.gov