County plots $17 million downtown facility

The county intends to invest millions of dollars into a construction project near Ringling Boulevard just to keep cool.

In August, county officials filed preliminary plans with the city for a proposed cooling plant at 2150 Ringling Blvd. The new structure would serve as a centralized hub for chilled water for the air conditioning systems in the county’s downtown campus.

The current cooling plant is located next to the county jail at Main Street and East Avenue. County staff said that facility is reaching the end of its lifespan, and growth of the downtown campus is straining the capacity of the cooling plant. Earlier this year, after a consultant examined siting options for a new plant, the County Commission voted to select a portion of a surface parking lot next to a county garage as the best location.

In total, the county estimates the costs associated with the project could total $17 million.

Brad Gaubatz, the county’s facilities manager for capital projects, said the county opted to construct a new facility for several reasons. Replacing the equipment at the existing cooling plant while maintaining air conditioning at downtown county buildings would be a challenge, he said.

“The logistics would be difficult to do,” Gaubatz said. “It also allows us to have room for expansion, which the current site does not.”

The city is in the process of reviewing the project. City and county officials have discussed how the cooling plant would affect the parking supply in the area. The building would eliminate 41 parking spaces on the southern end of the Ringling Boulevard site, along School Avenue.

Gaubatz said the county is trying to identify opportunities to add new parking spaces around the downtown campus to mitigate the loss of the surface lot.

“We’re working well with the city on an informal parking study,” Gaubatz said.

The county is also working with the city to study the effects the facility may have on noise in the area, near Payne Park. Gaubatz said the county would have to comply with city noise standards before the project could move forward.

Gaubatz said the county wants to do its best to have the plant blend in with its surroundings. Although it represents an intensive use, he said noise attenuation and building design could help it feel like a structure that belongs.

“A chiller plant, in and of itself, it is an industrial building,” Gaubatz said. “We’re going to try to make it nice and something that definitely fits in with the campus.”

The county hopes to begin construction on the project next spring and estimates the work could take between 12-14 months.