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The walls are coming down...soon The first physical phase of the construction project for a parking garage and a two-story office building in downtown Tavares could begin as early as next month. The first step in the process is demolition of the existing four buildings in the city block bound by Main and Maud streets and Texas and Sinclair avenues. In addition, two buildings on the north side of Maud Street are also slated for demolition. A request for proposals for a demolition contractor will be released soon. If the bids are within an acceptable range, the County could award the contract by early December. The demolition job is expected to take about six weeks to complete. The parking garage is expected to accommodate about 1,500 vehicles. The office building will house new offices for the Property Appraiser and Tax Collector, which are currently located in the Lake County Historic Courthouse at 317 W. Main St. 
Roll Call
There are more than a dozen different projects underway for the Lake County Department of Facilities Development and Management. Here are a few developments:
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| Facilities department is busy as a bee With less than two months to go in the calendar year, the number of ongoing projects continues to mount for the Department of Facilities Development & Management. The most recognizable construction projects for the Department include the new fire station in the Lake Jem community, a new library in the Four Corners community and the renovation and addition project to the Health Department facility in Umatilla. A series of smaller projects, however, are set to take off, as requests for bids from construction contractors will soon hit the streets. At the end of this month, bidding ends for a new signal and striping garage at the Traffic Operations facility located at 28127 County Road 561, Tavares. The 1,152-square-foot garage will be used to store striping and signal equipment and supplies. Several other projects that are quickly coming down the line involve the County’s warehouse facility, located near the intersection of U.S. Highway 441 and County Road 473. One project entails designing a portion of the facility for Sheriff’s Office storage. Another project involves expanding the facility by about 13,000 square feet; of which 10,000 square feet of the space will be used for Clerk of Courts archives and 3,000 will be used by the Office of Information Technology, Records Management Division. Ten bids were received for this project and the Board of County Commissioners is expected to award a contract in November. Other projects on the horizon include an addition to the Water Resources Lab and renovating the Animal Services facility. “This is shaping out to be a very busy year,” said Richard LeBlanc, Architect for the Lake County Department of Facilities Development & Management. “We definitely have a lot of contracts going out in the next few months.” |
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| Commissioning services would be a first The Lake County Board of County Commissioners could consider next month hiring a consultant to conduct building commissioning services for various upcoming construction projects in downtown Tavares. If a contract is approved, it would be the first ever for building commissioning services for any Lake County construction project, according to Donna Thielhart, Senior Contracting Office with Office of Procurement Services. Commissioning is the process of ensuring that systems are designed, installed, functionally tested and capable of being operated and maintained to perform in conformity with the design intent. The building commissioning consultant will work in concert with the construction manager and architect through the design, construction and warranty phases. “The goal of building commissioning is to provide a facility that operates as it was intended,” said Jim Bannon, Director of the Department of Facilities Development & Management. One project this service will be considered for is the Judicial Center expansion. The Judicial Center expansion will connect to the existing Judicial Center. The new facility will be about 300,000 square feet, which will include 18 new courtrooms. The 120,000 square feet of existing courthouse will be renovated as part of the expansion project. Commissioning will also be required for the renovation of the existing building and the Central Energy Plant. |
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Construction updates
For more photographs and information about current construction projects, log on to www.lakecountyfl.gov, keyword: facilities.
Top: According to Chuck Creel, Facilities Development Division Director, construction on the new fire station is moving along very well. Bottom: The new exterior walls begin to take shape for the renovation and new construction project at the Health Department facility in Umatilla. |
www.lakecountyfl.gov