Title
Receive a presentation on the East-West Wing Renovation Project.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Budget Committee receive a presentation on the East-West Wing Renovation Project.
SUMMARY:
Although the East-West Wing Renovation Project (Project) was a component of the overall Facilities Master Plan approved by the Board of Supervisors in August 2001, and construction documents were produced and finalized in 2006, the Project was not publicly bid. Project funding was redirected and the Project was put on hold. In October 2010, the remaining tenants of the East-West Wing Building (E/W) moved to their assigned locations in the North Wing of the Courthouse. Since that time the E/W has remained vacant. Funding issues and competing capital project priorities since 2009 prevented the Project from moving forward until now.
DISCUSSION:
After the E/W was vacated in 2010, various feasibility studies were conducted and considered for the Government Center Campus for implementing a master plan. Options for the E/W building ranged from keeping the building vacant, finding a joint partnership to lease and renovate the facility, to renovating the building for county use with the ultimate goal of removing the north lawn modular buildings. Renovating the building for county use was determined to be in the best interest of the county.
In 2009, the E/W was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, which required that a Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) be prepared. On May 12, 2015, the Board of Supervisors (BOS) certified the SEIR and on May 14, 2015, the required Notice of Determination was filed with the State.
In January 2013, the BOS approved the Fund 404 Financing Plan which included the Project. In September 2013, the Budget and Capital Improvement Committees supported moving forward with securing architectural programming and pre-design services to assist with determining how future tenants could be accommodated in the building. In 2014, architectural firm Wald, Ruhnke, and Dost (WRD) was hired to produce a design layout showing how the District Attorney, Law Library, Human Resources’ Learning & Development Center, and a Snack Shop could be accommodated in the E/W. Concurrent efforts were also underway for acquisition of Schilling Place. Once the decision to purchase Schilling Place was made, the Project was put on hold while the ramifications of the new acquisition were clarified.
On November 4, 2014, the BOS approved funding to finance the Facility Utilization Program (FUP) for master planning Schilling Place, the E/W, and the Monterey County Government Center Administration Building. FUP’s effort concluded that the Project is necessary for housing the District Attorney, and ultimately, removing the modular buildings from the Salinas Government Center campus. With the Resource Management Agency (RMA) as one of the major tenants moving to Schilling Place, FUP further established that the second floor of the Administration Building would be backfilled by the Human Resources Department, which includes the Learning & Development Center unit, and the Public Defender. A modification was required to WRD’s June 2014 design layout for the E/W to be concurrent (consistent) with FUP’s master planning. Tenants for the E/W include the District Attorney occupying all three floors in the West Wing and the second floor of the East Wing; a Snack Shop; Law Library; Grand Jury; auxiliary office for the Second District Supervisor; and some still unassigned space on the first floor of the East Wing.
The presentation (attached) provides proposed organizational diagrams, floor plans, and square-foot allocation per tenant relocating to the E/W.
On May 5, 2015, the BOS supported the Project and granted the Auditor-Controller the authority to execute documents to facilitate the issuance of Certificates of Participation (COP) to finance tenant improvements for the Project in the amount of $36 Million, which includes a construction estimate of $28.4M and all associated soft costs. The difference between the building’s fair market appraised value of $12 Million and the required Project Total funded through the COP, is an investment in the County’s historic landmark building.
The Project is scheduled to start in the first quarter of FY 2015-16, with completion anticipated in fall 2018. In a separate report, CIC’s support is being sought regarding issuance of two Job Order Contracting job orders estimated to exceed $1 Million for preliminary demolition work.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
RMA-Public Works continues to work closely with the County Administrative Office, Auditor-Controller, Board of Supervisors - District 2, District Attorney, the Office of the County Counsel, and Superior Court of California - Grand Jury to advance this project. This report was presented to the Capital Improvement Committee on August 21, 2015.
FINANCING0:
On July 7, 2015, the BOS adopted a five-year Capital Improvement Program financing plan, which includes the Project. Per the financing plan, the Project will be funded as approved by the BOS on July 28, 2015 with issuance of $16 Million in COP for Schilling Place Tenant Improvements and $36 Million in COP for this Project. The exact amount of annual debt service obligation cannot be determined until final pricing and documents are executed in the first quarter of FY 2015-16. Sufficient appropriations exist in the FY 2015-16 Adopted Budget for Fund 404-3000-8174-RMA015 for the anticipated costs to be incurred in FY15-16.
Prepared by: Don Searle, Architectural Services Manager, (831) 755-5061
Approved by: Robert K. Murdoch, P.E., Director of Public Works
Approved by: Carl P. Holm, AICP, Acting RMA Director
Dated: August 19, 2015
Attachment: East-West Wing Renovation Programming & Space Plans