The following is a press release from an organization unaffiliated with Voice of OC. The views expressed here are not those of Voice of OC.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 28, 2017
Contact: Carrie Braun
Public Information Manager
(714) 834-7218-o
(714) 788-8060-c
County Begins Demolition of Building 16, First Step in Civic Center Facilities Master Plan
Santa Ana, CA (February 28, 2017) — Demolition began yesterday as an entire wall of the County of Orange’s Building 16 was knocked down, marking the beginning of exterior demolition and a historic milestone in the start of the County’s Civic Center Facilities Master Plan first phase.
Originally named the “Welfare Building,” Building 16 was completed in 1955 at a cost of about $785,000 and was the first Civic Center structure completed. Now, it’s the first structure to be demolished as the County moves forward with its master plan.
Board of Supervisors Vice-Chair Andrew Do, First District Supervisor, Supervisor Shawn Nelson, Fourth District and Supervisor Lisa Bartlett, Fifth District, were present to commemorate the demolition’s significance.
“This is an important step in constructing and renovating buildings throughout the existing Civic Center area to address aging infrastructure and improve the delivery of County services to our residents,” said Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Michelle Steel, Second District Supervisor.
“We are operating with a new way of thinking,” Vice-Chair Andrew Do, First District Supervisor said. “We are reevaluating how we use County facilities, to make sure we are using our facilities and our taxpayers’ dollar efficiently and effectively.”
According to the County of Orange Civic Center Facilities Master Plan approved by the Board of Supervisors in February 2015, a new six-story office building will be built on the site of the existing Building 16.
“This new building will provide much needed public benefit,” said Supervisor Todd Spitzer, Third District. “Rather than driving from place to place around Santa Ana to conduct business with multiple County agencies, the new building will have a one-stop public counter that will bring 13 different County agencies together.”
Building 16 was one of two twin gateway buildings located at the west entrance to the County-owned block of the Civic Center. It is a three-story structure, with approximately 36,000 square feet of office space and has been unoccupied since the mid-1980s.
“This project is necessary and long overdue,” said Supervisor Shawn Nelson, Fourth District. “The County needs to utilize the space we have to serve the public as efficiently as possible.”
The project will be delivered by a Public Private Partnership (P3) between the County and the Griffin Structures team utilizing tax-exempt financing with a long-term lease with the County, which will then own the facility at the end of the lease term.
“P3’s are an innovative way to allow both the public and private sectors to do what they do best, increasing cost-effectiveness and making better use of County resources,” said Supervisor Lisa Bartlett, Fifth District.
Approximate construction and affiliated costs for the new Building 16 are estimated at $166 million and the building is estimated to be ready for occupancy in 2020.
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