Decisions about JEA’s aging Downtown headquarters began in earnest Tuesday.
Proposals were accepted from three firms seeking a contract to provide the public utility advice about options for staying and rehabbing or moving to build a new home.
Those accepted proposals came from real estate investment management company Jones Lang LaSalle and two architectural firms, Pond & Co. and TTV Architects.
The public utility’s board of directors in August approved spending up to $1 million for consulting fees to determine whether to demolish the Downtown buildings along Church Street and rebuild or to relocate the administrative offices and customer service center.
The board voted to request proposals for a study of all options after it determined the buildings need an estimated $40 million in major repairs and infrastructure replacement. The building is more than 50 years old.
Systems that need to be replaced include elevators, plumbing, electrical, heating and air conditioning. In addition, the basement — where the building’s backup generator is located — often floods when it rains.
One option is to demolish the facilities and build replacements more suited to JEA’s current needs. It also could construct a new building at another site for its 800 employees who work Downtown.
As the proposals were opened, the Finance Department on the 14th floor of the 19-story tower building continues undergoing a $400,000 improvement project including demolition and new office furniture.
JEA spokeswoman Judi Spann said the project was in the works before the board decided to explore options other than renovating the entire building.
It’s only the second major renovation since JEA purchased the buildings in 1982 from Charter Oil Co. The other was remodeling part of the customer service center to provide a procurement office where bid openings and proposals can be viewed by potential vendors.
Building maintenance is performed on an as-needed basis and no major system replacements are planned at this time, said Spann.
The three proposals will be evaluated by the utility’s Awards Committee, which is scheduled to announce the firm selected at a public meeting Oct. 28. Contract negotiations are projected to be complete no sooner than Nov. 5.
After the contract is signed, it will be at least 60 days before the results of the study will be presented to the board, which will make the final decision concerning what path to pursue.
Spann said the timeline for resolution of the question about the future of the Downtown headquarters will depend on the results of the study and the option eventually selected by the board.
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