Why is it too difficult to renovate the existing Civic Center to comply with the modern building code and Essential Services Building Act?
The Civic Center Building is a National Historic Landmark. While it has been structurally renovated to prevent loss of lives in the building in a major earthquake, it was not retrofitted to remain functioning after a major earthquake, as is required for an Emergency Operations Facility. Further retrofitting this building would entail the addition of structural members (beams, columns, brace frames, etc.) and technology (power backup units, modern equipment, etc.) that not only take up useable room, but also compromise the historic architectural integrity of the building. Also, the configuration and space constraints of the existing historic building limit the amount of modernization that can occur. Ultimately, this limitation hinders the effectiveness of relief efforts. In addition, retrofits of this nature tend to cost more per square foot than constructing a new building, and take longer to construct. The County would also incur additional costs of implementing a temporary Emergency
Related Questions
- Why is it too difficult to renovate the existing Civic Center to comply with the modern building code and Essential Services Building Act?
- Why don’t we renovate the existing bathrooms to bring them up to code instead of building new ones?
- What if an existing building does not comply with the 2006 ICC code family?
