Design of public works development gets underway

by Judy Stringer

July 16 city council meeting

As part of its consent agenda, Hudson City Council approved a resolution to hire architectural firm Brandstetter Carroll Inc. for the design of a new public works and public power complex on a 30-acre Hudson Drive site. 

City Manager Thom Sheridan told council at its July 9 workshop that an internal committee reviewed seven proposals, and after interviewing their top three picks, unanimously selected BCI.

“We felt that they were the most qualified,” Sheridan said, adding that BCI designed renovations for the City Hall facility on Terex Road. “They did, I thought, a bang-up job, and they weren’t kind of nickel and diming us all the way down the road.”

The resolution estimates total project costs at $1.8 million. BCI’s proposal suggests construction could begin in early 2025, with the facility completed by mid-2026.

The public works building would be roughly 75,000 square feet to include administrative offices, storage, a service garage and a heated garage with truck and vehicle wash bays, according to the BCI proposal. An additional 30,000 square feet of covered but unheated area will house “cold garage” and “cold storage” areas.

“A lot of [public service] places are using cold storage with the tarped domes. … And, the savings on that per square foot is tremendous,” Sheridan explained.

Employee parking, a service yard and a fuel island are among other features of the public works portion of the project. A separate 43,000-square-foot building for Hudson Public Power is planned for the same site.

Sheridan said the public power building was bid out separately per earlier discussions about removing it if necessary. He and his team have since decided they’d like to move forward with both buildings, Sheridan said. Currently, public works is located at a leased space on Georgetown Road, and public power operates at a site on Hudson Gate Drive.

“The best thing for us to be doing on this site,” Sheridan said at the July 9 workshop, “is to get everybody over there.”

The consent agenda also included a resolution that will allow the Ohio Rail Development Commission to apply for a federal grant on behalf of Hudson to help cover the cost of building an overpass at the Hines Hill Road railroad tracks. If awarded, the grant would provide $8.5 million towards the total estimated $14.3-million project. The Ohio Rail Development Commission has already agreed to grant $2.9 million from its coffers for the project. 

Under another consent item, the city will pay Lake Forest Country Club $3,000 for a 15-foot strip of land along the north side of Boston Mills Road. The parcel will be used for a pedestrian bridge as part of a multi-purpose trail project. ∞