By Sara Strong
An engineer and architect study shows that the hospital building may cost more to remodel for public uses than the county would be willing to spend.
The study of the building was just what the doctor ordered — at a cost of $5,000 to the county — because any other party interested in the hospital building will now have a place to start when considering the building.
The Rock County Board of Commissioners Tuesday heard a presentation on the hospital, which is presumed to be vacated by Sioux Valley Hospitals and Health System if a new one is built.
The building would cost almost $3.8 million to convert to county uses, including a law enforcement center, Heartland Express, Southwestern Mental Health, Farm Service Agency, Land Management, Extension and National Resource Conservation Service.
None of these county offices have plans of moving, but for the purposes of a study, they were included as possible occupants of what is now Luverne Community Hospital.
If the process were to continue, issues of co-habitation among the various offices and specific space and efficiency needs would need to be addressed.
The amount of work done so far on the study is very preliminary.
The inadequate space of law enforcement, including the lack of holding cells, drove the county’s interest in exploring the hospital building.
The Board directed the County Building Committee to discuss the architect study further with Sioux Valley and the city of Luverne.
Although the County Board didn’t view the cost projections with much hope of going on with plans, it will share information from the study and try to work with any parties involved in a possible hospital move.
"I’m not interested in it," County Commissioner Ron Boyenga said. "I wasn’t in the beginning."
Reconstructive surgery
The hospital was built in 1955 with additions in the 1960s and 1990s.
The architect said the building was well-constructed and well-cared-for, but codes and regulations have changed even since the most recent addition. Converting the building to a broad-based county office space would require a massive overhaul.
The mechanical systems are outdated, for example, and the boilers would have to be replaced, for example.
"In terms of mechanics, we almost need to start over in this building," architect Steven Johnson said.
Air exchange guidelines would need to be followed and would require creative ways to maintain air quality. That’s considering there is no room between the ceiling and roof in many areas to add duct work.
The actual layout of the building includes load-bearing walls and corridors that can’t be changed without enormous cost.
That said, Johnson indicated the county offices mentioned could fit in the main floor, which is almost 29,000 square feet.
The cost estimate of $3.8 million assumes that work wouldn’t be started until 2005.
The building changes the architect could make allowed for a secure garage entrance for law enforcement with a booking room, locker rooms and a separate dispatching area that would be self contained near a public entrance.
The law enforcement area of the building would be secure from the other office spaces.
There was also room for two holding cells where prisoners could stay for eight hours.
Other office areas would have conference rooms and kitchenette and bathroom areas almost self-contained in their designated portions of the building.
The architect also estimated the cost of building a new building similar to the hospital at about $5 million in 2005.
Neither the remodeling estimate nor the new construction estimate count acquisition costs of the current building or new land.