Q&A WITH ANDREW KALNOW
Question: Will the study answer all of the important questions concerning the East Tower as a joint justice center (JJC)?
Answer: The study of the East Tower, commissioned by the SIEDC, is planned for release on or about January 28, 2015. As stated previously, I suspect that some but not all questions will be answered by the study. The information and recommendations in studies typically need to be further analyzed and discussed in the appropriate context of objectives and related issues.
My guess is that the study will be conclusive with regard to the more factual questions, such as: structural soundness (yes, very sound), and feasibility as a building satisfying justice facility floor plan and safety needs, (yes, various design footprints are feasible in an expanded East Tower facility with an integrated addition).
● I believe it will be inconclusive with regard to cost, and will need further analysis.
· The problem is that the study was commissioned with a narrow scope to only evaluate a 54,000 total floor plan justice center. Evidently this was chosen because the sum of the square footage of the two buildings proposed by the NCOR-cogs study totaled 54,000.
● This does not really compare costs on an apple-to-apple basis, because:
· The 2-building JJC complex proposed for location on the town Green will duplicate many things that a single building plan at the East Tower will not need.
· The East Tower does not need 54,000 square feet as a JJC, because it does not need to have the duplicative facilities of the proposed 2-building JJC complex on the town Green. List of duplicated facilities:
- two sets of main hallways;
- two sets of elevator banks;
- two sets of stairways;
- two sets of restrooms on each floor of the two buildings
- two sets of HVAC systems
he above list of duplicated facilities is why there is 54,000 square feet in total for the 2-building JJC complex on the town Green.
● Again, the East Tower as a JJC facility does not need to have 54,000 square feet. As in the case of many studies, there will need to be more work to properly analyze the initial findings.