NEW- New Hydro building a go
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Updated: July 09, 2009 10:32 PM
Construction of the new BC Hydro building in Port Alberni is slated to start this fall, a company spokesperson said.
According BC Hydro community relations manager Ted Olynyk, the city granted the necessary building permits. Construction will start this fall, and is scheduled to finish in late 2010.
The new facility will be located at 4707 Tebo Ave., and will be built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) guidelines, he said.
“Port Alberni welcomes this facility that promises to be neighborhood-friendly, functional and sustainable,” Mayor Ken McRae said. “BC Hydro is again showing us the way by supporting and encouraging energy conservation.”
The existing faciltiy is a 4,450 square metre (14,600 square foot), 40 year-old building located at the foot of Wallace Street, and situated within the demarcated tsunami impact zone.
The new 6,705 square metre (22,000 square ft.) building, however, is located outside the tsunami zone and will meet current and future safety, operational and staffing needs, Olynyk said. It has been designed to “post disaster” seismic standards in accordance with the latest BC Building Code, and can operate as an emergency operations centre when required.
“This new facility will improve our ability to service our customers and respond to outages and emergencies,” Olynyk said. “The office will lead by example in terms of energy efficiency and sustainable design.
BC Hydro serves over 16,000 residential and business customers from Port Alberni to Tofino and Ucluelet.
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