The new chiller plant, located in Tampa’s historic Ybor City, has a 3,400-ton maximum capacity and includes Trane electric-driven centrifugal chillers, pumps, cooling towers, and accessories.
Rather than invest in expensive equipment, Ybor businesses can now buy and pump in chilled water from the central plant to cool their facilities.
Nationally, educational campuses, government facilities, and commercial buildings save on upfront capital equipment purchase, installation, and maintenance costs associated with on-site facility cooling systems.
The Players
TECO/BGA Ltd. provided the capital, infrastructure planning, plant and piping design, and construction management for the $3.5 million cooling plant. The limited partnership will own and operate the facility.BGA led a team of engineers and architects charged with designing a chiller plant facility that would complement the district’s rich Cuban heritage.
Upholding the authentic architectural integrity of Ybor City, the building is covered with a brick-and-stone facade that blends with the area’s surrounding structures.
Now, Hillsborough Community College, the cooling facility’s anchor tenant, will use chilled water from the plant to air condition three buildings on the growing college campus.
It was initially estimated the college will save nearly $630,000 in capital equipment and refurbishment costs by using the district cooling plant.
Agreements are in discussion with other potential tenants in the Ybor City area, which is undergoing significant redevelopment and revitalization.
The new, 95-room Hilton Garden Inn, the district’s only hotel, was the most recent tenant to sign on for service from the cooling facility.
For more than 12 years, BGA has designed and implemented energy conservation initiatives for hundreds of commercial, institutional, and governmental facilities across the Southeast.
Money-saving projects have been completed for the U.S. Postal Service, University of South Florida and Florida’s Department of Corrections.
