$210M Miami-Dade County Project Will Upgrade Emergency Operations
Located in the City of Sweetwater, the 12-story facility will be fortified against Category 5 hurricanes with 8-in-thick exterior walls. Topped with an 80-ft-tall communications tower, the new structure will contain three levels of mixed-use office space, training center and nine-level parking garage, emergency response vehicles and other essential equipment.
Construction is underway on the new Miami-Dade County, Fla., Integrated Command and Communications Center (IC3), a $210-million facility that will provide a secure environment for continuous emergency operations during hurricanes, state or countywide mandatory evacuations, and other disruptive events. The design-build team led by Suffolk Construction Co. broke ground on the three-year project in early July, with Gensler as lead designer.
Located in the City of Sweetwater, approximately six miles from Miami International Airport, the 12-story facility will be fortified against Category 5 hurricanes with 8-in.-thick exterior walls. Topped with an 80-ft-tall communications tower, the new structure will contain three levels of mixed-use office space, a training center and a nine-level parking garage, emergency response vehicles and other essential equipment, plus approximately 150,000 sq ft of office and support spaces.
Suffolk will also add 109,000 sq ft of administrative and support space inside the existing Lightspeed building via construction of a new second floor, and construct a rooftop helipad. A protected pedestrian bridge will link the two facilities, while the 11-acre site’s perimeter will be upgraded with new security fencing and walls, security gates and cameras. The project is also pursuing LEED Silver certification, along with 600 EV charger locations and an on-site fueling station for critical fleets.
Along with providing continuity of local government services under emergency conditions, the IC3 will also allow the county to more efficiently follow the federal government’s “unified command” model for disaster response.
The Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners approved Suffolk’s $212-million contract for the IC3 in July 2023 under a bid waiver. A memorandum from Mayor Daniella Levine Cava explained that although the company had been selected to initiate negotiations in 2021 as part of the original competitive selection process, significant post-pandemic escalations in labor, equipment and materials cost necessitated the addition of a provision for future pricing adjustments to be incorporated into the design-build agreement.
The memorandum added that while the provision was not anticipated to impact the ranking of participating firms, as it was an industry-wide issue, it nevertheless represented “a material change to the advertised contract,” therefore requiring approval of the final Design-Build Agreement as a bid waiver. The Board’s approval also included an amendment to the agreement that shifted responsibility for purchasing builder’s risk insurance from Suffolk to the County, resulting in $2 million in cost savings.
Under a separate contract, Poole & Kent Company of Florida was awarded a $31-million contract to harden the existing Lightspeed Building, including measures to protect critical infrastructure from chronic water intrusion. The project will also upgrade the building’s mechanical systems to a modern more resilient, and efficient chilled water system that will also serve the new IC3.
