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Substantial completion has been reached on a two-year project to provide a much-needed seismic retrofit and other upgrades to Washington County’s Charles D. Cameron Public Services Building.

The 30-year-old Hillsboro structure, home to the board of commissioners and multiple major departments, has suffered from sub-grade water intrusion issues from the outset. More recently, engineering studies revealed that the building’s structural frame and internal systems were not sufficient to withstand a major Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake.

In 2015 the county launched a plan to retrofit both the Cameron building and the nearby Washington County Law Enforcement Center, which houses the sheriff’s office, attorney’s office, and county jail. Construction began on both projects in early 2017 with JE Dunn Construction serving as construction manager/general contractor. 聽The project team also included SERA Architects and KPFF Consulting Engineers.

The Law Enforcement Center project was completed two weeks ahead of schedule, in September 2017, and the more extensive Cameron building received a temporary certificate of occupancy this past May. That milestone was even reached earlier than expected.

鈥淲e were two months early,鈥� said Bassam Khalifeh, Washington County’s capital improvements project manager. 鈥淲e were planning our moves for after July, but JE Dunn got done a little early.鈥�

The $30 million project is based around the seismic retrofit of both the north and south wings of the building, which together form the shape of the letter 鈥楾.’

Massive concrete shear walls were constructed around each corner of the two wings of the building, eight corner shear walls in all.

Then, steel drag struts and other connections were installed inside the exterior walls of the building to tie everything together. The retrofit greatly improved the lateral load bearing capability of the entire building, allowing it to reach the 鈥渋mmediate occupancy鈥� performance level in the event of a major earthquake.

鈥淚t means you have backup systems, and nothing will fall over your head,鈥� Khalifeh said. 鈥淎nd of course the building stays together, so we went above and beyond the life safety many buildings are built to, even with newer buildings.鈥�

The other major issue addressed by the project involved a groundwater mitigation system to fix a problem with recurring leaking in the basement level of the building’s north wing. Romtec Utilities was contracted to provide the four stormwater pump stations used to keep water out.

The installation of a remotely accessible building management system means that the building’s mechanical systems, fire alarms, security features, doors, lighting and more are all controlled and monitored remotely. According to Khalifeh, it’s one of the smartest buildings in Washington County.

鈥淚t talks to us,鈥� he said. 鈥淔rom the mechanical system to lighting system to the pump. It sends you messages on the different issues we’ve told the system to tell us about.鈥�

That includes the four large water pumps.

鈥淚f they get stopped and it’s not pumping it can burn up the pumps,鈥� Khalifeh said. 鈥淪o it will tell us if there is a problem, or if the pump is not working, we can go check it.鈥�

Work on the north wing of the building was completed a year ago and normal departmental functions restored. The south wing, however, will see the gradual return of employees over the course of the summer from their temporary relocation a block away. The project should be completely finished, including ongoing tenant improvements, by this fall. An open house is tentatively planned for September.