IREC SYSTEM RESTART AND RESTORATION
The Independence Regional Ennovation Center (IREC) intended to become the Kansas City area’s first viable small business and laboratory incubator facility, and place where entrepreneurs and innovations converge to develop new and exciting high tech businesses. IREC will become the first business incubator in the Kansas City area because it is utilizing the buildings on the former site of the Independence Regional Health Center (IRHC), a hospital. This former 500,000+ square foot hospital facility is a combination of multiple buildings with over 10 different floor levels, constructed over nearly 100 years. The facility contains surgery clean rooms, specialty gases, and other amenities that can easily be repurposed to meet the needs of newly started high tech businesses.
Initial projects are focused on the returning of the facility to operating condition. These initial packages include the following:
- Demolition of existing central core, including an 8-story tower and a central steam plant. Extensive mold and asbestos abatement was required in this portion of the site.
- Design of an 8000 MBH hot water boiler plant, with future expansion to 12000 MBH. Heating hot water will utilize existing abandoned chilled water piping for distribution to existing air handling units.
- Demolition of existing absorption chillers and installation of a new 175 ton air cooled chiller. The new chiller is sized to meet initial cooling requirements for the facility, and will be used to supplement existing centrifugal chiller systems when they are fully restored.
- Restoration of several large air handling units, requiring removal of existing steam coils, installation of hot water coils, coil drip pan repair, and filter frame replacement. Demolition of existing domestic hot water system and installation of new electric hot water system.
- Fire protection system expansion to cover all occupied areas.
- Installation of an 800 KW emergency generator and restoration of electrical distribution system.
- Tenant finish for temporary public library location, including fire protection expansion, lighting modifications, and mechanical system restoration.
- 2nd floor conversion of surgery suites to primary wet-lab incubator and tenant space, including common equipment such as autoclaves, deionized water, cold room storage, and cleaning equipment.
