Commission approves Riverbend energy contract to modernize aging HVAC and cut operating costs

The State Building Commission approved an energy‑saving performance contract (ESPC) for the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution (RMSI) in Nashville to modernize aging HVAC and mechanical infrastructure.

"This energy saving performance contract project for our Riverbend Maximum Security Institution campus here in Nashville ... has identified opportunities to reduce energy and operations cost by more than 1,000,000 annually," Assistant Commissioner Bobby Strada told the commission. Strada said much of RMSI’s original HVAC and mechanical equipment—installed when the facility was constructed in 1988—has exceeded its designed service life and is now in critical condition.

Strada described the project as intended to modernize infrastructure, eliminate a significant portion of deferred maintenance, and transition operations from reactive to proactive facility management; he characterized the project as financially self‑sustaining because of identified energy and operations savings. A commissioner moved and the motion was seconded; with no discussion the commission approved the project by voice vote.

The transcript records the approval by voice; no roll‑call tally was recorded. The department and its energy services contractor, Naresco, will proceed with project implementation steps detailed in the materials provided to the commission.