Brunswick County presents $100 million plan for new EOC and health services building

Brunswick County officials on Nov. 3 received an engineering update on a design‑build project to replace aging Health & Human Services facilities and to add a modern emergency operations center.

Mister Pinnicks, the presenter, said schematic and design‑development are complete and that construction documents are under way. "The project is on track and on schedule," he said, describing a four‑story building of about 140,000 square feet that will house health services, DSS, veterans services, WIC and the EOC on the fourth floor.

Why it matters: county staff plan to move roughly 308 employees into the new building, consolidate aging facilities on the campus and provide a hardened EOC with dedicated data rooms and full backup power. The facility sits just outside the 500‑foot fall radius of a nearby tower and will include a larger stormwater pond, new parking and a revised walking trail.

Project schedule and procurement details came into focus during the update. Staff said the design‑builder is expected to provide a guaranteed maximum price in mid‑May; following a short county review, a notice to proceed could be issued in late May or early June. The project schedule that staff presented shows substantial completion targeted for January 2028 and final completion in February 2028.

Costs and funding: staff presented preliminary cost estimates that break the project into components. The construction portion is listed at about $57.8 million; soft costs (insurance, permits, allowances and similar items) are about $17.6 million; preconstruction and construction administration fees are about $5.5 million; and IT infrastructure plus furniture, fixtures and equipment are estimated at roughly $16.26 million. A $2.7 million contingency was shown on the estimate. Funding lines presented in the briefing — designated reserves, undesignated reserves and a limited‑obligation bond — were shown to total approximately $100 million.

Commissioners pressed staff on cost growth and timing. The chair warned that delays have driven costs higher, saying, "Every month this thing's been delayed, it goes up 1,000,000 to $2,000,000 every month." Mister Pinnicks acknowledged the concern, saying market factors could push the final price up or down until the GMP is locked in.

Security, resilience and technical capability were key discussion points. One commissioner asked whether the building design had layered access controls to prevent tailgating and unauthorized entry; staff answered that card access will be used for many doors and elevators, with escorted access when the public needs to enter secured zones. The county's IT team and operations services have been involved in planning the AV, cabling, door access systems and cameras, and staff said the EOC will include raised‑floor data rooms and dedicated HVAC redundancy for critical systems.

The generator and redundancy plan drew questions. Mister Pinnicks said the standby generator will be sited in a side parking area where upgraded high‑voltage vaults already exist; the generator will be elevated on a "belly tank" with required access and sized to run the building. Staff also said the building will not be tied to the campus microgrid but will include a hookup port for a trailer‑mounted generator as an emergency backup. Commissioners asked staff to investigate screening or a protective enclosure for the generator to shield it from flying debris.

Design tradeoffs and codes: staff noted the new building is being designed to the public‑safety building standard required by code (Category 4 building code for this jurisdiction), which is intended to keep the structure intact in storms anticipated for Brunswick County. One commissioner asked whether the county could instead build to a higher hurricane category; staff and a member of the design team clarified that the building code category and hurricane categories are different measures and that Category 4 building code is the highest public‑safety code designation in the state's scale.

Next steps: project staff will continue construction document work, refine cost estimates and plan a mid‑May GMP submission. If the county approves the GMP and issues a notice to proceed, staff said construction would follow soon afterward. No formal action or vote was required at the meeting; staff noted they will follow up on generator screening, finalize card‑access details and continue coordination with department heads and county IT.

Quotes from the meeting: "It's gonna be a beautiful building," Mister Pinnicks said while summarizing progress and staff input. Commissioner Cook, urging thorough department engagement and stronger hardening, said, "I really would like ... I wish it was a cat 5 rated."