Capital Projects

The Capital Project Division of the Department of Public Works provides project management and real property acquisition and management services for County and public agencies. Current projects Include:

• Santa Cruz County Behavioral Health Office Building –
  Watsonville, for the Health Services Agency
  1430 Freedom Boulevard, Watsonville

  

  A new Behavioral Health Office Building will replace older existing facilities at this location and, at approximately 13,000 square feet, will triple the number of counselling spaces with separate areas for adults and juveniles.
  
  These services are currently housed on the same campus in an old courthouse building which is not well suited to the needs of clients or staff.  The Health Services Agency has received a $2.5 million grant from the Central California Alliance for Health for design and construction.  Project completion is planned for 2019.

• Measure S Library Projects
  
    http://www.santacruzpl.org/measure_s/

  On June 7, 2016, voters approved Measure S for Libraries. With approval of this measure, the Santa Cruz Public Libraries Facilities Financing Authority is authorized to issue up to $62 million in bonds to improve community libraries in Santa Cruz County.
  
  Six projects and $34 million in funding have been identified for the branches in the unincorporated areas of Santa Cruz County.  Design and construction of these projects will be managed by the County of Santa Cruz in collaboration with Santa Cruz Public Libraries and the community.
   
  • Aptos Branch Library
    7695 Soquel Drive, Aptos
    
    A major renovation and possible expansion to address accessibility, upgrade building systems and enhance the user experience are planned. The Design Build method of project delivery is planned. The first step in the Design-Build process is to prepare Criteria Documents and is currently underway. The Criteria Documents are being prepared with input from the community and describe the building and library needs. This will be used as the basis of design when selecting the Design-Build team, which will include an Architect and building contractor. The Design-Build team will prepare the design, including additional community engagement, and construct the project. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2020.
  • Boulder Creek Library
    13390 W. Park Avenue, Boulder Creek
    Boulder Creek Library Community Meeting Presentation
    
    The Boulder Creek Library is an inviting, and well-used neighborhood branch servicing the northern San Lorenzo Valley. The Boulder Creek Library Project is primarily focused on an interior building remodel including: improvements to the central reading room to maximize the existing footprint and improve function and use of the space; renovation of the restrooms to address accessibility requirements; new carpet and paint; upgrades to the community meeting room; some updates to the building’s infrastructure; improved site lighting; an updated septic system; and new central reading room furniture. Construction will require branch closure and is planned to begin in early 2020 following opening of the new Felton Branch Library and take approximately six months to complete.
  • Felton Branch Library
    Gushee Street Felton
    Felton Branch Library Community Meeting Presentation
    
    Construction is underway for a new 21st Century library in Felton. Currently library services are housed in 1250 square foot Belardi Memorial Building, a church built in 1893. A new approximately 9,000 square foot library will include a children’ area, teen area, reading room, meeting/program space, with energy efficient construction to be built on a 2-acre County owned parcel on Gushee Street adjacent to the Felton Post Office. Opening is planned for early 2020.
     
    
    
  • La Selva Beach Branch Library
    316 Estrella Avenue, La Selva Beach
    La Selva Beach Library Community Meeting Presentation
    
    The La Selva Beach Library is a small, inviting, and well-used neighborhood branch at the heart of the La Selva Beach Community. The project scope is focused on an interior building remodel including: updates to the building’s infrastructure and building envelope; improvements to the building’s interior to maximize the existing footprint and improve function and use the space for children’s and adult programming; new finishes; new furniture and public art. Improvements to the patio are also planned. Construction is planned to begin in Fall 2019 and will take approximately six months to complete. 
  • Live Oak Branch Library
    2380 Portola Drive, Santa Cruz
    
    The 13,500 square foot Live Oak Library opened in 2006. Some updates to the Children’s Youth and Teen areas are planned, as well as improved signage and other maintenance needs.   
  • Live Oak Library Branch Annex
    979 17th Avenue, Santa Cruz
    Live Oak Branch Annex Community Meeting Presentation English / Spanish
    Community Meeting #4 5/28/19 7:00 - 8:00 pm
    
    The Live Oak Library Annex at Simpkins Swim and Community Center offers the opportunity to expand access to library programming and life-long learning in the heart of Live Oak, co-located at the Simkins Swim and Community Center.
    
    The vision for the Live Oak Library Annex is to create a community gathering and learning hub. A series of community meetings have helped shape the plans for the Annex which is proposed to include flexible program space, a classroom, study rooms, public computers and laptop bar, and a new plaza integrated into Simpkins Swim and Community Center. These improvements will support a wide range of library and enrichment programs for the benefit of the community for years to come. The project is in the planning stages with construction anticipated in 2021.

• Juvenile Hall Projects

  The Probation Department has been awarded nearly $11 million in combined state funding for two projects at the Juvenile Hall facility in Felton by the Board of State and Community Corrections under the two Senate Bill 81 Local Youthful Offender Rehabilitative Facility Construction Financing Programs. A new 6,850 sq. ft. juvenile multi-purpose recreation building will provide indoor large muscle exercise recreation and programming space at Juvenile Hall.
  
  The Seed-to-Table Project will provide new juvenile educational and vocational rehabilitative programming opportunities with the development of outdoor garden and greenhouse horticulture space tied to a state of the art culinary program in renovated kitchen and dining facilities.
  
  This project also includes major building renovation and upgrades to the aged Juvenile Hall facility built in 1968, such as structural, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, accessibility, security, and fire and life safety system improvements.

• Santa Cruz County Long-Range Facilities and
  Campus Master Plans
  
  Santa Cruz County Facilities Planning Opportunities and Challenges Study

  The County of Santa Cruz recently adopted a Strategic Plan that establishes a new vision, mission, values, focus areas and goals to guide the County through 2024. The County is now prepared to create a Long-Range Facilities Plan and master plans for the County Government Center and Freedom Boulevard campuses to support and implement Strategic Plan goals and provide policy direction for capital facility development over the next 15 years. A pre-planning study called the Santa Cruz County Facilities Planning Opportunities and Challenges Study has been prepared to collect relevant information and lay the groundwork for these efforts. Although there are challenges to consider, the study concludes that the County is uniquely positioned to embark on comprehensive capital facility planning that will maximize the use and value of our valuable capital assets, enhance the service delivery experience, and address community needs and values. The next step is to assess County facility and service delivery needs and to prepare a long-range facilities strategic vision, guiding principles and policies for County facilities followed by preparation of campus master plans and environmental review for the Freedom Boulevard campus in Watsonville, and the County Government Center in Santa Cruz. This work is anticipated to begin in late summer 2019 and take up to 24 months to complete.