Pinellas County

General Services Building

Clearwater, Florida

This renovation project of the historic Optima cigar factory is in downtown Clearwater and represents an adaptive reuse turning it into a County office building. The building was designed to include administrative offices for seven (7) major countywide departments, large and small conference area facilities, and break rooms, locker rooms, shops and records and materials storage. The elevations included mural work by an artist 
commissioned by the City of Clearwater in a joint project with the County. The building was occupied during construction requiring scheduling of construction in five different phases. Due to the vintage nature of the building, several unforeseen structural conditions were encountered. The recommended solutions resolved the difficult conditions with no effect to the schedule while maintaining the budget.