South Central
Plant

PROJECT DETAILS

To ensure reliable thermal utility service for downtown Harris County facilities, Johnston was engaged to renovate and modernize the South-Central Plant. The facility had experienced a growing number of mechanical failures due to aging infrastructure and equipment that had reached or exceeded its useful life. As a central hub that supports county operations serving more than 4.6 million residents, the plant’s performance and reliability are critical.

The 16,415-square-foot facility houses the mechanical, hydronic, electrical, and ancillary systems that generate chilled water and steam for a wide array of public service buildings. The renovation aims to increase efficiency, capacity, and service continuity for the next two decades. The scope of work includes the addition of a second-floor penthouse to house upgraded electrical gear, structural modifications to accommodate new cooling towers, and reconfiguration of the existing chiller bays.

Once complete, the renovated plant will support four new 2,000-ton chillers with integral variable frequency drives, along with new pumps, piping, controls, and support equipment—providing a total of 8,000 tons of cooling capacity. Infrastructure will also be in place for the future addition of a fifth 2,000-ton chiller.

Although originally scheduled as a multi-phase project to keep the plant partially operational, our team developed a strategic plan to implement a temporary chiller plant to fully support existing demand. This solution allowed the existing plant to be taken offline completely, reducing the construction timeline by 12 months and cutting nearly $10 million in construction costs.