Valley Presbyterian Hospital Central Utility Plant

Coffman is providing structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering services for the design of a new approximately 10,000 sf central utility plant (CUP) to serve the new hospital tower and other existing hospital buildings on the Valley Presbyterian Hospital campus in Van Nuys, California. Systems include new chillers, boilers, hot water heating, cooling towers, emergency generators, medium voltage distribution, and substations. The primary challenge of this project is space limitation given the already congested campus, starting with the area required by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) for the new equipment that will service the Central Plant systems.

Prior to design, Coffman also performed the high-level Master Plan study of the campus and determined major areas of the new central plant that will service the new hospital tower, new above-grade parking structure, and back-feed the current compliant buildings of the campus that will stay functional beyond 2030. As part of the Master Plan effort, the electrical scope involved assessing the remaining life in the existing switchgear, calculating the normal and emergency loads of the parking structure and new tower, calculating the required capacities, recommending new normal and emergency power equipment, preparing single line diagrams, and developing the schematic design for the new central plant and the new tower. The mechanical scope of the Master Plan involved performing a conditions assessment of the existing equipment and devices, comparing existing capacities and future estimated demands, and recommending upgrades as necessary.