After several years of planning and 12 months of construction, the new McLeod Cooperative Power combined facility is a reality. The demand for a new facility was driven by the need for a new garage and warehouse.
The new facility is approximately 63,000 square feet, comprised of 44,000 square feet of warehouse and vehicle storage, 12,000 square feet of office and meeting space, and 7,000 square feet of mezzanine storage and mechanical space. The facility also has 42,750 square feet of fenced area for outside storage of materials.
“For the past several decades, the Co-op has been finding creative ways to fit 21st-century equipment and trucks into a small 1950s era garage,” said Board President Doug Kirtz. “Our priority has always been reliability and outage restoration. Bringing our entire team together by combining our pole yard, covered storage, and office space make the most sense. Plus for the first time in 85 years, our building will receive power from our own lines.”
Located in Glencoe’s East Industrial Park, our new headquarters remains in a central location within our service territory, which is a key factor in outage response times. The sturdy, pre-cast concrete structure and emergency generator provide a safe and reliable space to operate, especially during large storms when power outages are most common.
Our new building meets all of the Cooperative’s current needs for expansion, provides efficiencies by housing all of our operations under one roof, and creates room for future growth. Because the Cooperative has done a number of things to minimize rate impacts, set aside money during good times, and will apply the proceeds from the sale of our existing buildings to offset construction costs, there will be no immediate impact on rates due to the new facility.
“This new space has been given a vast amount of thought and due process over the years while taking into consideration the needs of our members and staff,” said Kirtz. “We built the facility to be functional, positioned for the future, and also incorporated a number of energy efficiency measures.”
Ultimately the new facility gives us space to gain efficiencies and provide better service to our member-owners. By resourcefully consolidating all of our resources in one facility, McLeod Co-op will be able to improve response times in emergency situations and serve the community for years to come.