Photo by George Lauby The 'Recovery Act' sign in front of the federal building.

Work began nearly two months ago to construct immigrations and customs offices inside the Federal Building downtown.

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A sign went up Tuesday in front of the post office, announcing the federal stimulus project to the public.

“Recovery in progress,” the sign says. “Working for you; working for North Platte.”

Remodeling will continue until the fall of 2011, according to Charlie Cook of the U.S. General Services Administration.

Walls and floors have been torn out inside and new office walls are going up. The $5.8 million project includes new cells and offices, where illegal immigrants will be processed and hold them for a few hours until they are taken to jails elsewhere in Nebraska. None of the prisoners will be held overnight in North Platte, Cook said.

Currently illegal immigrants are held in county jails in Phelps and Hall counties. Cook did not rule out the possibility that those prisoners would be held in the Lincoln County Jail after it is constructed.

So far, workers have torn out interior walls on the south side of the building’s first floor just off the former loading dock for the postal service. Postal trucks now come and go at the Postal Service distribution center on the east side of town.

In coming months, a sally-port for delivery vehicles could be added, according to plans when the project was announced. Also, the utilities for the building will be renovated – new water and electric lines, new heating and air conditioning units, all controlled for maximum energy efficiency.

A little cheaper

Since the bid was announced, nearly $400,000 has been cut from the cost. At first, $1.2 million was allocated for architecture fees, with an overall cost of $6.2 million, according to the bid prospectus.

Cook said the project budget now contains just $685,000 for design and evaluations.

Other offices

Besides the post office, the building currently contains a Social Security Administration office, a U.S. District Court room and an Internal Revenue Office. Those offices will remain open throughout construction, Cook said.

Currently, the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Agency keeps detainees in a former K-Mart building on Eugene Ave. south of Interstate-80. ICE leased part of that building 11 years ago from owner Mark Wilkinson.

The stimulus act was designed to make federal buildings more energy efficient, to combine federal offices and help downtown urban areas if possible, so the decision was made to move the ICE holding cells.

Boyd Jones Construction of Omaha is the construction manager and general contractor.

Also, interior walls will be painted and new carpet, floor base and floor tiles will be installed. Stairs will be covered. Basement water damage will be repaired. Plans call for sidewalks to be replaced, although most of the walks were replaced in the last two years.

Plans also call for new exterior landscaping. Asbestos will be abated and windows replaced, according to the federal business opportunities website.