Q COSTA RICA — After several months of analysis, the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) — State power and telecom utility — decided to demolish the iconic Jorge Manuel Dengo Obregón building, located in La Sabana Norte.
In its place, a new, more modern 21-story building will be constructed on the same site, with a capacity for 1,100 people and a maximum area of approximately 40,000 square meters. The new building is expected to cost US$100 million dollars.
The current facilities will be demolished, repurposed, and reused, ICE stated, without providing further details other than sharing a couple of images of what the new building might look like.
The estimated cost of the renovated building was not disclosed.
“ICE deserves a modern building, with sustainable and cutting-edge technology, security appropriate to Costa Rican standards, and that meets all the needs of our staff. This is a strategic decision that will benefit employees, customers, and the country,” explained Marco Acuña, president of Grupo ICE.
ICE’s decision is due to the fact that the current building presents structural hazards to workers.
“This building has serious problems. The day of the earthquake, not long ago, I thanked God I wasn’t on the 15th or 13th floor. I know there are people who still want to be there. I invite them to be there; but I don’t recommend it; I certainly don’t. And the reason we’re here is because this is like a farewell to that building, because that building won’t be there anymore, because for the future, just as we all have to renew ourselves … I want to show you a future for the ICE building in the next 50 years,” Acuña said.
Acuña clarified that the characteristics of the project are not yet defined, as the details must be established in a project that will later be submitted for approval.