The Johnson County Board of County Commissioners voted to include enhanced energy efficient and cost-conscious sustainability features beyond the project’s initial scope into plans for a new Health Services Building at 119th Street and Ridgeview Road in Olathe.

The new features align with the Board’s focus on a healthy and safe community through a lens of sustainability. The approved enhanced features will include:

• Water reclamation: Rainwater collected on the roof of the building will be diverted from the general stormwater system and into a large storage tank. This water will then be sent to toilets and urinals in the building, easing the demand on city water for flushing. The reclamation system has the potential to reclaim 2 million gallons of water a year.
• Rooftop solar panels: More than 43,000 square feet of solar panels will be installed on the roof. The solar energy collected will be converted into electrical energy for use in the building. The panels are expected to create a cost avoidance of $85,000 a year for energy not purchased from utility companies.

“By approving these enhancements now, we minimize the impact and maximize the cost-conscious energy efficiency this building will have on our organization, community and planet,” said Johnson County Board of County Commissioners Chairman Mike Kelly. “Not only will these measures pay for themselves, Johnson County has a nearly 20-year history of being a regional leader in utilizing environmentally conscious building practices, consistently positioning ourselves as a thoughtful steward of natural resources.”

The initial plans for the building included sustainability features to the site, systems and interiors. The two new features required the Board to approve a budget increase of $3.07 million to the cost of construction, bringing the new project cost to just over $116.5 million.

These enhancements received support from the Johnson County Sustainability Coalition, established to provide input to the Board on activities pertaining to environmental stewardship. The Coalition submitted a letter of support, advocating for early decisions in design and construction that would be the least costly and make the most impact in making this building more sustainable.

The Health Services Building will be the new home for the Johnson County Mental Health Center, the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment and Johnson County Aging and Human Services. Putting these health-related services under one roof provides opportunities for collaboration and shared space. In fact, designers of the project anticipate that 30% of the facility’s 140,000 square feet will be shared space.

Even without these new sustainability features, the Health Services Building was designed to be LEED-certified, a designation provided by the U.S. Green Building Council to mean “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.” LEED-certified buildings are widely recognized for their sustainable building practices.

Site preparation for the building, which will face 119th Street, will start this month. Construction is scheduled to be completed in October 2027.