Adam RollinsThis story was originally published in the Government Contracting Pipeline newsletter from Strategic Partnerships, Inc. To have the latest government contracting news stories from across the country delivered straight to your inbox, click here to subscribe.
The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) in Florida will spend $23.4 million to rebuild and modernize a maintenance facility. Construction is anticipated to begin in April 2026.
The authority’s 45-year-old Heavy Maintenance Facility, originally built as a trucking depot, was converted to provide transit service for the region. Since then, the structure has proven inadequate for the community’s needs, frequently suffering from flooding, roof leaks, cramped spaces and limited capacity for vehicle maintenance.
The project will completely renovate and modernize the facility, expanding both its available space and operational capacity for a larger fleet and service. HART plans to use the investment to complete the first part of a five-phase plan, including buying 5.5 acres of land for development.
The first phase will prioritize building infrastructure, including a heavy maintenance building, fuel canopy and service building. The authority will build the first of three detention ponds during this section as well as additional parking areas. Phase two will include the demolition of existing structures.
The third phase of the project will feature the construction of the remaining two detention ponds, an admin building and a parking garage. After demolishing the current administration building in phase four, the fifth and final part of the project will prioritize building bus and van parking with accompanying solar canopies to support renewable energy.
Other aspects of the project will include building a transit vehicle service lane and security fencing around the perimeter of the facility. Once completed, the Heavy Maintenance Facility will support a fleet of 250 compressed natural gas (CNG) buses. HART anticipates future expansion to incorporate additional CNG and hydrogen fueled low-emission vehicles into the fleet.
Photo courtesy Wslupecki, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
