Overview

Lone Star College (LSC) is a public community college system serving the Greater Houston, Texas area.

With more than 80,000 students enrolled each semester, ensuring that the campus's mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems operate at peak efficiency is essential. All upgrades and maintenance needed to align with the customer's preferred schedule, including work during student breaks to avoid disruptions to campus operations.

Our Approach

As the prime, direct-to-owner contractor, we managed the mechanical and electrical installations for the replacement of two chillers and two pumps, along with a complete re-piping of the chiller yard. Our responsibilities also included updating the electrical systems to support the new chillers and pumps, complete with the installation of variable frequency drives.

To meet the demands of this fast-paced project, we leveraged piping prefabrication to reduce labor costs and expedite completion. Given the accelerated timeline, prefabrication proved critical to staying on schedule. Working on an active campus meant scheduling the shutdown over the winter break while providing temporary cooling to accommodate a warmer-than-usual season.

Our proactive safety measures, including a tailored lift plan and adherence to our corporate safety program, ensured the project was completed without any recordable incidents.

Result

Completed in February 2025, the project significantly improved campus operations by replacing outdated, inefficient chillers with high-performance equipment. This upgrade delivered greater efficiency and enhanced reliability, ensuring smooth campus operations for the next 20 years. Additionally, the installation of new piping prepared the campus for future expansion, enabling the college to scale the chiller yard beyond its current capacity.

This project was completed by Brandt, a Southland Industries company.