Modern Electric To Replace Facility $2 Million Shop/Office Project Planned

Modern Electric Water Co. is making plans for a new $2 million facility to replace its existing office and shop.

Final board approval of the plans is expected next month, said Mike Baker, the non-profit utility’s general manager.

“We hope to be in it by September,” he said.

The building will include an 80-seat conference room that will be available for use by clubs and community groups. It will be located at 905 N. Pines, just adjacent to Modern’s current shop and office.

Modern has been planning and saving for the new building for about three years, Baker said. The utility, which has grown to almost 10,000 residential and business customers in the Central Valley area, has outgrown its present facilities.

The new building will provide 13,000 square feet of space - double what Modern Electric has now.

The construction project will not lead to a rate increase, Baker said.

The new one-story building will be more customer-friendly, with a larger lobby and a play area for children. It will allow all Modern Electric employees to work in the same building, and will have space leftover for additional growth.

Construction is expected to start in the spring. The existing shop and office building will be demolished once the new building is completed.

Modern Electric serves the area roughly bounded by Interstate 90 on the north, 32nd Avenue on the south, Argonne Road on the west and McDonald Road on the east.

The utility was founded in 1905.