West Windsor’s senior center expansion project will have to be done in two phases, officials announced during the December 10 council meeting.##M:[more]##
The project’s architect had estimated a construction cost of $1.5 million, but the lowest bid in August, submitted by BurMarc Construction, was $2.5 million. Two other bids were also submitted on in August — $2.97 million from Structural Concepts, and $3.65 million from MJJ Construction. Township Council voted to reject all bids in September. Officials had re-bid the proposal with bids opening November 29, in hopes the bids will come back within budget.
Even with 11 bids received on November 29, none of them fell within the $1.5 million, architect Mike Winkler told the council. The lowest bid was for $2,”397,”750, and the highest was $3,”320,”000, Winkler told the council. The average of the remaining bids was $2.6 million, he added.
Now, officials will be working on designing phase 1 of the project, which will include renovations to the existing building, five additional classroom or meeting rooms, bathrooms, and more storage space, Business Administrator Chris Marion said. Winkler estimated that work alone should cost around $780,”000, or 60 percent of the budget, with money left over for future work on phase 2. He emphasized, though, that since the phase 1 work hadn’t been entirely designed yet, the number would be new.
Phase 2, which would probably not come to fruition until at least 2010, would include construction of a larger activity room, additional classrooms, and additional storage space and basement.
There has already been some initial design and up-front work on phase 1, Winkler said. “As far as scheduling goes, you’re looking at a mid- to end-February bid date for the drawings,” he said. The bid process should take a month, he added.
Business Administrator Chris Marion said the real need at the senior center was the additional classroom space. “We’re really trying to take a responsible approach to this, understanding what the budget is and understanding the needs of the seniors,” he said. “Right now, our primary focus is on increased space for senior programs and senior-related programming.”
