SUBJECT/RECOMMENDATION:
Title
Approve Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) 2, Amendment 2 to the Agreement with Ajax Building Company, LLC, of Midway, FL, for construction of the New City Hall project (22-0019-EN), in the amount of $22,531,075.00, including Alternate 1, increasing the purchase order from $7,676,799.00 to $30,207,874.00, pursuant to Request for Qualifications 59-23 and authorize the appropriate officials to execute same.
Body
SUMMARY:
Ajax was selected via RFQ 59-23. December 19, 2023, Council approved an agreement and $369,965.00 pre-construction phase proposal to Ajax with $269,360.00 funded by the City Hall project and the remainder funded by the MSB project. February 15, 2024, Council approved GMP 1 for $7,407,439.00 for City Hall that included funds for early procurement of equipment, and site and foundation work. Early equipment purchases included air handler and chiller units, elevators, generator, electrical panels and switch gear, a significant cost savings strategy, locking in pricing prior to expected cost increases as well as mitigating schedule impacts due to long lead time items. Site and foundation work will commence in October.
GMP 2 includes the remainder of the work to construct a new City Hall. The project team, including the Owner’s Rep, Broaddus, Wannemacher Jensen Architects (WJA), the CMAR, Ajax, and city staff and stakeholders, have diligently worked through design plans to ensure the project meets City operational and customer service needs while remaining in budget. Broaddus and Ajax provided detailed cost estimates at numerous stages of design with WJA and Broaddus reviewing Ajax’s estimates. Changes were made to bring the design in budget before design progressed. These design changes were made to improve constructability and reduce cost while maintaining quality. Key efforts included material selections and designs of the wave façade, reduction in space burden, finish selections that are aesthetically appealing while still cost effective, careful use both storefront and curtainwall on the exterior of the building, selection of fire rated glazing versus drywall partitions, updated designs for the north and south facades to include additional exterior framing, relocation of rooftop mechanical equipment to reduce quantity of structural steel and reduce the sound transmittance into the council chambers, roof assembly modifications, plug in option for additional generator service life-safety emergency generator, and reduction of soil exports from the site. These collaborative efforts resulted in savings in excess of $4 million, keeping this project on budget.
This GMP includes the $333,056.00 Alternate for all costs to support a roof top solar photovoltaic (PV) installation. The GMP was reviewed by WJA, Broaddus and staff, negotiating lower general conditions, more appropriate allowances and fees.
Construction will start in October 2024 and be complete in late August/early September 2026.
APPROPRIATION CODE AND AMOUNT:
ENGF220001-CONS-CNSTRC $22,531,075.00
Funding is available in Capital Improvement Project ENGF220001, New City Hall to fund this GMP. This is funded by General Fund, Penny for Pinellas and ARPA Revenues.
STRATEGIC PRIORITY:
The city hall project supports the five strategic priorities below. The new City Hall facility, a 2-story 40,303 square foot building on a 1.68-acre site, creates a streamlined government service center, adjacent to Clearwater Police headquarters, Municipal Services Building (MSB) and city parking garage, to provide improved customer service and efficient use of existing facility space with the pending MSB renovations. The City Hall project is expected to achieve LEED Silver certification with the US Green Building Council, the first built by the City of Clearwater. Relocating City Hall to this site sparked development of the bluff waterfront with proposed apartments, commercial space and hotel expected to break ground in 2025. The project includes enhanced indoor air quality strategies, energy reduction and metering, daylighting, photovoltaics, EV charging stations, rainwater gardens, reduced heat island effect, outdoor water use reductions, Florida native plants, walkability, and access to public transit.
