GILROY
– The Southern California architectural firm that grossly
underestimated the cost of Gilroy’s planned police station is being
given a second chance to design the cornerstone of Gilroy’s future
civic center.
GILROY – The Southern California architectural firm that grossly underestimated the cost of Gilroy’s planned police station is being given a second chance to design the cornerstone of Gilroy’s future civic center.
At a special meeting on Monday, City Council voted unanimously to once again instill the city’s time and trust in Rancho Cucamonga-based WLC Architects. WLC is the same firm whose estimate for construction costs of the new station were a gaping $8 million below the lowest of the three construction bids received by the city for the planned station.
Joined by an executive oversight committee made up of several members of city staff, police administration and a private consultant, WLC now has a year to create a redesign for the police station that must trim at least $7 million from the current design’s $26,137,000 sticker price.
The police station was originally scheduled to open in December 2004 but now is projected to take until March 2007 to complete.
“I’m still skeptical (of WLC) to tell you the truth,” City Councilman Bob Dillon said. “But I think I feel like the rest of Council that at this point hiring someone else would only be taking steps backwards. (WLC) has taken responsibility. Let’s see if they follow up on their words.”
In May 2002, City Council approved $19.2 million from the Capital Improvement Budget to construct the 48,500-square-foot police station and bilevel, 260-space underground parking garage.
After months of design work and research, WLC initially estimated the station’s cost at $17,835,000. When every bid received priced the project at more than $26 million, WLC attributed a rushed three-month bid process and complicated design elements, including the parking garage, for the unprecedented price difference.
“This is not an easy task (to reduce construction costs to $19.2 million) and keep as much of the design intact as possible,” said Larry Wolff, a principal with WLC who will continue overseeing the company’s effort on the project. “Decisions will have to be made, but right now our main goal is regaining the trust of the Council and move forward with the project.
“Do I believe with the knowledge we have now we can trim $8 million? Yes.”
On Monday, Wolff helped ease tensions with Council by agreeing for WLC to absorb the $776,900 cost for the upcoming redesign effort, although that figure excludes the cost of city staff time that will be spent on the effort.
Wolff’s redesign will rely much more heavily on the input of the oversight committee made of Gilroy Parks and Development Manager Bill Headley, Gilroy Police Chief Gregg Giusiana, GPD Assistant Chief Lanny Brown, Gilroy Community Development Director Wendie Rooney, City Engineer Rick Smelser and private construction consultant Bill Little, who will be the committee’s facilitator.
Topping the list of money-saving changes will likely be the two-story parking structure, planned to be used by the police department and act as the future parking anchor for the general public and civic center employees.
Eliminating the second level of the underground garage would significantly lower construction and design costs – possibly to the tune of nearly $5 million, Wolff said – although it would also force the city to make major changes to its Civic Center Master Plan.
The second level of parking was to include roughly 110 spaces for city employees and the general public. If eliminated, the city will be forced to replace the lost parking with the limited acreage it owns in the area or buy adjacent land.
“Everyone needs to understand the impact these changes will have on the Civic Center Master Plan,” Mayor Tom Springer said. “That parking is going to have to be found somewhere, and we need to make sure it’s not in the existing neighborhoods.”
Aside from the police station and accompanying underground parking structure, the expected $70 million Civic Center Master Plan will be built out during the next 30 years and include a new public library, City Hall expansion and renovation, senior center expansion and Wheeler Community Center expansion.
The police station will be built on 1.9 acres of city land southwest of the current City Hall, where seven city-owned houses south of Sixth Street between Dowdy and Hanna streets have already been demolished for the construction. The master plan calls for the current police building to be used as a City Hall annex.
“The hardest thing about doing this design will be to look at any changes we make and see how those decisions will affect the civic center as a whole,” Giusiana said following Monday’s meeting. “Being the first major project in the master plan adds a lot of complications.”
Other preliminary money-saving design alternatives to the new police station include eliminating or reducing the size of the building’s second floor, deleting the community meeting room, eliminating the fitness training room, redesigning the roof and eliminating the communications and clock tower.
An extended construction window and lengthened bid process are also expected to reduce the price of the construction, Wolff said.
“This has been an unique challenge trying to put all our future needs on 1.9 acres,” Brown said. “Initially it was disappointing learning we have to eliminate some areas of the station, but we’ll work it out to the best of our ability.”
During the next 12 months WLC and the design committee plan to host two public outreach meetings to get public input on possible changes to the Civic Center Master Plan and police station. They will also present City Council with several updates on the decision process.
The completion of the design will be followed by a six-month bid period, and if the bids meet the $19.2 million allocation a contract will be awarded in April 2005, Wolff said.
“(Wolff) has his reputation on the line here,” Rooney said. “But I think we all respect the way he’s stepped up to the plate so far, and I’m confident he’ll continue to do so until the design meets the city’s goals.”
