Mayor Fuller recently announced that the project to create NewCAL – a new Senior Center — will be delayed due to having received a bid from only one contractor. The Mayor said that that bid “was significantly higher than our professional cost estimates. We have since spoken with the other three general contractors, and we have every reason to believe that by rebidding the project we will receive additional bids that are much more competitive and significantly lower than the single bid we received yesterday.”
According to Building Commissioner Josh Morse, there were seven pre-qualification packages received from general contractors (Boston Building & Bridge Corporation, Colantonio, CTA Construction Managers, LLC, G&R Construction, GVW Inc., M O’Connor Contracting, Inc., WES Construction Corporation), of which four were prequalified (Colantino, CTA Construction Managers, LLC., G&R Construction, M O’Connor Contracting, Inc.).
While the City expected to receive four bids, only one was received. Morse explained that the other three did not submit for various reasons: “One was awarded a large project in another community just before our bid was due, and didn’t have the capacity to take on another project. Another general contractor couldn’t get a commitment from a framing contractor to frame the building. The third contractor just didn’t have the capacity to submit their bid. “
Although the City received only one bid from a general contractor, Morse added that the City received 41 bids from sub-bidders such as contractors for HVAC, electrical, and plumbing (see General Contractor RFQ Prequalification Packet and General Bidder – Bid Tabulation Sheet).
Morse said, “[T]he one general contractor bid they received was not reflective of the cost of this project, so we are not making any changes to the design. Instead, our focus is on a very strong outreach to contractors around New England.” So far, Morse has called more than 200 contractors, and the City anticipates needing an additional 10-12 weeks to rebid the project (which requires redoing the prequalification and bidding process) in order to comply with state procurement laws.
With regard to a pending lawsuit filed by residents, Morse said, “The litigation remains ongoing. The City has filed a motion for summary judgment, which the plaintiffs did not oppose. We look forward to the Court’s decision in the near future.”