Assuming county officials have already awarded the construction contract during the county board meeting held Nov. 6, the New Hanover County Public Library could open its Pine Valley Branch on the targeted date, January 2019.
The board were expected to decide, at their recent meeting, whether to award the $5.5 million construction contract of the library to Bordeaux Construction Company, Inc., the firm that placed the lowest base bid.
According to Harry Tuchmayer, New Hanover County Public Library director, if all factors remain favorable, construction could commence as early as the last weekend of November 2017. The building, designed by Vines Architecture, covers a total area of 19,541 sq. ft. It will be constructed at 3802 S. College Rd., replacing the Myrtle Grove Branch whose sale will cover the cost of the new library.
Bordeaux Construction’s base bid of $5.3 million exceeded the anticipated budget for the library, which was set just under $4.9 million. As a solution, county officials asked the design team to work alongside the contractor in identifying areas that could be modified to save costs without sacrificing sustainability and longevity.
Bordeaux’s base bid offsetting the county’s budget is a result of how construction became increasingly expensive over recent years, officials noted in agenda documents. With costs still rising, the currently approved budget of $4.9 million is estimated to go up to nearly $6.3 million.
At the meeting, a budget amendment amounting to nearly $1.4 million was submitted to the board for approval. Additional funds will be sourced from current appropriations, the reallocation of $468,444 in savings from different sources, and about $900,000 from an increase in loan proceeds.
