Title:
Construction Manager at Risk Selection - Discovery Place Nature Center at Freedom Park
Summary
ACTION:
Authorize the County Manager to negotiate a fee and execute contracts with Rodgers-Leeper for Pre-Construction and Construction Management at Risk services for the Discovery Place Nature Center project, and in the event negotiations with this firm are unsuccessful, approve negotiations with the second ranked firm, Edifice - Lil Associates
Staff Contact: Sushma Kumar, Project Manager, Asset and Facility Management
Presentation: No
BACKGROUND/JUSTIFICATION:
Discovery Place, Inc. currently operates a County-owned Nature Museum at 1658 Sterling Road at Freedom Park (previously known as the Charlotte Nature Museum). A project was included in the approved FY19-23 Capital Improvement Plan for replacement of the Nature Museum and the addition of several outdoor experiences on eight acres of land surrounding the museum.
The total cost for this project is expected to be $32 Million with the County providing $16 Million (FY19-23 CIP) for design and construction of facilities and Discovery Place providing $16 Million for interior and exterior exhibits.
For this project, the Construction Manager at Risk shall provide services for both the pre-construction and construction phases related to the building and associated site improvements.
The Board of County Commissioners authorized the use of the Construction Manager at Risk Contract Methodology for the project at the April 16, 2019 meeting.
G.S. 143-64.31 requires a Construction Manager at Risk be selected through a qualifications-based process. Accordingly, a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) was advertised in the Charlotte Observer, the Charlotte Post, and the State of North Carolina Interactive Purchasing System. Notices were also provided to the County MWSBE office.
A Pre-Submittal Meeting was held on May 14, 2019 to present information about the project and to allow interested firms to ask specific questions about the RFQ. Six (6) firms attended the pre-submittal meeting.
Six (6) firms submitted Qualifications Statements, expressing an interest in the project and a desire to be interviewed:
§ Cleveland Construction
§ Edifice - Lil Associates
§ Edison Foard - Wharton Smith
§ Rodgers - Leeper
§ Samet Corporation
§ Shiel Sexton
On Thursday, July 18, 2019, the Selection Committee interviewed the following two (2) firms:
§ Edifice - Lil Associates
§ Rodgers - Leeper
The Selection Committee submits the following report:
COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Elaine Powell - Mecklenburg County Commissioner (Vice Chair)
Mark Jerrell - Mecklenburg County Commissioner (District 4)
Leslie Johnson- Assistant County Manager
Lee Jones, AIA - Director, Park and Recreation Department
Mark Hahn, AIA - Director, Asset and Facility Management Department
Greg Godley - General Contractor, appointed by the Board
Catherine Horne - CEO, Discovery Place
Based on the information presented in the written submittals and at the oral presentations, the Committee recommends the following ranking of firms:
1. Rodgers - Leeper
2. Edifice - Lil Associates
PROCUREMENT BACKGROUND:
Qualification-based selection process for selection of Construction Manager at Risk Contract (G.S. 143-64.31)
POLICY IMPACT:
N/A
FISCAL IMPACT:
Funding for the county share was made available under the FY19-23 Capital Improvement Plan authorization.