GMCS Editorial: Congratulations to David Panichi and the
entire T.N. Ward construction team for their low bid on this project.
CONSHOHOCKEN — A Lower Merion general contractor and
construction management firm was the apparent low bidder Friday to build the
Conshohocken borough hall, police station and retail spaces in the former
Verizon building on Fayette Street.
TN Ward Company submitted the $10,497,600 electronic bid to
www.PennBid.net and it was opened by Borough Engineer Paul Hughes along with
two other base bids at the borough engineer’s office. Allied Construction
Services of Philadelphia bid $10,583,439 and Murphy Quigley Co. Inc. of Lower
Merion bid $12,976,000.
“There are nine alternate bid options in the bid package but
the base bid drives everything,” said Hughes. “We will examine the bids to make
sure TN Ward was a ‘responsive bidder,’ which means they included all the
required construction elements in the base bid.”
Hughes will prepare a report on the bids and deliver them to
the 7 p.m., Sept. 3, workshop meeting of Conshohocken council where the bids
will be discussed in detail. Members of council were vocally concerned about an
$11,406,395 project cost estimate for the project delivered to council in
mid-July by the developer, Keystone Property Group (KPG) of Lower Merion. The
$11.4 million estimate was $949,096 above an earlier cost tally.
Council members asked Hughes to include the nine alternate
options in the bid package to give council economic manuevering room to slice
elements out of the project costs.
The TN Ward alternate bid package included $713,000 for the
second entrance on Fourth Avenue, including sitework, structures, stairs,
exterior envelope, interior re-configuration and all associated mechanical, electrical,
plumbing and fire protection elements.
A vegetative tray system on the main roof would cost
$103,500. A roof screen for the rooftop mechanical systems would cost $46,500.
A six-panel, closed-loop solar hot water array would cost $38,500. An upgrade
in the rubber roof thickness, from 0.060 inch to 0.090 inch, would cost
$13,500.
TN Ward officials said substituting a decorated pattern for
a plain pattern on the parking lot retaining wall would add $22,000 to project
costs if it is adopted by council.
Dennis Furness Jr., a project manager for TN Ward Company,
was the only bid representative at the bid opening. Once the bids are opened
electronically by Hughes, they are available for viewing online by the other
bidders, Ward said.
“It is always nice to get more work,” Furness said. “Of
course, you don’t have it until you actually sign a contract.”
Earlier in the week, Borough Manager Richard Manfredi said
council could award the construction bid at the Sept. 17 meeting, “but that is
a very aggressive schedule.”
He said it was more likely that council would either
schedule a special meeting for late September or take official action at the
Oct. 15 meeting.
Hughes said that demolition work at the Verizon building at
Fourth Avenue was “substantially complete” on Friday making it ready for the
construction phase.
Council has scheduled approval for a $13 million borrowing
for the Sept. 17 meeting to finance construction, equipment and furnishings for
the new borough building.
Source: Times
Herald
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