Courthouse bid is $1 million too high

Donley County’s architect is negotiating with a Dallas company to find cost alternatives after the only bid to renovate the 1890 courthouse came in more than $1 million over the project budget.

Phoenix 1 Restoration and Construction Ltd. of Dallas was the only firm to submit a bid when the commissioners’ court met last Thursday. The bid was $3.998 million.

Project architect Chris Hutson with the Austin-based firm Volz & Associates said Monday that Phoenix 1 was preparing a list of alternatives to bring the project down to the $2.838 million budget. A meeting between the architects, County Judge Jack Hall, and the Texas Historical Commission (THC) is anticipated for next week.

The contractor will review every aspect of the project to look for ways to cut costs using different materials or different product vendors, Hutson said.

The THC will have to approve any alternatives proposed by the contractor. Hutson said the state historical commission’s goal is to make sure THC money is well spent and that the concerns identified in the Master Plan are being addressed.

Previously, Hutson and county officials had identified several deductive alternates, but even using those, the bid would still be about half a million dollars over the budget.

Hutson said he thought the Phoenix 1 bid was too high, but he said the company does have a good reputation and has experience with historic renovations. He said Phoenix is the contractor for the Llano County project and has been involved with the projects in Gray and Shackelford counties.

Bids for several other courthouse projects are also coming in high. Hutson said he doesn’t know if that is a factor of current market conditions, a shortage of qualified workers, or a combination of the two.

 “We had hoped to get several bids – maybe three from Amarillo and one from Abilene,” said Judge Hall.

One Amarillo company did not attend the mandatory pre-bid conference because they were too busy, another pulled out shortly after the pre-bid conference, and a third worked late into the night last Wednesday but finally said they couldn’t make the Thursday deadline.

If negotiations with Phoenix 1 fail, Hall said the county could re-bid the entire project.

“We’re going to work on it until we get it where it needs to be,” Hall said.

Commissioners took no action Thursday, which Hall said left all their options open. The county has the right to reject the bid.