A community college in southern California hired an at-risk construction manager in 2010 to build a new multiuse building but that company based its proposed fee on a higher construction cost than its top competitor, and no one is sure exactly why.
The contract was awarded to the construction manager whose price proposal was based on the higher amount, $59 million, according to a review report released last month. The runner-up based its fee proposal on an estimated construction cost of $55 million.
Sometimes proposals where price is one of several criteria can allow for flexibility in the estimated cost basis of the fee. “It does happen when they are evaluating based on the intangibles and style of the design,” says an estimator and cost consultant not connected to the project.
But because of a lack of documentation and an ongoing ethics probe at the school, Southwestern College in Chula Vista, Calif., the contract has drawn special attention. The college has since terminated the winning construction manager, the project architect and the school’s business vice president, who led the school’s selection of designers and contractors. Work on the project, a multiuse building to house a conference center, restaurant, bookstore, gallery and other functions, has been called off for now.
On April 11, the college’s trustees voted to file lawsuits against Bunton Clifford Associates Architects Inc., Echo Pacific Construction, the winning construction manager for the Corner Lot, as well as Seville Construction Services, the program manager for the community college district’s bond-funded projects.
Officials of the program manager could not be reached for comment.