By Helen Hollyer
Despite donated land and building, implementation of the Cobalt Building Project is proving to be a larger and much more expensive project than originally expected, city intern Titus Thomlinson told city councilors.
“Even with an existing structure, this is a more-than-one-million- dollar project,” said Thomlinson during the Mar. 8 council meeting.
The city plans to convert the 9,000-square-foot former factory on Cobalt Lane off N. Fifth St. in northwest Creswell to a community center with classroom and flexible spaces for use by community youth and seniors, with all programs sharing core building infrastructure such as restrooms and mechanical systems.
Thomlinson said that Head Start of Lane County, identified in the preliminary feasibility study and that has expressed interest in becoming a building tenant, is one of the few organizations that has money to help pay for the necessary building improvements.
The city is now working on a memorandum of understanding with Head Start.
The city’s ownership of an existing, well-constructed building appropriate for the proposed use and with a developed site represents a significant value, according to Eugene-based Rowell Brokaw Architects, P.C.’s project summary; however, there are still many unknown factors.
The firm recommended budgeting for a base building renovation and interior remodeling cots of $80 per square foot, or $720,000.
Additional “soft” costs for design consultants, grant administration and fundraising, building permits and fees, bid costs such as advertisements and printing and a five percent construction contingency would add 20 and 30 percent to the “hard” costs.
Assessing the building’s existing conditions, the architects commented that the first floor slab is in good condition and can be used for the new building use, but that the non-accessible second floor mezzanine space with limited headroom should probably be partly or completely removed.
Exterior walls are well constructed and have good energy performance characteristics but openings should be enlarged to increase the amount of natural light and exterior views. The roof is in generally good condition as is the ceiling, but cleanable drop ceilings should be installed in new bathroom and kitchen areas.
The single unisex restroom is functional, but is undersized for the plumbing requirements of the proposed new occupancy. They recommend installing a new restroom core with separate facilities for men and women in the area of an existing locker room.
The building in general does meet ADA (Americans with Disabilities) requirements for access, but any new construction or alteration will also be required to comply fully with additional ADA requirements. A new mechanical system for heating and cooling will be needed.
Thomlinson, who will be leaving his intern position in August 2010, recommended that the city consider contracting with Cascadia Consulting Partnership to help run a successful capital campaign in order to transform the building into an operational asset for the Creswell community.
In a Jan. 26, 2010 letter to Creswell City Administrator Mark Shrives, Cascadia’s Managing Partner Rich Foster pointed out that the recent economic downturn has caused private foundation grants to become increasingly competitive, resulting in only projects that demonstrate both need and a comprehensive planning effort being successful in acquiring funding.
“I am confident that the Cobalt Building Project can be such a project,” Foster wrote, offering to provide technical support at three levels of service options — minimalist, moderate and full-service approaches.
Foster stated that two pricing models were available – not-to- exceed prices for well-defined projects with agreed-upon scopes of work, responsibilities and timelines and, for open-ended technical service projects, a fee-for-service basis utilizing an hourly rate.
Citing Cascadia’s prior successes with similar projects, Thomlinson said benefits of contracting with Cascadia include acquiring the services of an experienced grant writer, project continuity and ability to use developed templates for additional grants.
“Without consulting, we can expect this project to take upwards of 10 to 15 years to capitalize,” he said. “It could be done in two to five years with a contractor.
“We have a great project… a community education/recreation center focusing on youth activities that will sell itself to charitable trusts looking at bettering lives of youth, and Head Start is a solid organization as a tenant with resources.”
After Shrives said that projects of this sort are primarily funded by private foundation money, that some city funds were available in this fiscal year and that, if the city entered into a contract with Cascadia, the city could use budgeted task orders in the future, councilors asked him to bring a proposed contract with Cascadia back for consideration at the April 12 council meeting.
Originally published in The Creswell Chronicle
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Creswell, OR 97426
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