Cost of new City Hall shrinks by $1.5M? Low bid for Burns Building work well below CBJ estimate

Mark Sabbatini
Jul 24
3 min read

Five companies submit bids between $4.4M and $5.1M for renovations city estimated would cost $5.9M; Assembly to consider recommendation to accept lowest bid on Monday

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

After seeing the projected cost of moving City Hall increase substantially during the past year, the price tag may see a drop.

A bid to renovate the bottom two floors of the Michael J. Burns Building for about $4.4 million, rather than the $6 million city officials estimated the work would cost, is being recommended to the Juneau Assembly for approval during its meeting Monday. The bid by Carver Construction LLC is the lowest among five companies, with the most expensive coming in at about $5.1 million.

The project has a total budget of $20.5 million, which includes purchasing most of the building and costs related to the move from existing city offices downtown. The renovation work is intended to convert office space in the Burns Building so it is suitable for municipal government functions, including a new Assembly Chambers.

"The project includes upgrades to the HVAC and electrical systems, as well as limited interior construction and finish replacement, to bring public-facing areas, accessible routes, and key building systems up to current code and ADA compliance standards," states a memo from Stevie Gawryluk, a contract administrator for the City and Borough of Juneau.

"Upon completion, the project will consolidate eleven City and Borough of Juneau departments and approximately 147 personnel within approximately 46,000 square feet of combined floor area."

The bid submitted by Carver Construction includes cost estimates that vary significantly from CBJ’s — mostly less, but occasionally more — for various aspects of the project. There also are notable differences between the five bidding companies in some of their estimated costs.

Carver Construction estimates base work for the first two floors will cost $1.1 million less than the city projects ($3.3 million rather than $4.4 million). The bids submitted by the other four companies range from $2.9 million to $3.9 million.

One of the biggest differences in estimates is for a full ceiling replacement, which the city puts at about $46,000. Carver Construction’s bid is significantly higher at about $188,000, but that pales to bids from the other four companies that range between $400,000 and $555,000.

Another notable price gap is painting existing spaces. CBJ’s estimate is about $281,000. Carver Construction’s bid of about $127,000 is exceeded by only one company’s estimate of $152,000 — and one company states it can do the work for about $13,000.

City Manager Katie Koester told the Assembly earlier this month that relocating to the Burns Building will take longer than expected, with the tentative timeline now set for next May rather than the end of this year. City leaders have sought to move to a new City Hall for several years, arguing it is more cost-effective than repairing and continuing to lease existing and aging facilities downtown.

The projected cost of the move as currently planned, which includes a limited remodeling of the building, increased by about $4 million between last September and January of this year — and a full remodel of the space that officials hoped for rose so much the plan was abandoned altogether.

Other local projects also have seen major cost spikes lately, which have resulted in the alteration or cancellation of some.

The Assembly nixed plans for a gondola at Eaglecrest Ski Area when the projected cost went from less than $10 million four years ago to more than $35 million now. Huna Totem Corp. announced earlier this month it is shrinking the building footprint of a proposed private cruise ship facility by two-thirds to keep it within a $150 million budget. A planned upgrade at what’s commonly known as the Fred Meyer intersection on Egan Drive is now expected to cost about 50% more than estimated a year ago,

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.