Plans in works for new Foster Center
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on September 21, 2014 1:50 AM
esmith@newsargus.com
Construction of the new W.A. Foster Center has entered its first phase now that Goldsboro City Council has authorized a contract with a local firm to develop design plans.
Construction is expected to begin on the new building in late fall, said Scott Barnard, director of the city parks and recreation department.
Several companies submitted bids for the project, but new state laws require contractors to be selected based on qualifications first. T.A. Loving was chosen and has submitted design plans for the project, which will cost $469,000. Kaye Scott, the city's finance director, recommended that the council use money from the Community Development Block Grant to fund the project.
Barnard said the entire project will cost about $6 million. But after discussing the number of gyms needed for the center and the total cost, council members decided to only take action on approving the $469,000 needed for the plans.
The old W.A. Foster Center on Leslie Street was padlocked and closed to the public due to asbestos in late 2011. It has since reopened.
"There was a clear understanding when we opened it back up that we were on borrowed time for how long it could keep running," Barnard said. "We're at the stage with this building that any repair or upkeep on the building is costing more than makes sense. It's become cost-prohibitive to operate the center."
The new center will be built at Mina Weil Park.
Barnard developed a tentative budget for the project, allocating $500,000 for design plans, $500,000 for the installation of utility services, $500,000 for contingencies and $4.5 million for the construction of the recreation center itself.
Barnard praised the decision to go with a design-build model for the project, since it integrates all aspects of construction and makes the process more cohesive and faster, he said.
A design-build model means that when one aspect of a building is designed, it is built soon after the design plans are approved, Barnard said. A traditional construction project is contracted out to several different companies, lengthening the process.
"(With a traditional project) you could have an architect design you a building with 24-foot steel beams in it, for example," Barnard said. "Then you get to the building site and the guys tell you that steel beams come in 20-foot sections, which would mean 24-foot sections are impractical. With a design-build model, everybody is at the table and better decisions are made about how the building should be designed."
Barnard also said a design-build model allows for big cost savings since one contractor is hired on a single budget. That contractor then sub-contracts individual aspects of construction out to different companies.
T.A. Loving is the main contractor for the project. The company has partnered with H.H. Architecture, Site Solutions and Stroud-Pence.
"If someone gives me a buck I work really, really hard to turn it into a buck fifty," Barnard said. "If we're ultimately given $4 million for the project, I hope that we can build something that feels like a $6 million building."
Technicalities aside, Barnard said he is simply excited for the project to finally be coming together.
"As the guy that painted the golden shovels they use for ground breakings, I'm glad we'll finally be able to use them on a project I'm a part of," he said.