Contract awarded for ag center
By Steve Herring
Published in News on June 23, 2016 1:46 PM
A $3,001,446 contract was awarded by Wayne County commissioners Tuesday for site work for the Maxwell Regional Agricultural and Convention Center.
The board also scheduled groundbreaking ceremonies for the facility for 10 a.m. Thursday, July 14.
Also on Tuesday, the board accepted a $25,000 donation from BB&T for the project.
The contract was awarded to T.A. Loving Co. of Goldsboro, the contract construction manager at risk for the project, based on the company contracting with Bridgepoint Civil for the actual work.
Site work could begin as early as next month. Overall construction is anticipated to be completed by December 2017 or January 2018.
County Manager George Wood told commissioners that the county had earlier submitted a funding application to the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission for the agricultural center.
The agency requested additional information that was basically just a restatement of what already had been sent, Wood said.
That has been taken care of, he said.
The county also is waiting to hear from the USDA about the 10-year, no interest $2 million loans the county is seeking, he said.
The county has applied for another $600,000 in USDA grants.
"Those are the two question marks that we now have on the ag center," Wood said.
The county has set aside $4 million for the project.
"We will begin work on the ag center just as soon as possible," Wood said.
The center will be constructed on a 12-acre site on Wayne Memorial Drive near Wayne Community College.
The property was donated by the city of Goldsboro under an agreement that the county will loan the city $3 million for its planned multi-sports complex.
An adjoining city-owned six acres remains as the site for a possible hotel and restaurant.
The Maxwell family's Goldsboro Milling Co. secured naming rights for the center with a $750,000 donation in February.
Earlier this month, AgCarolina Farm Credit donated $50,000 for naming rights for the farmers market at the center.
To date, the county has verbal commitments for up to $1.22 million, including the Maxwell donation.
The project is being designed by HH Architecture of Raleigh.
As construction manager at risk, T.A. Loving Co. is providing construction management services and guarantees construction costs.
The company also provides services that may include preparation and coordination of bid packages, scheduling, value engineering, evaluation, pre-construction services and construction administration.