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No contractors bid on West Barracks

Vancouver must delay project to renovate 4 buildings

By Amy Fischer, Columbian City Government Reporter
Published: July 29, 2015, 5:00pm

Renovation of four wooden historic buildings at Fort Vancouver’s West Barracks has been delayed a few months because no contractors bid on the project, which was supposed to begin this summer.

The city of Vancouver plans to convert the old Artillery Barracks, Infantry Barracks, Quartermaster Storehouse and Dental Surgeon’s Building into residential apartments and space for office, retail and hospitality use. In May, the city sold “mini bonds” to Clark County residents to help pay for the $8.3 million project, which also is funded with a combination of state grants, revenue generated from operation of Fort Vancouver property, and city bonds.

The city put the renovation project out for bid June 5. Five general contractors attended the mandatory pre-bid meeting in which city staff explained the work involved, said Capital Projects Manager Jon Sears. So, when the bid period closed July 14, city staff members were surprised that no one submitted bids, he said.

To find out why, city staff polled the contractors and the Builder’s Exchange of Washington.

They were told that during the Great Recession, many firms went out of business, and now there aren’t enough speciality subcontractors, such as those that do roofing and flooring, to meet current construction demands, Sears said. Also, some subcontractors were reluctant to bid on the West Barracks project because they already were busy — in some cases, too busy to return contractors’ phone calls — and some couldn’t afford additional bonding, he said. (Contractors are required to take out bonds in the event the customer isn’t happy with the work performed and must be reimbursed.)

“The reality is construction is really going full bore here right now,” Sears said Tuesday, referring to Portland and Vancouver. “There’s too much work out there for the contractors to be able to do.”

Another explanation for the lack of bids is it’s a mid-sized project, which means smaller contractors would have trouble bonding it, but bigger outfits aren’t interested, Sears said. Also, because it’s an adaptive reuse project of a historic building, the contractor faces greater risks of encountering unforeseen conditions during the project, he said.

The city will advertise the job again Aug. 6 and hopes to open bids Oct. 15. Construction is expected to take one year from when the project is awarded.

In response to some of the feedback from contractors, the city decided to slightly relax some of its requirements for the job, such as not requiring certain supervisors to have as many years of experience. It’s eliminated the mandatory pre-bid meeting and will open the West Barracks buildings twice for contractors to walk through during the bidding process.

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Columbian City Government Reporter