Sandy Springs Seeks Construction Manager for City Center Project

The city of Sandy Springs on Thursday formally put out a call for a construction manager for its city center project.

The city issued a request for qualifications for a construction manager, who would work alongside the city and its partners — Carter/Selig (Program Manager), Rosser International (Architect) and jB+a, Inc. (Landscape Architect) — in the design and construction of the civic facilities within Sandy Springs’ City Center project.

The selected firm will assist in the design phase of the project by evaluating cost, schedules and implications of alternative designs, as well as constructability reviews and value engineering, the city said in its press release.

“The significance of this project is un-paralleled in terms of profile and achieving a sense of ‘place’ for the community,” said Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul. “Our plan is to assemble the best, and that includes construction management, so that we are best able to transform our vision into the City Center the community deserves.”

The construction manager scope of work will include the following public components:

• A performing arts center;
• An office building, supporting approximately 90,000 square feet of city services, with associated meeting space, including community meeting space, retail at the first floor level;
• An approximately four acre park, including open green space, water features, walkways, pavilions and other site amenities;
• Approximately 200 surface parking spaces and 900 subterranean parking spaces; and
• Associated site improvements and contiguous road improvements including utilities work and coordination, both served and serviced areas.

The Sandy Springs City Council during its Sept. 23 meeting approved a Construction Manager at Risk delivery method for the project. This method brings a manager in during the design phase, to advise on costs, schedule, materials, methods and logistics. The construction manager will also provide a guaranteed maximum price for the project based upon the drawings and specifications.

“This methodology fosters a team approach for the design, estimating, permitting and construction phases of a project, leveraging the knowledge and expertise of all team members, which we believe will achieve the best possible results for the city in terms of schedule, budget and end product,” added Sandy Springs City Manager John McDonough.

The deadline for firms to submit a response to the request for qualifications is Oct. 30. Following an evaluation of submissions, qualified firms will be invited to submit to the subsequent request for proposals on Nov. 17.

A final selection of a construction manager at risk is expected to be determined in early January 2015. Interested firms can review the request for qualifications documentation on the city’s website.

Goals for the City Center project include the creation of a unique, vibrant, walkable area, which incorporates mixed-use development introducing new dining, high-end residential living, amenity retail and entertainment options. The project also will create an appropriate setting for a new civic/cultural center that will contain multiple uses such as city offices, meeting space and a performing arts facility. The city block will also encompass a green space network to accommodate a variety of activities.

(Photo credit: Shutterstock)