In 2007, the City of Sugar Land began the purchase of the Central Unit Prison, working with the State on the Unit's closure. In 2011, the Texas legislature closed the prison. Since the City acquired the property in 2016, there have been several aspects of the use and development of the property including demolition, temporary gun range, extension of Owens Road, drainage studies, and Tract 2 development discussions.
One of the first steps in the overall development of the property includes the asbestos abatement and demolition of the property. Within the property there are 100 plus structures consisting of industrial type buildings, residential buildings, storage buildings and concrete slabs intended for abatement/demolition. The overall scope of the project is to abate all of the asbestos and to demolish all selected structures to a depth of 2 feet below grade. Within the scope of work, there have been several buildings/structures identified to be left standing. These structures include the main prison unit, storage buildings to be utilized by the city, four (4) guard towers, and the water tower. The City will also make efforts to recycle as many materials as possible and will coordinate with the Heritage Foundation to salvage items of interest.
The City's consultant, ESE Partners, LLC., provided their expertise in environmental engineering. ESE Partners performed a Phase I & II Environmental Site Assessment (ESA). They also developed the asbestos abatement and demolition construction documents for the bidding process. ESE defined through the specifications, the waste management, asbestos abatement, demolition of structures and pavement, water well plugging, work area and site restoration, and project closeout.
An Invitation to Bid (ITB) was advertised for the project in January 2018. A site investigation tour was provided on two occasions providing the contractors the opportunity to thoroughly investigate all aspects of the project and giving them the opportunity to ask detailed questions. Overall, the contractors were given a month to bid the project with bids due on Jan. 31, 2018. The project bid included a base bid along with four (4) alternates.
Base Bid scope of work:
- Asbestos Abatement and Demolition
Alternates:
1) Archeological Scrape
2) Demolition of basements / below grade structures in their entirety
3) Transportation and disposal of drums containing hazardous wastes
4) Separating, removing and salvaging wood trusses from Building No. 19
Nine (9) bids were received with one (1) being disqualified due to incomplete bond information.
Grant Mackay Company, Inc., is the qualified low bidder. The bid documents required all bidders to have experience in similar size and scope projects and to list references. Grant Mackay has performed work within Sugar Land in the past and our consultant has worked with them as well on another project. The Engineer's opinion of probable construction cost for the project is $1 Million.
The overall budget for CIP MU1806 is $1,400,000. The amount used for the construction project will be $1,200,000. The base bid along with the accepted alternates is a total of $1,057,686. Money set aside for contingency, asbestos state fees, CenterPoint Electric coordination, hazardous material disposal, and other miscellaneous costs is $142,314. The remaining $200,000 is allocated to Economic Development, going towards costs necessary for placing the light industrial business park into service, including clean up and other site improvements. The project duration for asbestos abatement and demolition is 180 calendar days placing the estimated substantial completion date at the end of September 2018.
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize a construction contract with Grant Mackay Company, Inc., for the Central Unit Asbestos Abatement and Demolition base bid and Alternates 1-4, CIP MU1806, in the amount of $1,057,686.