Chicago contractor Bulley & Andews, LLC has been selected as construction manager for a $36 to 38 million main library construction/renovation project in South Bend, Indiana.
The St. Joseph County Library Board selected the contractor, which provided the lowest bid of $1,585,000 of the four finalists competing for the project.
The bid was lower than the three other finalists who submitted bids: Core Construction of South Bend, Miller-Davis Co. of Kalamazoo and Panzica 2 of South Bend.
All four finalists also had bids that were below what library officials had budgeted for the construction manager portion of the project.
Library board executive director Debra Futa was quoted as saying in the South Bend Tribune that library officials hope to have a final contract ironed out with Bulley & Andrews by early May so the firm can begin cost estimations for the project. The plan is to have a special meeting of the library board in June to approve final plans for the massive project.
The library’s construction/renovation project will include a $15 million to $17 million renovation of the existing Main Library, and a new $19 million Community Education Center facing the southwest corner of Wayne and Michigan streets.
Bulley & Andrews, established in 1891, has managed numerous construction projects throughout the Midwest, including libraries, Futa said.
All four finalists gave presentations to the library team planning the project. Futa said not only did officials from Bulley & Andrews have charts and thoughts on the library’s current project, she said the firm understood what libraries mean to their communities.
“Not only did they show that they had thought about our project, they also recognized that libraries are community fixtures and have to be engaging to the public,” she said.
