Photo provided
An artist’s rendition of the proposed NexusPark fieldhouse.
The city of Columbus has selected a local construction company as contractor for an indoor sports fieldhouse at NexusPark.
The Columbus Board of Public Works voted Tuesday to approve a proposal and contract from Columbus-based Force Construction to design and build the fieldhouse, which is expected to be located on the north side of the former FairOaks Mall property.
The proposal includes a base bid of $26.55 million for the project and outlines a tentative timetable for completing the project in October 2023, including the demolition of the former Goody’s store this summer and the foundation work starting this fall.
However, the final price tag may change depending on the types of materials used and other options that the city and Force Construction are still discussing. The timeline also could be adjusted depending on the availability of steel and other materials.
No groundbreaking date has been set, though the two parties are expected to meet later this week to discuss the project, said city finance director Jamie Brinegar.
The contract will be amended to include the final dollar amount and brought back to the board of works for final approval, potentially within the next couple of weeks, Brinegar said.
“The dollar amount will still have to be approved by the board of works,” Brinegar said. “Work cannot begin until they approve that.”
NexusPark is a joint venture between the city of Columbus and Columbus Regional Health to transform the former FairOaks Mall into a health, wellness and recreation center. The NexusPark campus is expected to include, among other things, an indoor sports facility, Columbus Parks administrative space and a CRH facility.
Currently, the construction of the fieldhouse is moving forward the quickest, at least “until we need to get steel,” city officials said previously. CRH has begun demolition work on the former Carson’s space for its new space.
Earlier this month, the board of works voted to release a Request for Proposal to Force Construction and Shelbyville-based Runnebohm Construction, which had replied to a previous Request for Qualifications for the project.
Both companies submitted proposals. Runnebohm Construction’s base bid was $27.45 million, which was higher than Force Construction’s $26.55 million base bid, according to copies of the proposals.
Executive Director of Public Works/City Engineer Dave Hayward, who is part of a three-person technical committee that reviewed the proposals and issued a recommendation to the board, said the type of pre-engineered building that Force Construction proposed was a significant factor in the committee’s decision.
“There were two different manufacturers’ packages that we took a look at, and the building that Force was supplying was a somewhat better quality building,” Hayward said. “We also looked at the schedule, but that was fairly even between the two. …It wasn’t really a consideration, but one of the things that we liked was that it was a local contractor right here in town. But it wasn’t a deciding factor.”
The board of work’s decision to approve the contract is the latest step forward in the NexusPark project since the city finalized the purchase of the 35.36-acre mall property at 25th Street and Central Avenue for $5.9 million in 2018. The city put up approximately $4 million, or 75% of the property’s appraised value.
CRH contributed $1.3 million, or 25% of the appraised value. Additionally, the Heritage Fund — The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County committed to providing $450,000, which is the difference between the selling price and the appraised value.
Next, city officials plan to hammer out the final details of the contract with Force Construction, a process that Hayward said would likely “move pretty quickly.”
