Recommend approval of Contract Amendment No. 1 for Phase 1.5 of the Children’s Museum with Cogdell Mendrala Architects in the amount of $124,000.00.

Funding for these services was originally allocated as part of the SPLOST V voter-approved projects. The scope of the existing agreement and associated fee schedule is broken into six items including schematic design phase, design phase, bidding phase, construction phase, and close-out services.

Design documents developed during the completed phases were produced and delivered to the Coastal Heritage Society in 2011.  During the recession of 2007 and 2008, fundraising ceased and funding streams significantly reduced, which caused a suspension in project activity.

During the 2013 SPLOST VI referendum, Chatham County voters approved an allocation of $1.5 million for the Savannah Children’s Museum, located within the Tricentennial Park complex, a City-owned campus of historic railroad facilities at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Louisville Road. Coastal Heritage operates and maintains Tricentennial Park under contract with the City.

The approved scope is to construct necessary infrastructure for two buildings intended to house the expansion of the museum, including the construction of a large concrete retaining wall, the installation of floor pavers, and the construction of an interior conditioned space to house restrooms, a small office, and a gift shop space.

The two historic buildings, the 1924/25 Coach Shop and Paint Shop, are adjacent to the existing outdoor Savannah Children’s Museum space and are slated to house the interior exhibit space for the future expansion of the Museum. In addition to partially implementing the future expansion plans, this contract amendment will provide enclosed space to house educational programming and special events at the Savannah Children’s Museum, and will create opportunities for fundraising activities dedicated to the future completion of the full build-out of the expanded museum.

Since the original set of plans were produced, building codes have changed.  The increased costs and decreased availability of the originally specified materials has also made the original plans cost-prohibitive. This contract amendment will include the production of a new, updated set of plans and specifications to reflect the amended scope of work, along with a revised cost estimate for Phase 1.5 and for the entire future build-out.

The proposed fee schedule for Phase 1.5 is broken into seven items: schematic design, design development, construction documents, bidding, contract administration, reimbursable expenses, and cost estimate for 100% build out (building only).

Approval