Tallmadge nears City Hall project
Council to consider five bids on renovation work. Lowest is $1.9 million from Carmen Construction

By Julie Wallace
Beacon Journal staff writer

TALLMADGE: The city yesterday secured a bid to renovate City Hall for $1.9 million - a number city officials say is more palatable than the high of $2.3 million that was offered in an initial round of bidding.

Carmen Construction Co., 427 Commerce St., turned in the lowest bid among the four companies that sought the project in the second round. In the first round, the bids came in at 17 percent higher than the architect's estimate of $1.8 million - meaning the city had to rebid it under the state law.

After the initial set of bids, the city slightly reworded the project to cut costs and revised the architect's estimate to $2.1 million. The latest round of bids, which were unsealed yesterday afternoon, were a pleasant surprise, Mayor Christopher Grimm said.

The highest bid this time was for $2 million, he said.

"We are back down to a manageable number and on line with where we wanted to go," Grimm said.

The bids will be presented Thursday to the City Council for consideration. Grimm said the city needs to fast track the project - issuing bonds to pay for the work and getting the contractor on the job within the next few weeks.

The demolition already has been completed on City Hall, so whichever contractor is hired will be able to start immediately. The city has a one-year lease on the former David Bacon School on Strecker Drive and included a three-month cushion in the timetable to cover construction delays and moving, Grimm said.