The renovation of four wooden buildings at Fort Vancouver National Site’s West Barracks must be put out for bid a third time after a clerical error in the bid documents prompted contractors to overestimate the job’s cost by millions of dollars.
The city of Vancouver plans to convert the old Artillery Barracks, Infantry Barracks, Quartermaster Storehouse and Dental Surgeon’s Building into apartments and space for office, retail and hospitality use. In May, the city sold “mini bonds” to Clark County residents to help pay for the $8.3 million project, which also is funded with a combination of state grants, revenue generated from operation of historic properties, and city bonds. Bassetti Architects of Portland was hired to design the adaptive-reuse renovation project because of the firm’s experience with historic structures.
The city first put the project out to bid June 5, but no contractors responded by the July 14 deadline. As a result, the city decided to relax some of its requirements for the job, such as demanding certain supervisors have a particular amount of experience.
When the city advertised the job again Aug. 6, seven contractors submitted bids by the Oct. 20 deadline. Two bids were thrown out for being nonresponsible and nonresponsive, respectively, and the remaining five came in between $1.7 million and $2.5 million above the final engineer’s estimate of $6.3 million.
The main problem turned out to be a misinterpretation of the scope of work based on an architect’s error in the bid documents, the city learned. The documents mistakenly stated that 900 glass window panes and 6,000 lineal feet of window putty would need to be replaced. The documents should have said that roughly nine glass window panes and 60 lineal feet of glazing compound need replacing, according to the city.
The old putty contains asbestos, which requires handling by a hazardous material abatement subcontractor. Removing 60 feet of putty instead of 6,000 feet significantly reduces costs, according to the city.
In addition, the hazardous materials survey provided in the bid documents assumed that all roofing materials currently on the buildings contain asbestos. However, the Fort Vancouver National Trust does not believe asbestos is present because the roofs are less than 20 years old. If the roofs prove not to contain asbestos when they’re tested, that’s another potential cost savings, said Jon Sears, the city’s capital projects manager.
Because state law forbids cities to negotiate bid prices, the city must reject all the bids, correct the mistakes and advertise the project a third time in December.
Construction is expected to take one year from the date the project is awarded. City staff believe there will still be enough time to meet grant funding deadlines, even with the delay.
The Army moved out of the Artillery Barracks in 1999, but the other three buildings have been vacant for decades. The buildings, which are approximately a century old, are empty shells — the Army gutted most of the structures down to the studs. However, a few character-defining features remain that the city will take pains to preserve, such as wood floors, wainscotting, pressed tin ceilings and the original space layouts.
