November 16, 2015

City rebids Fire Station 32 project

Image from Bohlin Cywinski Jackson [enlarge]

The 21,000-square-foot station will replace the old one, which has seismic and structural deficiencies and is too small.

City officials are seeking bids for a general contractor to build a new Fire Station 32 in West Seattle.

The project was originally bid as a general contractor/construction manager job and awarded to BNBuilders. But the city and BNB were unable to agree on cost, so the city is rebidding the project using the traditional low-bid method.

A city spokeswoman said this is the first time that the city has rejected a GC/CM contract and gone back back to traditional bidding.

The three-story station will be built on the current Fire Station 32 site, at the corner of 38th Avenue Southwest and Southwest Alaska Street. The engineer's estimate is $11 million.

The Seattle office of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson designed the 21,000-square-foot station to replace the old one, which has seismic and structural deficiencies and is too small for modern operations. The new station will be the city's second LEED-platinum fire station.

The old station was built in 1966, and will be demolished early next year. The new station should be finished in the second quarter of 2017.

During construction, Fire Station 32 operations will be relocated to temporary facilities at 4731 40th Ave. S.W.

The project will come under the city's community workforce agreement that became a requirement earlier this year for projects over $5 million. The agreement gives hiring priority to workers who live in local, economically distressed areas and promotes use of apprentices.

More information about the project and the workforce agreement will be available today during a workshop at High Point Community Center, 6920 34th Ave. S.W. The event starts at 3 p.m.

Information is also available online at http://tinyurl.com/SFD-32.