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Beach Walk's tab keeps rising

The original estimate: $15-million. The current one: $24.2-million, at the least. But Clearwater will proceed with the project.

By AARON SHAROCKMAN
Published September 8, 2005

CLEARWATER - Building the city's winding Beach Walk promenade will cost $9-million more than first expected, a 60 percent overrun that has city officials questioning the methodology of the original estimate.

City engineers plan to proceed with the project, a 42-month makeover of a half-mile portion of S Gulfview Boulevard, in January.

The tab, though, has now stretched to $24.2-million, according to the lowest bid. The city's design consultant first estimated the project would cost $15-million. Unforeseen utilities work later raised construction costs to about $18-million.

Money can be cobbled together to cover the additional costs, and federal and state grants might offset some of the local burden, said the city's finance director, Margie Simmons, Wednesday.

The consultant who calculated the estimate, PBS&J, blamed rising concrete costs and the risks associated with beach construction for driving up the price.

Mayor Frank Hibbard said he's unsure why a national engineering firm didn't factor that in from the start. He said the firm should be held accountable for what he called "quite a discrepancy."

PBS&J, which has offices in Tampa and has been paid about $1.3-million for its work, will not be penalized, said city Public Works Administrator Mahshid Arasteh.

"They didn't mis-design anything. Their forecasting and their estimate was not what we expect for a consultant," Arasteh said. "The bottom line is you always expect the consultants to be proactive in bringing the market issues to you, and in this case, it didn't happen."

The city and PBS&J are searching for ways to cut costs for the design, said Ben Doan, PBS&J's division manager for construction services. For instance, the city could switch out some of the lighting systems for the promenade, now estimated to cost $700,000.

Projects across the state have been costing 30 to 50 percent more in 2005 compared to 2004, Doan said.

"Believe me, when we do these estimates, we try to get them as close as we can," Doan said. "There's a big contract risk factor. What the number is, only they can decide that."

City officials expected six or more companies to bid to build Beach Walk but got only two. Nelson Construction of Palm Harbor bid $26.5-million, and Westra Construction Co. of Palmetto bid $24.2-million.

The length of the work, 42 months, might have deterred other companies from bidding. It's difficult to know what construction costs will be in 2009, Doan said.

And rebidding the work will likely produce only higher numbers, especially in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which has fostered fears that construction materials will be difficult to find.

"You really can't tell what's going to happen in the future," said Gary Johnson, the city's public services director. "It's so unpredictable."

When it's finished, Beach Walk will transform the waterfront road from Pier 60 south to the site of the former Adam's Mark Hotel. The new road will wind along Clearwater Beach, with meandering walkways, courtyards and lush greenery.

The project is the keystone public commitment to the massive revitalization already under way on the beach. Two major resorts are timed to rise with Beach Walk, and other new condo and hotel projects are also planned along the beach.

"This is a high priority. This is going to be a magnet to get our citizens closer to the sand and to create the right environment for what we want Clearwater Beach to be like," Hibbard said. "So yes, we're in somewhat of a Catch-22."

- Aaron Sharockman can be reached at 727 445-4160 or asharockman@sptimes.com

10-foot wide winding sidewalks

A 35-foot-wide brick-lined promenade

Courtyards and plazas

Decorative sculptures

[Last modified September 8, 2005, 01:49:23]