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Spiraling costs delay downtown projects

Clearwater officials slow down the process of reviving the sector, trimming Cleveland Street improvements and postponing a planned park.

By AARON SHAROCKMAN
Published March 28, 2006

CLEARWATER - City officials say they will delay work on a downtown park and roll back other accents planned for a remade Cleveland Street, after learning the project is millions of dollars over budget.

The changes will postpone construction along a portion of the city's main downtown street and alter other elements of the project's design. The construction of Station Square Park will be delayed indefinitely, saving $1.6-million, officials say.

The streetscaping of Cleveland between Myrtle and East avenues also would be put off. The full project is to run from Myrtle Avenue west of Osceola Avenue.

The project is the city's major investment in the new downtown. Much like the Beach Walk plan for Clearwater Beach and Tampa's Riverwalk concept, officials think a new street-level experience will attract more visitors and more businesses.

The work will all be completed eventually, but Assistant City Manager Garry Brumback said on Monday the city needed to shave as much as $4.6-million from the project cost. The low bid to complete the streetscape was 70 percent over the city's original estimate, Brumback said.

The cuts, if approved by the City Council next month, mark the second time in six months the city has had to alter plans for a major road improvement, shocked again by soaring costs and a volatile construction market.

In December, City Council members decided to break up the construction of the city's Beach Walk project into phases after learning the work could cost as much as $30-million, twice what was projected.

The city is opting for a similar approach on Cleveland Street.

"We don't want to compromise the project," said Mayor Frank Hibbard. "There's been times when projects have gotten watered down as far as their effect. If you water it down too much, it comes to a point where it's not worth doing."

As much as $1.8-million is expected to arrive from the Florida Department of Transportation to offset some of the increased costs, and $900,000 in Penny for Pinellas dollars is waiting for the project. City officials think they can save an additional $3-million from adding cheaper landscaping and pavement combinations, a process called value engineering.

Work on the rest of the project could begin in May and take 18 months.

"It is not as cheap as it was originally budgeted," said Brumback, who in an e-mail to city administrators called the bids "ugly." The city decided to break the work into phases, Brumback said, rather than shoehorn the entire project into the budget.

"We want to do it right rather than do it cheap," he said. "This, we think, is the best we could without dummying it down."

Most of the proposed changes to the project are minor, said John Gibbs, president of Gibbs & Register, one of the companies bidding to do the work.

For instance, the street surface at intersections along Cleveland Street were originally designed as asphalt. Gibbs said crews could replace asphalt with concrete and save more than $100,000.

"In fact, that might enhance the appearance," said Gibbs. "But it will cost less money."

Gibbs said labor shortages combined with materials prices are pushing construction costs higher. Fewer contractors are also bidding on municipal work because it often involves higher risks.

The idea behind the Cleveland Street improvements is to make the typical roadway more pedestrian friendly: reducing vehicle lanes and widening sidewalks; adding lushly landscaped medians with mini-courtyards; and creating a cafe destination.

"There's no silver bullet," said Hibbard, saying the streetscape alone won't rejuvenate downtown. "I think a movie theater is an important component. I think boat slips are an important component. I think an improved Coachman Park is an important component. And I think a streetscape is an important component."

[Last modified March 28, 2006, 03:01:29]