College awards bid for new trades building

For just more than $4 million, Oswood Construction of Great Falls will construct facility for FVCC

A Great Falls general contractor submitted the winning bid of just more than $4 million to build the new Occupational Trades Building at Flathead Valley Community College.

The Board of Trustees awarded the contract to Oswood Construction at a special meeting Thursday. Swank Enterprises of Kalispell came in second at $4,084,000.

College President Jane Karas called the winning bid "much more in line" at just $18,000 more than the architect's estimate.

Karas referred to the first bid opening for the trades building in January, in which the lowest bid was $520,000 more than the projected estimate. Rather than award the contract, trustees decided to make design changes to reduce the cost.

In response to a question from trustee Bob Nystuen, Karas said the changes won't compromise the building's functionality for students or its appearance.

"It will still be a very attractive building," she said.

She said the biggest cost savings came from a change from precast concrete panels to split-faced concrete masonry units. Karas said the building should look very similar to other buildings on campus.

"It should look like concrete rock," she said.

Other changes to lower construction costs included changing:

-Translucent wall system to a translucent material.

-Roofing material from PolyIso to a more efficient material.

-Pre-finished hallway wood panels to veneer.

-Some exterior doors and storefront from aluminum to hollow metal.

-Overhead doors from all glass to single-glass panel.

The college included landscaping as a deductible in the specifications for the 25,190-square-foot building. To achieve the final cost reduction, the college deducted landscaping, which lowered the winning bid by $99,900.

"We're going to do the landscaping ourselves," Karas said.

Four contractors submitted bids to build the trades building. The two in addition to Oswood Construction and Swank Enterprises were Sletten Construction of Great Falls ($4.1 million) and Western Interstate Inc. of Missoula ($4.8 million).

The Occupational Trades Building includes five shop bays, a small-group conference room, two applied technology classrooms, three faculty offices, a receiving-storage area and a student resource area.

It provides a home for:

-Building construction trades of plumbing, electrical and carpentry

-Manufacturing, metal fabrication and wood products

-Heating, ventilation, air conditioning-refrigeration

-Welding

-Boiler operations

-Heavy equipment operator and maintenance

Along with the trades building, the campus expansion includes and Arts and Technology Building and an Early Childhood Education and Care Center.

Swank Enterprises submitted the low bid of $10,085,400 for the Arts and Technology Building in late January. The 61,500-square-foot building includes a black-box theater, one large and two small meeting rooms, 13 classrooms and other facilities.

Karas expects the Occupational Trades Building to come online in December and the Arts and Technology Building in spring 2007. The child-care center is scheduled for completion in summer 2007.

Even with cost reductions to campus expansion, the college needs to raise about $3.5 million to cover inflationary increases accrued during a three-year court battle that occurred after the $15.8 million bond election in December 2002.

Karas said the college foundation's Building for Success campaign was moving forward but remains in the silent phase. She said many naming opportunities for buildings, classrooms, etc. remain for donors.

Anyone interested in donating should call Ruth Ackroyd, director of college relations, at 756-3963.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.