Wednesday, July 07, 1999
Vote delayed on bids to tear down City Centre
Banks wants to interview top two firms
BY JANET C. WETZEL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MIDDLETOWN — Just when it seemed city commissioners were ready to take the last major step in the process to choose firms to handle the City Centre Mall demolition project, the objections of one commissioner stopped them.
During a meeting Tuesday, Commissioner Jerry Banks said he wants to question the top two firms before deciding which to select for urban design, architecture and engineering. The selection is one of the most critical decisions in the project, he said.
The staff had recommended Sandvick Architects of Cleveland for an estimated cost of $1.17 million. A nine-member task force of staff and residents chose that firm after narrowing a list of 50 applicants to 10, then seeking proposals from the top three.
They chose Sandvick, based on reviews of cost estimates, experience, references and understanding of the project. In 1995, that firm created Middletown's Urban Design Plan, including five mall options.
Commissioner Paul Nenni objected to the delay. He said he trusts the staff's decision and believes they have made a good choice.
“I'm not going to pick this thing to death,” he said.
Commissioner David Schiavone agreed, and said he, too, was ready to vote.
Others, however, supported Mr. Banks' request to continue the meeting until Tuesday, tentatively at 7 p.m., to interview the top two firms.
The other is a team composed of Burgess and Niple Ltd. and Scheer and Scheer Inc., both of Cincinnati.
After years of concern over the failing mall, commissioners began serious discussion about its fate in October and voted unanimously March 2 to tear off the mall's roof and reopen Central Avenue to traffic.
A market research firm, ZHA Inc. of Annapolis, Md., has been hired to conduct a downtown marketing analysis, focusing on the mall. Hanscomb Inc. of Cincinnati has been hired as project manager.
During the meeting, Mr. Nenni said he will not attend the reconvened meeting but changed his mind after learning commissioners would likely vote that night.
“I'll come if you're going to vote,” he said. “I won't hold up this process.
Mr. Banks said the staff did a thorough job and he has no questions about their work.
“But I have a lot of questions I'd like to ask the two finalist firms,” Mr. Banks said. “When you get to the part about money, there's more weasel words in there than you can ever imagine.”
Longtime resident Vivian Washington said the decision to question the firms in an open forum makes sense.
“You'd get a better sense of whether these guys believe in their bids first hand, instead of from the staff,” he said.
Resident Mike Presta also favored the plan but said commissioners should ask each firm the same questions and should submit them in advance so the firm can have the proper people on hand to respond.
The time line calls for having:
• Preliminary marketing data by mid-July.
• Preliminary design and cost estimates by early October.
• The bonding process completed by late October.
• Construction drawings and property acquisitions by March.
• A marketing program for the mall area started by year's end.
Contracts should be awarded and construction should be started by July 2000.
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