Westport River Center loses a bit off one side

High costs prompt WRWA to cut headquarter’s size

Posted 8/15/18

High costs prompt WRWA to cut headquarter’s size

With construction bid prices coming in higher than expected, the Westport River Watershed Alliance (WRWA) has decided to scale back on its …

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Westport River Center loses a bit off one side

High costs prompt WRWA to cut headquarter’s size

Posted

High costs prompt WRWA to cut headquarter’s size

With construction bid prices coming in higher than expected, the Westport River Watershed Alliance (WRWA) has decided to scale back on its planned transformation of the old Head garage into the Alliance’s new headquarters.

The River Center, as it will be called, will lose a 8-foot by 30-foot addition to its east side, leaving essentially the same building footprint as the garage now occupies, said WRWA’s Steve Connors.

That addition was to have provided space for, among other things, expanded office space and space for infrastructure for some of the building’s systems, he said.

But due “to some good imaginative thinking” the loss of space won’t diminish activities at the center and the loss of usable space will be less than feared, he said.

The problem arose when bids for the project came in “significantly above” the $1.4 million construction budget that was the target of what he described as a successful fund raising effort.

“It won’t be quite as big as we had hoped but it will still serve us well” and be a Head of Westport showcase for the Alliance’s environmental work. A new dormer will still be added to the front of the building.

There are a few positives to the revisions, Mr. Connors said. The head garage will now retain essentially the same shape as always, and there will be a bit more open land/green space on the east side.

It is a costly project, he said, because the existing building is essentially a shell that must be converted with all new systems, including composting toilets and other features meant to show how construction can be gentle on the environment. It will also have an elevator to make all of its floors accessible.

The first floor will be used primarily for public space, including displays; the second floor will house a meeting room, office and science spaces as well as bathrooms; and the third floor mezzanine will have space for education and more offices.

The changes have led to a modest delay in construction and anticipated opening.

Rather than start construction in June as first hoped, the decision was made to wait until after the Head of Westport’s busy summer season. Work will now start in several weeks with completion expected by sometime next summer.

This is the second local project to take a financial hit caused in part by an overheated construction market. Recently, the School Building Committee learned that costs for the new grade 5-12 school had already risen $3 million above what voters had approved. Rather than trim the size and offerings of the new school, planners and engineers instead identified other savings to keep the job on budget.

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