Pontiac moves forward on $37 million youth recreation center design, authorizes bids and construction manager review

Pontiac City Council on March 11 approved contract changes and a construction-manager step that advance a proposed $37 million youth recreation center toward a final price.

The council’s action amended the city’s architectural contract for the project and authorized the mayor or deputy mayor to execute an AIA A133-2019 agreement with Clark White (joint venture) to provide construction-manager-at-risk (CMAR) services, allowing the city to move from design to hard bids and a guaranteed maximum price.

Deputy Mayor Stevens told the council the project was designed to a $37 million target after months of community outreach. “We started with a base number of $25 million,” Stevens said in the presentation. “The center that we designed, not including the pool, was a $37 million building.”

Nut graf: The council voted to keep the project on schedule while requiring the next step — a CMAR-led bid process — to produce a firm construction cost. That process will let the city decide whether to proceed at the guaranteed maximum price or scale back, supporters said.

Counc…