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City negotiates change-order claim for new police headquarters; staff reports reduced A/E claim
Summary
City administration described a months‑long dispute over an architectural change order for the new Bradenton Police Headquarters. AECOM’s initial change-order claim of about $1.28 million was negotiated down by staff to roughly $889,000; staff recommended against litigation and said the project will continue to completion.
Bradenton — City staff described a negotiated reduction of a disputed architectural change‑order claim tied to the new Bradenton Police Headquarters and recommended moving the project forward without litigation.
City administration explained the original A/E contract contemplated design services for a smaller project; as the police facility program expanded in size and scope, the architect’s fee claim increased because the contract fee ties to the final construction cost under standard AIA terms. AECOM initially asserted a change‑order claim of about $1,280,000; after city review and negotiations, staff said AECOM reduced the amount to about $934,000 and that further negotiations reduced it again to about $889,000.
City staff said they consulted construction‑litigation counsel and concluded pursuing arbitration or litigation would be unlikely to recover substantially more and would delay the project. Staff described other increases in project scope — a larger facility footprint and a separately priced parking garage — and noted industrywide construction price escalation since the original contract estimate. Estimated all‑in construction costs discussed in the meeting were roughly in the $30 million–$35 million range (programmed building area cited at about 53,000 square feet including a garage); staff noted the project’s per‑square‑foot cost was competitive for a specialty public safety facility when compared with regional examples.
No council vote was required on the change‑order summary that staff presented at the meeting; staff said construction is underway and the city intends to complete the project.
