Ad hoc senior-recreation committee reports architects moving to design phase; Clark Construction chosen as construction manager by city commission

An ad hoc committee updating the proposed senior/community center told the Birmingham Parks and Recreation Board on March 4 that architects will move into preliminary design work after the city commission approved the committee’s goals in concept.

The committee’s presentation, delivered during the board’s meeting, summarized a series of meetings and outreach that began in early February. Committee members said an architect team worked with potential tenants — described at the meeting as the YMCA and a program named Next — to develop a draft building program showing types and sizes of spaces. The committee presented that draft to the city commission at a Feb. 10 workshop and the commission “agreed with the goals and visions” and asked architects to continue with design, the committee said.

Why it matters: the project is proceeding from vision and programming into visible designs and cost estimating, which the presenters and the board said will be used to set bond amounts and inform public discussion.

At a Feb. 24 meeting, the ad hoc committee reviewed roughly 10 proposals from construction managers and recommended three finalists. The city commission then selected Clark Construction as construction manager, a decision the committee described as consistent with its recommendation. Committee members said Clark has “extensive experience with municipal issues” and that the firm told the city it would not charge the city for construction-manager services unless the bond to fund the project is approved by voters. “We don’t have to pay anything to the construction manager unless the bond issue is approved, and then we would pay them for their services,” the committee presentation said.

Committee members said bringing a construction manager on early will allow more accurate cost estimates and better advice to the architects and the commission about what the bond should raise. Presenters also said Clark offered communications expertise for the bond campaign and other support if needed.

The committee described a continuing schedule of public input and promised that upcoming meetings will show visual “visions” of the building — floor adjacencies, siting of kitchens and activity rooms, and preliminary renderings — so residents can comment on how the space would be used. The presenters emphasized the process remains iterative: design visuals will be refined with the construction manager’s cost feedback and additional community input.

Board members did not take a formal vote on the project during the March 4 meeting. The presentation closed with the committee noting some schedule uncertainty about the commission’s next steps but said visuals and cost estimates are expected to follow soon.

Ending: The committee asked the board to note the update; the project will advance with architect designs and construction-manager input and return to the commission and public for further review and decisions about bond funding.