Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure Construction topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Courthouse expansion nears roof and lobby milestones; tower-crane removal planned, budget tracking on schedule
Summary
Facilities staff and the project team gave a monthly construction update on the Deschutes County courthouse expansion, reporting structural topping, interior MEP progress, upcoming lobby foundation work and a planned tower-crane removal with a short street closure; project spending and recent state grants for FF&E were summarized.
Lee Randall, the county's facilities director, and Eric Nielsen, capital management manager, gave the board a monthly update on the courthouse expansion project on Monday.
Staff said the expansion has topped out structurally and crews completed the roof deck and are now installing parapet framing, mechanical penthouse preparations and exterior metal stud framing. Inside the expansion team reported masonry, plumbing rough-in and continued MEP installation on lower floors as shoring is removed.
Nielsen said crews had started excavation and foundation work for the single-story lobby that will connect the new expansion to the 1977 building, and that the main lobby foundations were being surveyed and readied for concrete pours. The team also plans to begin some renovation work in an existing north office area around Sept. 2 to take advantage of available space and reduce overall disruption.
On logistics, staff said a plan to dismantle the tower crane will require a multi-day street closure on Bond Street. The crane removal work is scheduled for Sept. 12'15 and will require a lane or two block closure; the county and contractor coordinated lane-closure windows with the City of Bend and local courthouse operations to minimize impacts.
On budget, Nielsen reported $23,170,004.76 spent to date; staff presented a project balance figure in the packet and described contingencies as healthy. The county also reported additional funding transfers from the Oregon Judicial Department (OJD) for FF&E and audiovisual work: staff said the county had received $1.5 million previously, an additional $1.3 million was transferred for audio-visual and FF&E scope changes, and a larger earlier award of $15 million was noted in the project funding summary. The speaker characterized the contingency buckets as sufficient to cover foreseeable site-plan and remodel unknowns.
Staff highlighted project risks: revised site plans submitted to the city were pending approval and could change public-improvement costs; remodel work in the existing building may reveal unforeseen conditions (for example, hydronic piping routed through an electrical room that staff said will require relocation under current code). The team said such items are budgeted for and will be handled from project contingencies.
Construction timing projected exterior and interior finishing over the next several weeks and final renovations wrapping up the following summer. The tower crane removal weekend in mid-September will include signage and detailed coordination with affected property owners and businesses on Bond Street.
Speakers present for the update included Lee Randall (facilities director), Eric Nielsen (capital management manager), Kurt Schwaubauer (superintendent) and Wayne Otterly (owner's representative).
