Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Economic Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council awards $21.31 million construction contract for NCFI expansion at Hoover Public Safety campus
Summary
The council approved a negotiated award to MJ Harris Construction for the National Computer Forensics Institute expansion. Funding includes a Department of Homeland Security grant and Shelby County contributions; the expansion will add classrooms and a 250-seat auditorium.
The Hoover City Council voted to award construction of the National Computer Forensics Institute (NCFI) renovation and expansion project to MJ Harris Construction Services LLC for $21,309,748 during its Aug. 25 meeting.
City staff and project representatives told the council the expansion is supported primarily by a Department of Homeland Security grant and local contributions. The city received a DHS grant for $21,850,000; Shelby County is providing $1,100,000 toward architect and design fees, and the team allocated $540,000 for construction project management and inspection. After those allocations, staff said $21,310,000 was available from grant funds. Two qualified construction bids exceeded available funding. Per Alabama bid law staff cited, the city declared the lowest responsive bidder and entered negotiations to value-engineer the project to fit available funds; staff presented the negotiated award of $21,309,748.
Project scope presented to the council includes three 35-person classrooms, a 250-seat instructional auditorium, 20 administrative offices, common areas including dining space, and renovations to existing training rooms in the Hoover Public Safety Building. Staff said NCFI trains roughly 4,000 in-person students annually now and aims to increase capacity to about 8,000 with the expansion; the institute reported more than 27,000 room nights last year and said doubling student capacity would likely double local economic impacts over several years.
Architect Hannah Burns of Turner Batson showed renderings depicting an addition sited in the parking area adjacent to the existing public safety building, a new bus drive and a glass-fronted lobby leading to the proposed auditorium. Staff said NCFI will provide furnishings under its own funding; the awarded contract covers construction only. Lemoine (Lemoyne in the packet) was identified as the construction project manager to act on the city’s behalf during the build.
City staff said the award accepts an alternate that removed elevator modifications and then used value engineering to reduce cost to the available funding. The item passed on a voice vote.
Council members and staff recognized representatives of MJ Harris after the vote. Construction schedule shown to the council was preliminary; staff said the proposed schedule assumed a start in August and included standard allowances for procurement and inspections.
Action taken: Resolution No. 8557-25 awarding Bid No. 25-012 to MJ Harris Construction Services LLC for $21,309,748, with Lemoine engaged as construction project manager. Funding: DHS grant ($21,850,000), Shelby County contribution ($1,100,000), and project-level allocations for project management and design.
