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Albany Museum of Art on schedule; LRA selected and construction budget set
Summary
Museum and downtown development partners told the commission that the Albany Museum of Art project is on schedule to break ground in mid-April, with LRA Constructors selected and a construction budget not to exceed $22,904,559. Funding commitments include $4 million from the city and $3 million from Dougherty County.
The Albany Museum of Art’s renovation and downtown redevelopment remain on schedule, project leaders told the commission on Feb. 3, with a tentative mid-April groundbreaking and construction financing in active planning.
Andy Wolf, representing the museum, said the project moved from procurement into execution after selecting LRA Constructors out of three finalists and that the construction “not to exceed” amount for the contractor is $22,904,559. Wolf said the number covers contractor fee, contingency and cost oversight but excludes the owner’s contingency amount that the organizers maintain separately. The project team has engaged a Columbus-based owner’s representative for cost oversight and schedule control.
Wolf and staff outlined a funding stack that includes a $4 million city commitment, $3 million from Dougherty County, $3 million from a private foundation and more than $1 million in private donations to date; federal and state funds remain possible near-term targets and the team is pursuing historic tax credits and bridge financing for an anticipated $8 million ballpark for a bank bridge loan.
Project staff asked commissioners to expect public-facing communications for the planned groundbreaking and to support advocacy at the state level on historic-tax-credit cap changes that could affect the project and other adaptive-reuse efforts.
Quote: “The overall assessment is we are on schedule and positioned to enter construction with strong governance and professional oversight,” Andy Wolf said.
Next steps: mobilization for construction, bridge loan conversations, and public communications around the groundbreaking.
