Consultant gives Richland County demolition estimates, flags jail as top space need

Venture Architects told the Richland County Campus Reconfiguration Committee that preliminary construction‑manager estimates for campus demolition and site work run into the low millions, and that the county’s most pressing long‑term space gap is for jail and judicial facilities. The consultant urged the committee to use the firm’s space‑needs analysis to guide a 20‑year master plan and to present key findings to the full county board.

Kyle of Venture Architects said the firm broke proposed work into phases. He reported a Phase 1 demolition estimate of about $214,000 for the classroom building (Building B) and $326,000 for the library (Building C), with a combined Phase 1 estimate of roughly $541,000. Site work to remove sidewalks, steps and hardscape was estimated at about $227,000 and parking work at roughly $187,000. If every demolition and site scope were done together, the consultant estimated a total near $3,400,000 and said a single‑project approach might reduce overall mobilization costs by about 5 percent.

The report also examined the gymnasium (Building F). "The renovation cost was $3,220,000," Kyle said, noting that a full replacement of the existing gym in like materials was estimated at about $9,700,000 and deferred‑maintenance work to address end‑of‑life systems was roughly $1,890,000. The consultant added that a lower‑cost, pre‑engineered steel facility could provide gym functions more cheaply but would not match the Simon Center’s aesthetic.

On county space needs, the consultant presented recommended square‑footage adjustments based on departmental interviews and programming. Kyle said county services administration would be right‑sized from roughly 12,800 square feet to a recommended 17,000 square feet and that Health & Human Services could be reduced to about 23,000 square feet from 25,000 today. "The biggest need that the county has right now from a square‑footage standpoint is for the jail and the sheriff's office," Kyle said, reporting an estimated requirement of about 81,000 square feet compared with the existing ~12,000 square feet. Judiciary functions were estimated to need about 23,000 square feet, up from about 10,000 today.

Committee members pressed on cost details and procurement. Manning, who said he does demolition work locally, disputed the consultant’s assessment that salvage would be a neutral factor and asked the committee to solicit at least two bids, including local contractors. Kyle replied the numbers presented came from a construction‑management partner that requested detailed building information and that local bidders could produce different figures.

The consultant warned that site selection and timetable hinge on zoning and finance. Kyle said feedback from the city made siting a jail on the campus a likely zoning nonstarter, and he reminded the committee that Richland County’s 2023 audit reported a debt limit of about $90,442,000 with roughly $28,090,000 currently in use — limits that affect how large projects can be financed.

Chair opened the discussion for how much of the consultant’s material to forward to the full county board. The committee agreed it was not yet ready to adopt final reuses but wanted the analysis and cost estimates included in the board report and asked staff and the consultant to return with additional details, local bid comparisons, and demolition tonnage estimates.

The committee set follow‑up steps: gather bid estimates, ask the construction manager for tonnage breakout per building, and bring the synthesized findings to the county board for direction. The committee also scheduled its next CRC meeting for 5 p.m. on March 5.