Wilmington approves parks operations facility and $11.97M construction contract; project cost climbs to about $13.3M

Wilmington’s City Council unanimously approved a capital-appropriation ordinance and a companion resolution to award the construction contract for a new parks operations facility. The council authorized an appropriation of $4,209,071 and awarded the contract to J.M. Thompson Company of Cary for a base bid of roughly $11.78 million with selected alternates bringing the contract award to $11,971,273.

Public works director Dave Mace told council the new facility will consolidate parks maintenance, urban forestry and related operations on a 7.5‑acre site adjacent to the existing operations complex on River Road. He said the current office is a converted 1923 house in a floodplain and is functionally obsolete. The project program includes a 15,000–16,000 square‑foot workshop and office building, covered vehicle and equipment storage, and a greenhouse purchased under a separate contract.

Project bids opened July 15 and produced nine responses; the lowest responsive bid exceeded the January estimate by about 15 percent. Mace and staff cited several drivers of the increase: tariffs and supply‑chain pressures that raised prices for mechanical and electrical equipment (5–7%), an 11–20% rise in steel prices, and general cost escalation. The total project budget presented to council, including contingency, CFUA connection fees, tree mitigation, inspection/testing and IT infrastructure, was approximately $13.3 million.

City staff said funding sources include roughly $1.4 million in closeouts from previous projects, $256,000 in capital balances, and more than $2.5 million in additional debt capacity; the city also expects roughly $4.25 million from NCDOT related to the sale of part of the existing property, which staff intends to use to retire variable‑rate debt tied to acquisition costs.

Council asked detailed questions about surplusing the old parcel, fuel access for vehicles, what was value‑engineered and the inclusion of rooftop photovoltaics as an alternate. Staff described several cost‑saving adjustments (smaller greenhouse, material substitutions, deletion of a third‑party lead consultant) and recommended award to the lowest responsive bidder. The appropriation ordinance and the contract award were both approved unanimously.

With the council’s action, staff will proceed with contract finalization and project delivery; the record shows continued attention to cost controls and phasing of alternates to manage budget risk.