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East Providence Council approves police station renovation, selects ADS Construction
Summary
The council unanimously approved a roughly $3 million renovation for the police station and awarded the contract to ADS Construction after staff cited concerns about the lowest bidder and JCJ Architecture presented phased design and accessibility upgrades.
The East Providence City Council voted unanimously Sept. 3 to approve a resolution awarding the police station renovation to ADS Construction and to advance a multi-phase plan to modernize the 24/7 facility.
The project, described by police leaders and JCJ Architecture as a roughly $3 million renovation, will reorganize interior space without expanding the building footprint, add interview rooms and evidence storage, upgrade bathrooms to current ADA standards, replace a rooftop air-handling unit and add supplemental steel for roof loads. Council members were told ADS was the second-lowest bidder; the lowest bidder, Tower Construction, raised quality and change-order concerns during the city’s due diligence.
“ADS Construction is located here in East Providence and, based on our review, we recommend moving forward with them,” said the police department representative presenting the procurement rationale. Keith Mercy of JCJ Architecture summarized the design: “We tried to maximize the space of the station without changing the footprint,” describing new interview rooms, an improved detective suite and phased work to keep the station operational.
Council members asked about schedule, contingency funds and past performance. Staff said phasing was designed so essential operations remain open, with a target for completion of initial phases around late winter. Officials noted the small difference—about 1%—between the low and second-low bids but cited prior disciplinary records and reports of cost overruns tied to the low bidder as the reason for preferring ADS.
The council approved the resolution by voice vote. Council members and the administration said they will make design plans available to the public and coordinate phasing to minimize operational disruption.
The next procedural step is contract execution and pre-construction coordination; staff indicated work could begin once the contractor completes the mobilization steps and permits are in place.
