Tamarac narrows Eastside Community Park design‑build field to Burke Construction and EU International

Tamarac — The Tamarac City Commission on June 8 heard seven design‑build teams present competing visions for the Eastside Community Park community center and waterfront amenities and agreed to advance two finalists — Burke Construction Group and EU International LLC — for final consideration at a scheduled Wednesday meeting.

Paul Basser, the city’s interim purchasing and contract manager, opened the session by summarizing RFP 2,626: the solicitation was posted March 13, 2026, closed May 5 and produced seven proposals. Presentations were limited to 15 minutes each with 15 minutes for questions, and Basser repeated the city’s ground rules that presentations would be recorded but not streamed and that only presenting teams could be in the room while their team spoke.

Design teams offered contrasting approaches to the 10,000‑square‑foot community center, 6,000‑square‑foot playground program and associated site amenities. James Alexander of Alexander & Johnson described his firm’s “single point of accountability” approach and framed the plan as a civic anchor with a waterfront community center, pedestrian promenade and integrated programming. Alexander told the commission the Alexander & Johnson concept estimated the project at “around $14,000,000.”

Other teams pitched smaller budgets and differing trade‑offs. Recreational Design & Construction (RDC) and its technical lead Stantec presented a local, tree‑preserving plan with about 75 parking spaces; RDC’s budget example from its estimator, Eric Steinmuntz, was $11,900,000. Several other firms offered budgets clustered in the $11 million to $12.5 million range. The summary sheet provided to the commission shows Burke’s proposal at about $11,000,217 and EU International’s at about $12,452,867; the project’s target budget in the solicitation was $9,800,000.

Design features repeated across teams included a BSO (Broward Sheriff’s Office) substation integrated into the building footprint, a two‑story lobby with flexible event rooms, an observation deck and an ADA‑accessible fishing pier overlooking the canal. Presenters emphasized community engagement plans and design‑build continuity to reduce change orders and schedule risk.

Several commissioners pressed teams for operational and site specifics. Commissioners asked how many parking spaces would be provided for simultaneous events (answers ranged from roughly 40 to 75, depending on team assumptions), whether the project provided a dedicated dog walking or off‑leash area (most designs did not include one; Mayor Gomez repeatedly raised the absence of a dog trail as a concern), and whether buildings had been engineered to support a future vertical expansion. Multiple presenters acknowledged the site’s drainage easement or other utility constraints and recommended design iterations or easement vacations to optimize layout.

Budget and long‑term operations were central to the commission’s deliberations. Commissioners noted that several proposals exceeded the solicitation target and asked staff about lifecycle, maintenance and staffing implications; the city manager said the procurement and grant parameters defined the project scope but commissioners would vet implementation issues before awarding a contract.

Following discussion, commissioners signaled consensus to advance Burke Construction Group and EU International LLC as the two finalists for Wednesday’s meeting, where the commission expects staff to present negotiation authority and final recommendation documents. Mayor Gomez closed the workshop by thanking the teams for their presentations and adjourning the meeting.

What’s next: The commission will consider authorization to negotiate with the finalist(s) at the upcoming Wednesday meeting; staff will bring cost, schedule and draft contract language for the commission’s review.

Attribution: Quotes and attributions in this article come from the June 8, 2026 Tamarac City Commission workshop transcript and the presenters who identified themselves during the record; all direct quotations are attributed to speakers listed in the transcript’s speaker log.