Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Armory Hall topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City staff says plan to lift Armory Hall 5 feet; GMP expected in June, construction targeted late June/early July
Summary
At the May 4 work session, city development manager Jen Phelan outlined a plan to lift Armory Hall five feet for a new foundation, citing engineering recommendations; staff said the project remains within the previously presented budget and expects a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) to come before council in June.
City development manager Jen Phelan told Aspen council on May 4 that engineers have recommended lifting Armory Hall vertically to install a new monolithic foundation and deepen the basement as part of the adaptive-reuse project.
"We are proposing to lift the building 5 feet vertically in the air, to install that new foundation and deepen the basement," Phelan said, noting the team has hired Wolf Home Building and Movers, a national firm that specializes in building lifts, and has submitted the structural engineering package to the Historic Preservation Officer. A Historic Preservation Commission hearing is scheduled for May 13 to review the proposed lift and related design changes.
Phelan said staff received an initial guaranteed maximum price from the contractor that is under review and that they plan to present a final GMP to council in June. She told the council the project currently remains within the previously presented budget. Departments currently occupying the building are expected to vacate by the first week of June and Shaw (the construction manager) is targeting late June or early July for on-site work; the team is aiming to lift the building in October before winter weather worsens. Phelan said the overall construction duration is estimated at 28 months from site start.
Staff described ancillary project impacts and mitigations: lifting the building requires removing several park trees and design coordination with Parks on Connor Park staging; the Galena Street frontage would receive an 8-foot sidewalk and a corner bulb-out; certain parking along Galena and Hopkins will be used for construction staging and some farmers market stalls will need relocation while the park is closed. Phelan said coordination with farmers-market stakeholders is underway and that the project team is exploring alternatives to reduce vendor disruption.
On operations and procurement, staff said six teams responded to an earlier RFQ and that an RFP for a building operator is expected to be issued in July once the start date is confirmed. Phelan said the team plans to extend construction-administration contracts (CCY Architects) and add construction-phase services with the construction manager as adviser when the GMP is finalized.
Next steps: staff will continue engineering and historic-preservation review, finalize GMP clarifications with the contractor, return to council with contract and GMP approval in June, and publish an operator RFP in July.
