Consultant urges design-build or CMAR approach after $62 million award for new Martin County High School

The Martin County Board of Education heard a detailed briefing on options for delivering the newly funded Martin County High School at the Oct. 21 work session.

Consultant and construction counsel Mr. McPherson told the board there are four primary methods to consider when contracting for a new school: design'bid'build; design'build; construction manager-at-risk (CMAR); and design multi-prime. He explained the legal and practical differences in North Carolina between RFQs and RFPs and said selection rules for local government contracting mean the district must be deliberate about whether it prioritizes qualifications or price.

Mr. McPherson summarized the trade-offs. Design'bid'build, he said, gives the owner direct control over design and selection but is slow and prone to change orders if contractors are not engaged early; he said he generally does not recommend it for large new schools. Design'build pairs design and construction teams, can speed delivery and provides a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) structure but changes the architect'owner relationship because the design and contractor operate as a team. CMAR involves selecting an architect and bringing on a construction manager during design for pre-construction services, allowing the manager to help control change orders and present a GMP; Mr. McPherson described CMAR as a commonly used option for public projects and generally suitable when the owner wants the architect to act as the district's agent during construction. He characterized design multi-prime as less advisable for this scale of project.

He recommended the board pursue either design'build or CMAR for speed and budget control, saying: "I think you should either do design build or construction manager at risk." He said the district should expect interest from multiple regional firms on a $62,000,000 project and suggested aiming for robust RFQ responses.

Board members asked about solicitation strategy, whether out-of-state firms are common, and how many responses to expect. Mr. McPherson noted North Carolina law gives an advantage to in-state firms and said he would expect several qualified teams to apply for a project of this scale.

The board did not make a procurement decision at the meeting; staff said the construction options and next steps will be added to the weekly update and returned to the November agenda for further consideration.