First Metro Center Bids Come In

The town on Monday received a total of seven bids for the inspector's job at the Fairfield Metro Center, an estimated $250 million project that would include the town's third train station, a rail commuter parking lot and up to 1 million square feet of commercial development on 35.5 acres on lower Black Rock Turnpike.

Bids to do construction work on public portions of the project are due at 11 a.m. June 2 in Sullivan-Independence Hall. The bids received Monday are to oversee and inspect that construction work.

The lowest bid received for the inspector's job was $762,000 from AI Engineers, Inc. in Middletown. The highest bid received was $1.513 million from HAKS, also in Middletown. The town doesn't have to accept the lowest bid; the Town Charter allows the town to award the contract to the lowest qualified bidder.

The five other bids were $1.01 million from Arcadis U.S., Inc. in Middletown; $984,770 from STV Incorporated in Stratford; $1,509,979 from Parsons Brinckerhoff in Glastonbury; $1.505 million from Diversified Technology Consultants, Inc. in Hamden; and $1.15 million from Milone & MacBroom Inc. in Cheshire.

The bid requests had asked bidders to submit their fees as both a total amount and as a percentage of an estimated total construction cost of $23 million to $25 million. The percentages from the seven bidders ranged from 4 percent to 6 percent.

A selection team, comprised of Town Purchasing Director Twig Holland; Office of Community & Economic Development Director Mark Barnhart; Town Engineer William Hurley; First Selectman Ken Flatto; and Town Attorney Richard Saxl, was expected to review the submitted bids and qualifications of the companies; "short list" two to four candidates; and then conduct interviews of the finalists beginning at 9 a.m. Thursday in Sullivan-Independence Hall.

The inspector would oversee construction work on the 35.5-acre property at 21 Black Rock Turnpike that includes sitework, grading, utilities, drainage, construction of an access road from the bottom of a state Department of Transportation bridge, across the property and onto Black Rock Turnpike; retaining walls; a rail commuter parking lot of 1,300 to 1,500 spaces; remediation and capping of contaminated materials on the property; and wetland mitigation.

Bids to do all that work are due at 11 a.m. June 2 in Sullivan-Independence Hall.

The DOT is building the bridge and platforms for the train station.

The town has a total of $29.6 million available for the inspector's fee and the fee associated with the construction work - $19.4 million from the state; $5.2 million from Blackrock Realty, LLC, the private developer; and about $5 million in town money that is left over from a $6 million funding request approved by town boards several years ago.

The town is responsible for paying for overages on the project, according to an agreement between the DOT and the town.

The town several months ago awarded a $2.561 million contract to Guerrera Construction Co. in Oxford to improve off-site intersections to handle heavier traffic. The town is responsible for paying for that work, though it received $2.2 million in federal stimulus money to help offset the cost.

Construction of the public portions of the Fairfield Metro Center is projected to last 16 months from the date construction begins. It became necessary for the town and state to do public portions of the project when Blackrock Realty ran into financial difficulties and TD Banknorth, which had loaned Blackrock money, initiated a foreclosure action against the developer. That action was withdrawn after the state agreed to kick in $19.4 million for the work.

Blackrock's private development envisions five office buildings, a hotel and retail space.