REDEVELOPMENT CONTRACT TO GO OUT TO TENDER

By Stuart Strachan, Chair, Blueskin Bay Community Complex Redevelopment Trust

 

Since last month's report with the news of the Dunedin City Council's confirmation of its $500,000 contribution, progress has been marked.

 

A project management committee has been established by City Council Property Services that has now met three times. Chaired by a senior Property Services officer, representation includes the architects (Architectural Ecology), the quantity surveyor (Chas. George), the City Libraries Manager (Bernie Hawke) and Head of Customer Services (Mike Collett) and Redevelopment Trust Board members (Alasdair Morrison and Stuart Strachan). Its main business has been reviewing the updated project specification and refining the budget, so that the funds available match the estimated cost.

 

This has now been achieved for the building itself, enabling registrations of interest to be publicly called for from qualified contractors (closed 25 July) and the putting out of construction to tender. The present timeline is for tenders to close in August, with a view to site works beginning in September. By then the Library will have moved to new temporary quarters at Waitati School. An even earlier sign of activity is the formation of the realigned vehicle entrance from Harvey Street as part of the new footpath works, so avoiding the need to remake the footpath later. The plantings there are being relocated.

 

For the sustainability-minded, the building will be as energy efficient as practicable consistent with available funding. Ventilation will be natural and unforced, heating will be by under-floor piping using heat pump technology, and the ceiling and walls will be insulated to the latest building standards, with double glazing of all windows and doors.

 

This does not mean that fundraising is at an end. Fit-out and landscaping costs still have to be met, though these will be minor compared to the cost of building. The main thing is that the project as at last under way and we can all look forward to its completion early next year.