Fall 2010 will not only bring new faces to Ball State University, but also a new residence hall: North Hall. North Hall, which will be located across from Studebaker West, is on its way to making its first appearance on campus.
In order to meet the scheduled August 2010 completion date, on-site construction will begin in a few weeks.
Jim Lowe, director of engineering and operations, said the construction fences were being erected, along with the green fabric to shield the construction site. Once the construction bid is prepared, construction will be able to begin, he said.
Alan Hargrave, associate dean of student affairs director of housing and residence life, said work had also begun on deciding a winning bid.
"The bids for the project were opened yesterday," Hargrave said. "No bid has been awarded yet though."
The bids have been narrowed down to four remaining companies, all with close base bids: Sheil Sexton Co bid about $3.5 million, F A Wilhelm Co bid about $3.7 million, Messer Construction bid about $3.7 million and Weigand Construction bid about $3.9 million.
Kevin Kenyon, associate vice president of facilities planning and management said the apparent low bidder would most likely be the winning bid.
"Depending on what alternates we choose and depending on the due diligence we complete will depend on who we choose," Kenyon said. "Typically, it's the low bidder though."
Due diligence is the process of checking the bidders subcontractors, references and other information that was not readily available during the first bid.
Kenyon said sometimes there were situations where due diligence would affect the apparent low bidder from being the winning bid, but it was unlikely.
Lowe said housing reserves was funding the residence hall, which was estimated to cost around $4.12 million.
Once the bid is awarded and the project is complete, students can expect a residence hall very similar to Park Hall. It will house around 600 students and have different amenities including multi-purpose rooms, various recording studios and a grab-and-go store.
BidsCompanies and what they have bid to construct North Hall
- Sheil Sexton Co. $34,849,000
- FA Wilhelm Co. $37,241,000
- Messer Construction $37,436,000
- Weigand Construction $38,895,000
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