Delridge bids come in, and (surprise) Sahli is lowest.

The bids are in!

1. Sahli: $413,000
2. Grindline: $502,000
3. A-1: $576,000
4. Construct: $589,000

The good news is that Grindline was able to bid on the project.  Also notable is that 3 & 4 are using Grindline as a sub.  But it doesn’t really matter if T.F. Sahli gets the job, and since Washington State law requires that the lowest qualified bid gets the gig, that might happen.  My question is how does T.F. Sahli consistently under bid people by almost $100K?  How does this guy stay in business?

I will say it right up front and probably repeat it until you have to encase me in the concrete to shut me up:

There is an inherent value-add when the designer builds the project, which nets out to way more than the relative savings, to the skateboarders.  On this project, it matters even more because the second-in-line is based in the neighborhood that the park is being built in.  If there is a local firm in the neighborhood that meets the qualifications, it’s worth $100K to get them involved.

But wait…there’s more…

Parks had to amend the bid requirements because they accidentally released a set of requirements that only required the completion of two skateparks.  Oops:

Addendum 1:

ITEM #1:                                              Section 00 45 13, 1.03.A.1:  REVISE to read – “Contractor or Subcontractor must have completed (6) public, cast-in-place concrete skate park facilities, 15,000 square feet or larger.  Parks must be open and in good operating condition for at least one year.  Only those projects where the complete construction of the facility has been the sole responsibility of your firm will be considered acceptable projects.”

ITEM #2:                                              Section 00 45 13, 1.03.C.1:  REVISE to read – “The firm shall have successfully performed and completed six (6) projects in the past six years of a directly analogous nature of 15,000 square feet or larger of cast-in-place concrete that have been in operation for one (1) full year.”

We’re checking now, but we’re pretty sure Sahli doesn’t qualify based on these requirements.

Also, we know Sahli takes forever (Lower Woodland), and even with heavy oversight they produce mixed results.  Seattle Parks really needs to do the right thing here.  If they apply some real world economics, they’ll figure out that $100K is a bargain for a local builder that cares about what gets built for their friends and families the neighborhood.  I’m guessing by the statement from Kelly that “This contract will not be considered awarded until all documentation has been approved by the City” means that at they will at least be looking into those amended qualifications.  Go Kelly!

West Seattle Blog also has a write-up here.