4 Firms Submit Bids for Beverly Hills Civic Center

Four construction companies from across the country have submitted bids to Beverly Hills for the completion of the city’s $85-million civic center.

The bids were submitted upon the completion of a nationwide search for a contractor to complete the final phase of the civic center project, which includes police headquarters, library expansion, a community theater and arts center and the plaza. The project will be located on Rexford Drive on the same site as City Hall.

Hensel Phelps Construction Co. of Greeley, Colo., submitted the lowest bid at $55.9 million dollars. Gust K. Newberg Construction Co. of Chicago put in the next-lowest bid with an offer of $57.1 million. Continental-Heller Corp. of Long Beach bid $58 million and Blount Bros. Corp. of Alabama bid $59.3 million. Ten other companies expressed interest in the project but dropped out without submitting bids.

Public Service Director Mel Odom, who is in charge of the project, said that all four bids submitted to the city clerk last week would be evaluated and rated by the city’s staff. The council will select the contractor.

So far, officials estimate, the city has spent more than $17 million on the project. The total cost is estimated at $85 million.

City officials said that construction is on schedule. Work on the parking lot north of City Hall has already been completed and a 563-space garage is to be finished soon. A temporary fire facility is also done; permanent 450,000-square-foot headquarters are scheduled to be finished next year.

The new police headquarters will encompass 92,000 square feet and the library will more than double to 75,000 square feet. The center also will include a 550-seat auditorium.

The project is being funded by a $60-million lease-purchase agreement. The city also expects interest earnings of $13.5 million from reinvesting some of the funds.