Delays Spur Talk of New Convention Center Contractor

Fearful that delays in excavation of the construction site could hold up the opening and increase the cost of the $125-million convention center, a subcommittee of the San Diego Unified Port District will meet Tuesday to consider hiring another contractor to complete the work.

“The port staff has over the past months told the contractor (HuntCor Inc.) in a variety of ways that we didn’t feel he was doing the job according to the specifications of the contract, and it’s time now for him to get his operation in order,” said William Rick, a port commissioner overseeing construction of the convention center, which is scheduled to open in July, 1988.

Rick said it was too soon to tell if the excavation problems would delay the opening.

“We don’t see the contractor moving with any great alacrity,” Rick said. “We’ve been advised by our soils consultant and the port’s staff that if no effort is made to change the status of the excavations, we might have to take possession of the site and hire somebody else to do the job.”

Excavation of the waterfront construction site was supposed to be finished in early December, Rick said, at a cost of $5.6 million. Rick said the contract between the port district and HuntCor empowers the port to deduct $1,000 from the contractor’s fee for each day the excavation is behind schedule.

Officials at HuntCor, a Phoenix-based firm which helped build the Hotel Inter-Continental which is adjacent to the convention center site, could not be reached for comment. Rick said a letter detailing the port’s position on delays in the excavation process was sent to the company this week.

“We’re going to consider ourselves fortunate if this work is finished by the first part of April, so we’re talking about $1,000 per day over a four-month period,” Rick said. “We’ll simply deduct that amount from their final payment, and if they don’t like it, they can go see the man in the black robe. Nevertheless, we are hopeful this can be settled, and the work can be completed, without involving litigation.”

The foundation for the 750,000-square-foot convention center, which sits on an 11-acre site, will be 11 feet below sea level. To keep the construction site dry, a series of wells must be installed to pump the water away.