Cost Nears $139 Million : Convention Center Tab Inches Up $322,500

The cost of the San Diego convention center--which is now about 30% complete and due to open in May of next year--is inching upward, and now stands at nearly $139 million as a result of about $322,500 in new expenses approved Tuesday by a reluctant Board of Port Commissioners.

Most of the new cost--$227,713--will be used by the San Diego Unified Port District’s construction management firm, Fluor Constructors Inc., to hire more employees, though some of the money will be used to buy a computer, printer, furniture and other equipment, and telephones.

The rest of the other new expenses, totaling about $95,000, are for a variety of engineering and architectural services that will be paid to Convention Center Architects, the entity responsible for designing the bayfront center, and the construction company building the 1.75-million-square-foot structure, the joint venture of Tutor-Saliba-Perini.

Board Chairman Raymond Burk told his colleagues that--although construction of the convention center remains on schedule--it is now entering a new phase of more detailed construction that is expected to generate change orders and additional expenses.

Commissioners Critical

Some commissioners, such as Dan Larsen and Louis Wolfsheimer, were critical of the new expenses requested by Fluor, though the vote approving the additional $227,713 was unanimous.

Don Nay, the Port District’s executive director, said that because of the complexity of the project, Fluor was falling behind on its job analyzing and evaluating construction work at the 11-acre site at the foot of 5th Avenue.

“What’s happened is the amount of paper work that’s been created is over and above what was anticipated,” said Nay, noting that the bulk of the additional funding would be used by Fluor to hire another engineer and clerical worker. “Frankly, we’re falling behind a little bit in our paper work . . . (and) the best way to solve the problem is to hire more people.”

But both Larsen and Wolfsheimer said Fluor should have been aware of the entire scope of the job when it bid on the contract. The Port District originally hired Fluor for $1.9 million. Other amendments to the contract made before Tuesday’s voted had increased that amount to $2.4 million.

“It’s beginning to be not recognizable from (their) . . . first contract,” said Wolfsheimer, explaining how Fluor’s contract has now grown by nearly 40%, to about $2.6 million.

Voted to Hire People

Larsen said that because Fluor had underestimated the cost to do the job, the increased expenses should be taken out of the company’s profit. Although the commissioners, at Larsen’s urging, ordered the Port District to more closely analyze the new expenses, they voted to hire the extra people.

In November, the cost of the center as budgeted by the Port District--including actual and anticipated expenditures--was $138.5 million. While Tuesday’s action by the Board of Port Commissioners added $322,500 to that, it won’t be the last increase.

Exclusive of future construction change orders, the total of which is still unknown, an additional $5 million is said to be needed to fully furnish and outfit the center.

San Diego Convention Center Corp., the nonprofit group that will operate the facility, has said the Port District’s $5-million budget for furnishing and outfitting the center needs to be doubled.

Members of the Board of Commissioners have acknowledged that the budget is inadequate, though a decision on increasing the allocation has yet to be made.