Low Bid Awarded for College Arts Building

Moorpark College will have to borrow far less money than expected to build its performing arts building, officials said, after construction bids came in well below district expectations.

On Tuesday, the Ventura County Community College board of trustees voted to award the building’s construction contract to C.W. Driver and Associates of Los Angeles, whose bid of $6.91 million leaves the district with only $121,370 in building costs to raise on its own.

Construction is scheduled to begin Dec. 6.

The state has agreed to fund up to $7.1 million of the building’s construction. It has balked at paying for certain items included in the architect’s plans, such as a concessions stand and a hydraulic orchestra lift.

“That’s a great job,” board President Gregory P. Cole said as district officials described the low bid at the board’s monthly meeting. “You’ve saved us hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

The college has a number of options for funding the remaining $121,370, said Ray DiGuilio, Moorpark College’s vice president of administrative services. College officials can go to the board and ask them to dig into the district’s reserves, he said.

Or they can ask the Simi Valley or Moorpark redevelopment agencies, both of which have financial agreements with the district, to donate redevelopment money toward the shortfall, he said. Or the college could take out a loan, he said.