South County Courthouse moves to next phase

VENICE –– With the preconstruction phase completed, site work on the South County Courthouse project adjacent to the R.L. Anderson Administration Center will begin soon.

Accordingly, during their regular March 24 meeting, Sarasota County commissioners made an adjustment to the construction manager at risk contract with Halfacre Construction Company.

As part of their consent agenda that day, commissioners unanimously approved an amendment to the contract with the company increasing the not-to-exceed amount from $280,000 to $5.9 million.

The amendment was a planned progression as the degree of work to be performed increases with the site work phase and the construction phase.

Commissioners were told in April 2018, when they approved the contract with Halfacre that future amendments would be coming.

One unanticipated change to the design of the new courthouse was revealed during the site work phase according to a memo to commissioners.

That change is the need for a “higher level of security for judges parking than originally planned,” according to county documents. To achieve that, staff has recommended a “fully enclosed secure area” for 14 vehicles which increases the project cost by $640,000.

In addition, a county memo to commissioners notes that a proposal for the courthouse portion of the project will come to commissioners in July.