Lowest bid not low enough for Justice Center

Bill Gang

Thursday, Sept. 30, 1999 | 11:37 a.m.

The design of the new Justice Center already was cut to bare bones, but it wasn't enough.

When bids were opened this week for the downtown project -- housing Clark County's District and Justice courts along with the Las Vegas Municipal Court and the Nevada Supreme Court -- the lowest bid was at least $13.5 million above the architect's original estimate of $104.5 million to $107.3 million.

The lowest of the three bidders was the J.A. Jones Company, which currently is building the new federal courthouse on Las Vegas Boulevard.

That bid ranged from $118 million to $120.8 million, depending on whether two floors are left as bare shells or finished to house the Clark County District Attorney's Office. An 18th floor to provide for future expansion would add another $2.5 million for a total cost of $123.3 million.

Bids from two other construction companies came in at more than $2 million higher.

Nevada Supreme Court Justice Nancy Becker, who has been a driving force behind the Justice Center from the time she was a district judge, said it is now up to government officials to decide if they want to kick in the extra cash or search for another option.

The cost dilemma, Becker said, is the result of unexpected leaps in the costs of concrete and the gypsum boards used to build the walls. Both are required to be used extensively throughout government buildings.

Over the last 18 months, concrete costs skyrocketed 20 percent while drywall prices jumped 7 to 10 percent as availability diminished in the nation's recent building boom, she said.

The Justice Center committee already has been struggling with the rising costs by cutting back quality, size and materials in virtually every area, and there is nothing left to cut, Becker said.

If built, it "will cost less than any courthouse built in the nation in the last two years," she said.

The building was supposed to accommodate the courts for 15 years and the district attorney's office for 10 years before expansion would be needed. But the cutbacks and concessions already may mean the courts will run out of space in seven to 10 years and the prosecutors in three to five years.

Besides eliminating one floor, cuts have included reducing square footage, lowering ceiling heights, eliminating secured underground parking for judges and replacing concrete walls with cinder block.

While the new federal courthouse two blocks away will cost $212 a square foot, the Justice Center construction will come in at $168 for each of the 700,000 square feet to be built.

The national standard is about $200 a square foot "in Clark County dollars," Becker said.

Other factors contributed to an annual 4 percent increase here in construction costs, said District Judge Michael Douglas, including the number of large building projects in Clark County that occupy much of the workforce and subcontractors.

The Justice Center project, if it goes forward despite the increased costs, will fit in between resort projects that are concluding and a couple of new projects not yet begun.

"By pushing to get out the bid when we did, we hit the most favorable window," Douglas said.

One option because of the excessive bids is to redesign the courthouse into a bare bones box of a building. But Becker said that by the time that could be done, the cost for construction would be about the same as the current project because of the continuing escalation of material prices.

"The only thing that would make it cheaper would be if there was a major recession in this area," Becker said.

Speaking against a redesign of the building that will see a million people a year pass through its doors, Douglas said, "The public has a right to have a building it can be proud of."

"It's a nice looking, cost-effective building of standard construction techniques," Becker said. A stone facade has been replaced with stucco and little wood will appear in any of the down-sized courtrooms.

"We need a durable building, but not one viewed as a Taj Mahal or a temple," Douglas said, adding that the judges and the design committee cut out about $13 million in costs before the project went out for bids.

Becker conceded that while there are justifiable reasons for the Clark County Commission to commit to build the more expensive structure -- including an 18th floor that would extend the usable life of the building -- the commissioners have to weigh their other obligations.

The judges know the commission wants to build parks and is struggling with the rising construction costs for other facilities on the drawing boards.

One option that has been suggested is to house the district attorney's office in the old Bridger Building, where county officials worked before the Government Center was constructed.

But the estimated cost to renovate that asbestos-tainted structure is $15 million, Becker said, while using the new Justice Center would only cost an extra $5 million.

There is a 90-day period in which the J.A. Jones bid can be accepted. Construction is scheduled to take 24 months.

The majority share of the increased costs will fall to the county, but the city of Las Vegas and the Supreme Court also will have to come up with funds.

The city is not expected to balk, and Becker said the Supreme Court has enough money set aside to cover its extra costs for the single floor it will occupy.