Atherton will soon decide if it will launch a new bidding process for the project to construct its long-awaited civic center project in early January.

The Atherton City Council will vote on Wednesday (Dec. 19) whether to go out to bid on Jan. 3 for a project to rebuild the town’s police, administration, library and planning division buildings, according to a staff report. Bids for the project - now estimated to cost about $48 million - came in 40 percent higher than expected earlier this year. At the meeting, the council will vote on the project timeline and estimated project costs.

“We’re very excited to have this go out to bid again,” said Marty Hanneman, Atherton’s project manager. “It’s an iconic project in the town of Atherton.”

Bids will be due on Feb. 13 if the council green-lights the proposed process, according to a staff report. Sealed bids will be received at the office of the City Clerk, 91 Ashfield Road, until 11 a.m. on that day, when they will be publicly opened and read aloud. The council plans to award a bid on Feb. 20.

The town plans to break ground for the project on March 13 if the bidding process is successful. Under the plan, the new civic center would open at the end of March 2021.

To cut costs, the council removed hoped-for improvements in the corporation yard, simplifying site access and logistics; deleted all required tree removals; and demolished the library and public works buildings prior to going out to bid, Hanneman said. Overall, it cut costs by $4.3 million, according to the staff report.

“The council has made a lot of changes to streamline (the project) to make it much easier to bid,” Hanneman said. “The council did a great job to make that happen. It’s a better time of year. What we’re hearing is the (construction) market is hopefully leveling off a bit. ... We’re excited we’ll get some really good bids.”

In June, bids for constructing new quarters for the town's library, police station and building, administration and planning departments came in nearly $16 million over the $40.5 million estimate. The current project estimate is about $8 million more than the estimate earlier in the year.

“Of course, we hope the bids come in around this number or lower, but we will not know until the bids come in on Feb. 13,” Hanneman said. “The potential looming tariffs on steel and other construction materials are also unknowns.”

The town will hold a pre-bid conference at 10 a.m. on Jan. 16 at the town’s council chambers at 94 Ashfield Road. The meeting is open to the public.

The meeting this Wednesday begins at 7 p.m. in the town's council chambers at 94 Ashfield Road.

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