Council accepts bid for garage construction

By By Fredie Carmichael / staff writer
April 9, 2003
Construction could begin next month on a $7 million downtown parking garage at the corner of 23rd Avenue and Eighth Street in Meridian.
Meridian City Councilmen voted Tuesday to hire Mobile, Ala.-based Rod Cooke Construction Inc., whose construction bid of $5.6 million was about $900,000 less than the next lowest bid. The total cost of the project, including land acquisition and incidentals, is expected to reach $7 million.
Once construction begins, the five-floor, 400-car garage is expected to be complete within 14 months.
The council's vote to hire Rod Cooke Construction came a year after officials first unveiled plans for the parking facility, which they view as a key piece of the Riley Education and Performing Arts Center. Renovations are already under way at the Grand Opera House and Marks-Rothenberg Building.
The council vote means the city will move to finalize details of the contract. The Alabama company's low bid prompted some concern among councilmen that the work could be done without cost increases along the way.
Ward 1 Councilman George Thomas said he was concerned that Rod Cooke Construction's bid was significantly lower than the other four bids.
But Hartley assured Thomas that his firm has discussed the bid in detail with Rod Cooke Construction on several occasions, warning that there can be no cost increases. Hartley said he was confident the work can be done at the bid price.
Hartley said he, too, had initial concerns about the low bid, but was reassured when he learned that the construction company does a good bit of the work in-house rather than subcontracting it.