Leadership, Seven Stories Tall
Hamilton Canal Innovation District Municipal Parking Garage
Lowell, MA
A Multi-Phased Strategy
In 2018, prior to hiring Dore + Whittier, the City of Lowell bid their project under the MA Ch. 149 design-bid-build procurement method and received two General Contractor bids ($46 and $49 Million) that were significantly over their city-approved budget of $37.9 Million. The project was deemed critical to other neighboring redevelopment projects that had begun construction and the city had made commitments to have the building open for use in 2021. Even with this time pressure and city development commitment, the city was forced to withdraw the project from the MA Ch. 149 procurement process.
In 2019, the city solicited Owners’ Project Management (OPM) qualifications and hired D+W to act on the city’s behalf to deliver their project within the approved budget. Our team executed a multi-phased strategy based on the city’s baseline goals for the building, elimination of unrequired costly design elements, incorporation of construction subcontractor input on design, and streamlining of the overall sequence of the construction schedule. Within four months of beginning the “new” process with D+W as the OPM, the City of Lowell had a revised design concept that was within their approved budget and on a timetable that met their needs. The resulting project has met the City’s needs functionally and aesthetically while being affordable and timely.
