OCEAN CITY – New bids for site construction for the redevelopment of the downtown recreation complex remain considerably over what has been budgeted.
In recent years, town officials have been planning for a major redevelopment of the downtown recreation and parks complex along the bayside between 3rd and 4th streets. The large swath of open space has served many purposes over the years, but is showing its age and is generally unpleasing and unwelcoming aesthetically.
To that end, the Recreation and Parks Department two years ago initiated a process to begin redeveloping the complex. A consultant was hired to redesign certain elements of the park and add new amenities. Those plans have been reviewed and tweaked at different levels during the process, but the town was ready to pull the trigger with funding included in a bond sale for the first phase of the project.
During a work session in July, the submitted contractor bids for the first phase of the project were opened with disappointing results. Just two bids were submitted for the budgeted $2.2 million project, and each were higher than expected. For example, one of the bids came in at around $3.8 million, while the second came in at nearly $5 million, or more than twice what was budgeted.
City Manager Terry McGean suggested adjusting the timeline for the downtown recreation complex redevelopment, putting the project on pause and rebidding its first phase. On Tuesday, four new bids were opened with similar results, although at least one was fairly close to the $2.2 million budgeted. Two of the bids were similar at around $3.9 million, while one was much higher at $4.7 million. The lowest among the four bids for the project came in at around $2.7 million, which was closer to the $2.2 million budgeted for the first phase of the downtown recreation complex redevelopment project. The council voted unanimously to remand the opened bids to staff for review and a recommendation.