Features back on new COD building

The new Health Careers and Natural Sciences building at the College of DuPage might actually look like the one the school planned to build a year ago.

Trustees plan on adding another $1 million in building features that they'd removed last year because construction estimates were over budget.

During a committee meeting Monday, they tentatively agreed to add back to the $60 million project a greenhouse, rooftop garden, and irrigation system.

They'll also complete the interior construction and fittings for one general computer lab, a biology lab and a chemistry lab. One of the larger expenses are $275,000 metal panels in the common areas instead of drywall.

So far, the expenses total more than $1 million. But Jim Koolish, program manager for The Rise Group, said he has to review the prior bids to make sure those prices will remain in effect.

Only the $100,000 irrigation system price is guaranteed through Oct. 16. All the other price guarantees have expired.

Trustees also asked whether they will see additional architectural and engineering fees because they've added the projects back into the building. Koolish said that's unclear.

When first presented to the board for approval last year, the building was substantially over budget and architects eliminated more than $5 million in work.

As the school has hired contractors, and final estimates came back lower than expected, they've added some of those projects back in, explained Tom Ryan, COD vice president for administrative affairs.

"Some things that were value engineered out stayed out, but these they thought were important enough that if we could put them back in we would," he said.

The largest addition was a $2.5 million bridge linking the HCNS building with the Student Resource Center.

Overall, the project remains budgeted at $60 million, but the construction costs were increased this summer from $45 million to $50 million, explained Brian Kleemann, COD news bureau coordinator.

"It's a realignment from the original costs given by (the first project manager) Gilbane to what The Rise Group had been seeing," he said.