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‘This is a very exciting day for us’
Published October 22, 2009
Snead State Community College officials opened bids for a renovation project to renovate historic Norton Hall.
The project calls for a complete interior and exterior renovation project, including new electrical and mechanical systems, balcony and entry stairs and ramp, and preservation of many historical architectural elements.
“This is a very exciting day for us,” said Snead State President Robert Exley. “We had a good turnout for bids. We express sincere thanks to all who responded.”
Phil Black, of Krebs Architecture and Engineering of Birmingham, Montgomery and Atlanta, opened five bid packets Tuesday afternoon.
Bids submitted include:
• Boatner Construction, of Rainbow City. Base bid: $1.278 million.
• Chorba Construction, of Guntersville. Base bid: $1.231 million.
• Civicon, of Cullman. Base bid: $1.330 million.
• Henry Construction Company, of Bay Minette. Base bid: $1.3 million.
• Virgle Berry Construction, of Scottsboro. Base bid: $1.67 million.
All companies gave additional alternative bids of $22,000 to $27,000 to construct pedestrian walkways. Part of the five- to 20-year long-range plan is to build pedestrian walkways throughout the campus.
“We know (Snead State) will want to proceed quickly. We will certify the bids and get them to (Snead State) officials Wednesday. Then, we will notify the low bidder and send a letter of intent to the bidder so they can get underway as soon as possible,” Black said.
State board of education officials approved a $2 million budget for the renovation. Exley said the building budget “came in well under budget.” He said the lower-than-expected costs will allow school officials more flexibility and possibly allow them to tackle other projects on the long-range plan.
Exley said plans are to have the building open for the 2010 fall semester.
“We will move really quickly. Hopefully we will be able to see activity start within the next few weeks,” Exley said. “We are really eager for this to get underway. It will be a signature building for years and years to come.”
Once renovations are complete, the building will become the social sciences building, home to four classrooms and four offices. A large, covered portico will be constructed across the back of the building, overlooking the baseball field. The area will become a wireless “hot spot.”
Renovation to the building also includes the use and installation of high-efficiency energy-saving fixtures and lighting.
“This project will be a great one for our city,” Exley said. “This project will provide numerous jobs in a wide variety of businesses. There will be workers in town, spending money in our city.
“As part of this renovation, we have worked hard to keep the historical value of the building intact, while making it more modern, safe and user friendly. We have worked tirelessly with state officials to make sure this renovation doesn’t compromise the building’s historical value while still meeting our needs.”
Most recently, the building housed a historical museum, which will be relocated on the campus at a later date. All items within the museum have been cataloged and inventoried, Exley said, prior to the move.
“It has taken a really long time but we have worked really closely with (state historical society) officials to make sure what we are doing meets with their regulations. They have a lot of quirky things, like you cannot lower the height of the ceilings, which we wouldn’t want to do anyway, and we cannot change the appearance of the outside of the building,” he said. “We just want to make sure what we do is correct.”
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