When bids were opened by the City of Bridgeport for the demolition of the Towne House East Motor Lodge it wasn’t as expected. In this particular case, it was a good thing.

 

According to Bridgeport Community Development Director Andrea Kerr, the bids came in much lower than estimated. Kerr said the city was anticipating bids “north of $300,000” for the removal of the Main Street structure.

 

“They came in much lower than we anticipated, which is great news,” said Kerr.

 

The bids were opened at the Bridgeport Municipal Complex Monday. Only two contractors bid on the project, which can often spell trouble. That wasn’t the case this time.

 

Lyons Excavating of Clarksburg is the apparent responsible low bidder at $196,000. Reclaim out of Fairmont was the other bidder, and was extremely close to the Lyons bid, with a total of $205,000.

 

“You always like to see a lot of bidders, but this time it worked out. Now we have to review everything before moving ahead,” said Kerr, who is overseeing the project with assistance from City Engineer Beth Fox.

 

Kerr, Fox and others will likely make sure everything is in line with Lyons Excavating’s bid. References will be checked, bonding and checking to see if a proper city license is in place. Rarely does a bidder with the long-term background of Lyons not meet the requirements. If that doesn’t happen, then the city moves on to the second bid.

 

“We hope to have this up for City Council approval by the June 24 meeting,” said Kerr. “If given approval at that point then the contract will be signed and a notice to proceed will likely be given on June 25.”

 

Kerr said the one thing that has changed is the completion date. She said contractors involved during the pre-bid conference and prior to submitting bids had some concerns with the time frame based on the asbestos in the structure.

 

“The contractors asked for an addendum to extend the completion date due to the asbestos involved. The main reason is there will be some downtime following the asbestos removal waiting on a certificate (from the state that certifies the building is asbestos free) to proceed with the demolition,” said Kerr.

 

The new completion date is Oct. 31. Kerr said that should be plenty of time to have the building removed. Kerr anticipates the project to start at the beginning of July.

 

Once removed, the site won’t immediately have anything placed on it as the city has made no formal plans. However, the site will be graded to drain and also seeded and mulched.

 

The building, situated on West Main Street near Twin Oaks, provides rare downtown road frontage and deep property in the rear. The entire parcel covers 2.734 acres and was purchased for $975,000. There has been discussion of putting a new city fire station, a police station or a combined version – or perhaps one and not the other – on the parcel. Nothing, however, is close to definitive.

 

“This should be nice when it’s completed, both companies have done work for years on this front with Lyons having, I think, about 40 years of experience … The winning bidder will know the work is being done in a residential area with motorists going through and with work needing to be done between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.,” said Kerr.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows the Towne House as it sits with the parking lot taped off from trespassers. Bottom photo is of Community Development Director Andrea Kerr.