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San Antonio Water System's Cost for New Digs Goes Up

Posted on: Wednesday, 20 July 2005, 12:01 CDT

Jul. 20--The cost of moving into its elegant new headquarters overlooking Brackenridge Park will be $1 million more than projected after remodeling, San Antonio Water System trustees were told Tuesday.

Installation of computer cabling and additional air conditioning for sensitive electronic equipment bumped up the cost of retrofitting the former Valero headquarters, but the utility is on track to complete a move by November.

SAWS' board Tuesday ratified a $3.5 million construction contract with O'Haver Contractors that will speed up interior remodeling of the two-tower complex on U.S. 281 North near Mulberry Street.

That's $1 million more than was projected when the property was purchased for $27.4 million last year and $215,000 more than the engineer's estimate.

Chief Financial Officer Doug Evanson said the final cost estimates for completing the move now are $37.3 million.

Mike Brinkmann, leader of the SAWS team overseeing the move, said some of the cost is because of additional network cabling, electrical work and air conditioning for centralized control equipment that was not included in the original estimates.

"And I think we are paying a premium for some shift work to get this work done quickly," he said, adding that the original timeline called for the remodeling to be done over 11 months instead of three months. Work on the contract started July 11.

Brinkmann told the board the addition of two floors to the parking garage to bring it into compliance with city codes came in at the projected $2.5 million cost.

Valero, which had abandoned the complex for larger quarters near the University of Texas at San Antonio after taking over Ultramar Diamond Shamrock, built the center for a reported $53 million about 10 years ago.

SAWS bought the Valero complex just months after buying the former Butter Krust Bakery and Playland Park sites on nearby Broadway with the intention of refurbishing and building there.

"This was an extraordinarily good deal for SAWS," said Evanson, who told the board the utility would end up with 48 percent more space at the former Valero site at a cost of $7 million less than at Butter Krust.

The utility is looking to sell the Butter Krust and Playland sites, and corporate real estate manager Don Laffere said that may happen in the next month or two.

In other action, the board:

--Extended by five years an agreement with Garden-Ville for composting and marketing of sewage sludge. Paying the company to make compost from some of the sludge is cheaper than paying to have it hauled to a landfill.

--Recommended that the City Council adopt a water supply impact fee of $852 for every new home constructed. That's $500 less than what the utility could charge under the law, but $500 more than what it's charging now.

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Copyright (c) 2005, San Antonio Express-News

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VLO,

Source: San Antonio Express-News

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