No one was happier than Du Page County Sheriff Richard Doria when construction bids on the county`s 450-bed jail addition were opened Wednesday, with the low bid more than $5 million under previous estimates.
Seven contractors submitted offers, with the lowest a bid of $37,992,000 from Paul H. Schwendener Inc. of Westmont.
”I was worried we were going to have to go back to the drawing board,”
said a relieved Doria, who like his counterpart in Cook County is operating his jail under the supervision of a federal judge because of overcrowding.
”But now, all I care about is getting the ground-breaking going in a couple of weeks.”
Architectural firms that developed the plans for the four-story addition to the current 354-bed jail building on County Farm Road in Wheaton had estimated the total construction cost at $43,680,000, but six of the seven companies who submitted bids were under that estimate.
Cliff Williams, county director of purchasing, said he that attributed that to ”good planning and generally a soft construction market.”
County officials are expected to study all of the bids over the next several days, but barring an unforeseen problem with its offer, the contract is likely to be awarded to Schwendener.
The County Board recently sold $48 million in 30-year bonds to finance the project.
If ground-breaking occurs within the next several weeks, the project is expected to be completed by early 1994.
Schwendener has been a major developer and general contractor in the Du Page County area.
The firm`s projects include the Wheaton and Downers Grove police stations and additions to Hinsdale Hospital and Central Du Page Hospital in Winfield.
”We are ready to start work as soon as possible,” said Joseph Chambers, executive vice president of the firm.
He agreed that the current economy was a major reason for the bids coming in under estimate.
The other six contractors and their bids were Perini Corp., Chicago, $39,140,000; McHugh Construction, Chicago, $41,209,000; Figgins Construction, Roselle, $41,601,000; Walsh Construction, Chicago, $41,940,000; Mellon Stuart Construction, Chicago, $42,672,000; and Walbridge Aldinger, Detroit, $47,623,000.
